United States v. Leigh-Davis Glass

The district court, concerned that indigent legal services be provided only to impecunious defendants, held Leigh-Davis Glass in summary criminal contempt under Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure 42(b) for making false statements during the court’s inquiry into her eligibility for such services. We find no fault, of course, with the district court’s admonitions that defendants be forthcoming regarding their financial circumstances, so that the court can determine whether appointed counsel is needed, and do not pretermit the possibility that a failure to do so could support a conviction for criminal contempt. We conclude, however, that summary proceedings were inappropriate for adjudicating whether Glass’s conduct was contemptuous. We therefore reverse her conviction and remand with instructions that any further contempt proceedings relating to the district court’s summary contempt findings be conducted under Rule 42(a) and delayed until the conclusion of Glass’s underlying criminal trial.

BACKGROUND

Glass is scheduled for trial in the district court shortly on several counts of making false declarations and statements in district court civil proceedings, and to the Wells Fargo…