Committee Comments

Rule 33.4 applies to both Rules 33.2 and 33.3.

Section (a) references the limitations on the punishment which the court may impose. The limitations presently are found in Ala. Code 1975, §§ 12-11-30(5) (circuit court), 12-12-6 (district court) and 12-14-31 (municipal court). Ex parte Griffith, 278 Ala. 344, 178 So. 2d 169 (1965), cert. denied, 382 U.S. 988 (1966), held that the Code sections apply only to criminal contempt.

In Bloom v. Illinois, 391 U.S. 194 (1968), the United States Supreme Court held that the United States Constitution guarantees the right to a jury trial in state court prosecutions for contempt, just as it does for other crimes. In Baldwin v. New York, 399 U.S. 66, 69 (1970), the Court held that “no offense can be deemed ‘petty’ for purposes of the right to trial by jury where imprisonment for more than six months is authorized.” Since the maximum punishment for a criminal contempt offense under present Alabama law is ten (10) days, the constitutional limitation set forth in Bloom does not attach. If more severe penalties were provided by the legislature, a jury trial might be required.