United States v. Kimsey, 668 F.3d 691

Kimsey acted as a non-attorney ghostwriter for pleadings in a Nevada-diversity case, leading to criminal contempt proceedings in the U.S. district court.
The district court found him to have willfully violated Local Rules IA 10-1 and 10-2 and Nevada Rev. Stat. § 7.285, which proscribe unauthorized practice of law.
Kimsey reserved a jury trial when served with the magistrate judge’s order to show cause, and the proceeding proceeded as a bench trial.
The district court relied on Kimsey’s past unauthorized practice conviction, failure to identify himself, and the nature of the pleadings to convict under 18 U.S.C. § 402 (criminal contempt).
Kimsey appeals on four grounds, including lack of jury trial and whether § 402 can predicate a conviction on violations of local court rules; the Ninth Circuit reverses on the first two grounds.
The court reverses the conviction, noting § 402’s predicates do not apply to non-attorneys and that the jury-trial right was violated.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether Kimsey had a statutory right to a jury trial	Kimsey’s reservation demanded a jury trial	N/A	Yes; reversal for lack of jury trial
Whether § 402 can convict for violations of local court rules by a non-attorney	§ 402 covers acts disobeying a district court rule and a state crime	Local rules cannot be predicates for non-attorneys	No; local rules cannot serve as § 402 predicates; conviction reversed

Sullivan v. Louisiana, 508 U.S. 275 (1993) (structural error from improper jury-trial deprivation)
United States v. Martinez, 182 F.3d 1107 (9th Cir. 1999) (prohibits using character evidence to prove guilt about the specific act)
United States v. Male Juvenile, (9th Cir. 2002) (reaffirmed de novo review for jury-trial rights in contempt cases)
United States v. Marthaler, 571 F.2d 1104 (9th Cir. 1978) (conviction under § 401 based on local rule violation)
Beauchamp? (Beene), 511 U.S. 368 (1994) (rule interpretation in § 402 context)