People v. Smith

Defendant was charged with threatening a public official, after leaving a voicemail on judge's answering machine. During pendency of that case, court found Defendant in direct criminal contempt. Jury found Defendant guilty of threatening a public official. Court sentenced Defendant to 30 days in county jail for direct criminal contempt. Phone message was rude and insulting, and said that the judge was corrupt and  "will be hearing from someone", but message, and inmate-request slips, contained no "true threat." Court erred in admitting the inmate-request slips into evidence, as court permitted State to argue Defendant's intent at the time of those slips as indicative of his intent 2 months earlier, prior to when he was charged.Defendant had the mental capacity to understand what he was doing when he engaged in the conduce for which court summarily found him in direct criminal contempt. (HARRIS, concurring; TURNER, dissenting.)