United States v. Cohn

United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit · 2009 · Evidence

586 F.3d 844 (2009)

Updated July 19, 2026

EvidenceCriminal contemptSentencingStatutory interpretation18 U.S.C. § 40118 U.S.C. § 3559sui generisClass A felony

Facts

Cohn, a Florida lawyer, represented a federal criminal defendant in district court after he had been deemed not eligible to practice law in Florida. The district court later issued an order to show cause why Cohn should not be held in criminal contempt under 18 U.S.C. § 401 for appearing before the court despite that ineligibility. Cohn entered a conditional guilty plea to the contempt charge. At sentencing, the district court concluded that because § 401 specifies no maximum penalty, criminal contempt must be treated as a Class A felony under § 3559 and sentenced him accordingly.

Issue

Whether criminal contempt under 18 U.S.C. § 401 should be classified under 18 U.S.C. § 3559 as a felony or misdemeanor, specifically as a Class A felony because § 401 sets no maximum penalty. More broadly, the question is whether § 401 contempt fits within § 3559's offense-classification scheme at all.

Rule

Criminal contempt under 18 U.S.C. § 401 is a sui generis offense and cannot be classified as either a felony or a misdemeanor under 18 U.S.C. § 3559. Because of the breadth of conduct covered by § 401, the wide range of permissible punishments, and the distinctive procedural characteristics of contempt, § 3559's letter-grade classification scheme does not apply.

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One of 10 multiple-choice questions for this case. Pick an answer to see why.

In federal court in Atlanta, Dana Mercer repeatedly interrupts a sentencing hearing and refuses the judge's order to stop speaking. The court later proceeds under Rule 42(a) and convicts Dana of criminal contempt under 18 U.S.C. § 401(1).

At sentencing, the judge states that because § 401 provides no maximum term of imprisonment, Dana's offense must be treated as a Class A felony under 18 U.S.C. § 3559. Which is the best statement?

Explanation. The governing rule is that criminal contempt under 18 U.S.C. § 401 falls outside § 3559's letter-grade classification scheme. The majority held that contempt is a sui generis offense, not a felony or misdemeanor, so the absence of a statutory maximum does not make it a Class A felony.