The Pennsylvania Superior Court has decided the case of Commonwealth v. Williams, holding that the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas properly found the defendant guilty of direct criminal contempt for making his hand into the shape of a gun and pretending to shoot the witness against him during his preliminary hearing.

The Facts of Williams

The defendant was charged with burglary and related charges. When he was brought into courtroom for his preliminary hearing, he made his hand into the shape of a gun and made a shooting motion at the witness against him. The witness did not actually see it, but unfortunately for Williams, the judge did. The judge finished the hearing, held the charges against Williams for court, and then moved directly into a trial on a summary charge of direct criminal contempt for obstructing the proceedings.

The defendant agreed that his hand had been in that position, but he claimed that he had some sort of twitching disorder which caused it to happen involuntarily. He admitted he had not warned anyone that this could happen when he was brought into the courtroom, but he claimed that he did not realize he was going into a courtroom. Unsurprisingly, the trial court promptly rejected this testimony, found him guilty, and sentenced him to 30 – 60 days’ incarceration. The defendant had an extensive criminal record, which did not help his case or his claim that he did not know he was headed into the courtroom. The defendant appealed.

Direct criminal contempt includes misconduct in the court's presence that is committed with the intent to obstruct proceedings. The conduct may qualify as contemptuous even if it does not directly disrupt the court’s operation but only threatens the dignity and authority of the court. Here, the conduct arguably did both.

The Superior Court’s Ruling

The Superior Court quickly affirmed. It found substantial evidence supported the trial judge’s ruling and that the trial judge was best suited to determine whether or not the defendant’s somewhat silly explanation was credible. The trial judge had the right to reject that explanation, and it was not the Superior Court’s job to reweigh the evidence.

The Superior Court opined that misconduct need not cause a visible interruption to the proceedings or a delay in the proceedings in order to constitute an obstruction of justice. Of course, the mere act of threatening a witness may impede the fairness and integrity of the proceedings, and the trial judge properly rejected the defendant’s explanation. The Superior Court therefore upheld the conviction.

The Takeaway

This case is not particularly surprising. Threatening witnesses in court does not go over well with the judge and the DA, and it usually does not make the case better. It can lead to increases in bail, relatively minor contempt charges, jury instructions that the jury may hold the actions against the defendant in deciding guilt, and even serious felony witness intimidation charges. The system does not always seem fair to criminal defendants and other witnesses, and it often may not be. But threatening witnesses is usually not going to improve the situation, and the appellate courts are not likely to be sympathetic in these cases.  

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