Supreme Court of Florida
State of Florida, Petitioner v. Alex Diaz De La Portilla, Respondent
November 5, 201540 Fla. L. Weekly Supp. 626
Summary
The Court held that a failure to appear pursuant to a court order, when prosecuted as criminal contempt, must be treated as indirect criminal contempt under Florida Rule of Criminal Procedure 3.840 rather than direct criminal contempt under rule 3.830. Because the trial court used the wrong procedure, the Court approved the First District's reversal of the contempt conviction and remanded for proceedings consistent with its opinion. The Court also receded from its prior decision treating a failure to appear as direct criminal contempt.