DA gets 10 days for contempt; judge cites gag order, failure to appear, disrespect to court
A Texas district attorney was sentenced Thursday to 10 days in jail for contempt of court by a visiting judge.
Judge Doug Shaver also imposed a $500 fine on Williamson County DA Jana Duty, the Austin American-Statesman reports.
Shaver cited Duty’s violation of a gag order, her failure to appear for a contempt hearing and disrespect to the court, as demonstrated by “her response and her veiled threats,” the newspaper reports. All the violations were knowing and intentional, Shaver said in his Thursday bench ruling.
At issue were comments Duty made May 6 to an American-Statesman reporter, her failure to appear at a May 8 hearing (District Judge Rick Kennon then sought to hold Duty in contempt) and an email Duty subsequently sent to Kennon and lawyers in the case.
It read in part: “If you feel I need to be reprimanded for communicating with the Statesman, I understand. But making a public spectacle out of punishing me just hurts everyone. No one will come out unscathed.”
Kennon said he had initially simply planned to verbally reprimand Duty about her May 6 comments concerning the Crispin Harmel capital murder case.
Duty plans to appeal the contempt ruling. She will not have to serve her sentence as the appeal is ongoing, KXAN reports.
Related coverage:
KXAN: “Defense attorneys want Williamson Co. DA removed from murder trial”
See also:
ABAJournal.com: “County Attorney to Be Reprimanded by Texas Bar on 1 of 24 Grievances; 23 Will Be Dismissed”
