468 So. 2d 258 | Fla. Dist. Ct. App. | 1985
We affirm the trial court’s judgment adjudicating appellant, an attorney, guilty of indirect criminal contempt for failure to appear at the scheduled time of a nonjury trial.
The appellant conceded at the contempt hearing that he was aware of the time of the scheduled trial, and he provided no evidence that his failure to appear resulted from forgetfulness.
We cannot say that the record could not support the trial court’s apparent conclusion that appellant took it upon himself to decide that the judge could deal with other matters at that scheduled time and that therefore appellant need not timely appear. Generally, the mere failure of an attorney to timely appear before a trial judge will not support a criminal contempt conviction. In this case, however, the evidence, in the form of appellant’s own testimony, does not appear to be insufficient to support the court’s conclusion that the attorney’s conduct “was calculated to embarrass, hinder and obstruct the court in the administration of justice and was calculated to lessen the court’s authority or dignity.”