A woman who tried to influence a juror in her civil trial by conversing with the juror in the cafeteria of the federal courthouse where the case was being heard should not have been found guilty of contempt of court, the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled.
A three-judge panel of Judges Barrington D. Parker, Guido Calabresi and Richard C. Wesley ruled in favor of Shirley Rangolan in her bid to overturn her conviction for criminal contempt under 18 U.S.C. �401(1), which authorizes courts to punish the “[m]isbehavior of any person in its presence or so near thereto as to obstruct the administration of justice.” Parker wrote for the panel.
