Codispoti v. Pennsylvania 418 U.S. 506 (1974)

views updated

CODISPOTI v. PENNSYLVANIA 418 U.S. 506 (1974)

A 5–4 Court here extended its decision in duncan v. louisiana (1968) to persons receiving serious punishment for criminal contempt. Following their trial, two defendants were cited for contempt and given several consecutive sentences for contempt of court. Bloom v. Illinois (1968) served as the basis for Justice byron r. white's opinion that the defendants were entitled to a trial by jury. Even though no single sentence exceeded six months, the consecutive sentences could not be separated; they all stemmed from one trial conducted as a single proceeding by one judge.

David Gordon
(1986)