State ex rel. Betty Grooms, Relator v. the Honorable Steven A. Privette

Summary

The Court made permanent its preliminary writ of prohibition because the circuit court lacked authority to hold the elected circuit clerk in contempt for alleged deficiencies in preparing information about criminal-case incarceration-cost reimbursements. Although the judge could request information related to the clerk's statutory duties, those duties were administrative and did not implicate the court's judicial function, so contempt was unavailable to enforce the request. The Court also held that the contempt motion failed to comply with the applicable criminal-contempt notice requirement, while declining to reach the moot change-of-judge issue and denying attorney fees and costs.