In re Brinson, 299 Ga. 859

Veronica Brinson, counsel in a murder case, was removed as counsel of record by the trial court and ordered not to make further filings in the case.
After the removal order, Brinson submitted additional filings; the trial court held her in criminal contempt and sentenced her to 12 days imprisonment, suspended on payment of a $750 fine.
The judge who entered the no-filing order recused; a different judge conducted the contempt proceedings.
At the contempt hearing Brinson (represented by counsel) conceded she would not challenge the legality of the removal order, but later appealed the contempt conviction.
The record included a pre-filing letter from Brinson acknowledging that the court had "limited my access to filing in this case," contradicting her claim that she was unaware of the no-filing directive.
The contempt arose from a murder prosecution, giving the Supreme Court of Georgia jurisdiction over the appeal.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Validity of challenging removal order on appeal from contempt	Brinson argued the trial court erred removing her and banning filings	State argued Brinson waived challenge by conceding at contempt hearing and disobedience of court order is contempt even if order erroneous	Waived; even if erroneous, disobedience of an un-superseded order is contempt
Willfulness of contempt	Brinson claimed she unknowingly filed and thus acted non-willfully	State pointed to Brinson's letter acknowledging filing restrictions and other evidence	Court credited conflicting evidence and found contempt willful
Fifth Amendment self-incrimination warning at contempt hearing	Brinson said court should have advised her of privilege	State noted Brinson was represented by counsel, so no warning required	No error: no admonition required when accused is represented by counsel
Ineffective assistance of counsel at contempt hearing	Brinson alleged counsel failed to call witnesses, file motions, and present correspondence	State showed counsel did call witnesses and Brinson failed to identify omitted motions; correspondence concerned earlier removal order Brinson chose not to contest	No ineffective assistance; no remand required

Spencer v. State, 287 Ga. 434 (waiver of appellate challenge when conceded at hearing)
Britt v. State, 282 Ga. 746 (disobedience of an un-superseded court order is contempt even if order is erroneous)
Faulkner v. State, 295 Ga. 321 (finder of fact resolves credibility conflicts)
Carlson v. Carlson, 324 Ga. App. 214 (no requirement to advise privilege against self-incrimination when represented by counsel)
Schiselman v. Trust Co. Bank, 246 Ga. 274 (same principle regarding privilege admonition)
Strickland v. Washington, 466 U.S. 668 (standard for ineffective assistance of counsel)
Ruiz v. State, 286 Ga. 146 (no remand required where ineffective-assistance claim unsupported)
State v. Murray, 286 Ga. 258 (jurisdiction over appeals arising from murder prosecutions)