Board of Governors of the Registered Dentists v. Cryan

I must respectfully dissent.

There are times in the law when you must look beyond the surface. Things are not always what they appear to be.

The portion of statute at issue here1 does not concern contempt; either civil or criminal, direct or indirect. Its self-description is thus wholly inaccurate as it is actually a criminal statute. It provides a minimum punishment, imprisonment and/or fine, for a prohibited action. Statutes which do that define a public offense, and are by definition criminal, not civil.

Title 21, O.S. 1971, § 3, provides:

“A crime or public offense is an act or omission…