Posted on 12/15/2008 1:02:16 PM PST by SmithL
A Knox County judge today ordered Erin McLean jailed for 95 days for what he contended were 17 acts of contempt - more time behind bars than her husband received in the March 2007 shooting death of her 18-year-old lover.
Fourth Circuit Court Judge Bill Swann imposed a 10-day sentence for each of the violations, stacking one on top of the other for a total of 170 days. He suspended 75 of those days, however.
"Court orders have to be followed," Swann told Erin McLean. "That has to have consequences."
Swann faulted McLean for repeatedly invoking her Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination at today's hearing. "Her silence does not help," Swann said.
Swann deemed Erin McLean guilty of keeping her sons away from father Eric McLean despite an order by Swann filed in February giving him equal parenting time.
He also found her guilty of contacting the boys after the judge had ordered both parents in October to have no contact absent approval from a child psychologist and Swann himself.
(Excerpt) Read more at knoxnews.com ...
I’m praying for her too.
I’m praying she gets all thousand days in jail that the opposition attorney asked for.
I’m praying that they keep her a long way away from her sons - she’s such a wonderful influence on them.
I’m praying that when she’s done doing her time, she leaves the state, alone, and doesn’t come back.
Many people don't want to answer questions in civil cases because it embarrasses them, costs them money, or otherwise leads to a result they don't want. Unless answering the question has the reasonable potential to land them in jail they can't avoid contempt charges by pleading the fifth.
Hopefully the children will be reasonable enough to understand why.
Swann deemed Erin McLean guilty of keeping her sons away from father Eric McLean despite an order by Swann filed in February giving him equal parenting time.She was found guilty on 17 counts of contempt, none of which was for invoking the 5th Amendment.
He also found her guilty of contacting the boys after the judge had ordered both parents in October to have no contact absent approval from a child psychologist and Swann himself.
It can be asserted in a civil matter to protect you from criminal prosecution, but it is still subject to civil penalty.
Also, groundless claims of 5th amendment privilege are subject to contempt.
Here, this was a civil divorce. I don’t see what criminal prosecution she could face. She just didn’t want to admit she was banging some 18 year old.
Mary Winkler was another TN case, and she recently got her kids back.
You can’t invoke the 5th Amendment in a civil proceeding.
Thanks, all. I could not click the link (for some reason!), and got confused between the custody part and the woman’s fooling around part; where she was pleading the Fifth, etc. So, I didn’t know what she held in contempt of.
Incorrect.
18 is an adult. Do I think it is odd? Yeah, but the jails would be full and overflowing if every married person who had an affair went to jail.
Let’s play a little “what if” here.
What if there is a criminal matter still hanging in the breeze that isn’t being discussed in the civil court? What if she is the only person who even knows the criminal case is out there because the authorities haven’t yet been informed of it? What if she is concerned that answers she might give in the civil case could be used in a criminal case later?
There is a film-clip making its way around the net which shows a law professor in Virginia telling his class of budding attorneys they should instruct their clients to NEVER EVER talk to the police. EVER!! That clip goes right to another in which a police detective says the same thing!
The simple fact is the authorities have the right to investigate anything, anytime... actually, anyone can investigate anything, anytime so long as they follow certain rules. But you have the right - per Amendment 5 of the U.S. Constitution - to NOT help. That doesn’t mean you can hinder the investigation but you don’t have to help. The same rules hold in court. You don’t have to help the prosecution, the plaintiff, the state or even the old lady who falls down in the aisle.
“... nor shall any person... be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself...” If she knows of a possible criminal case that could be brought against her and is fearful that her answers in the civil matter might tend to incriminate her later... she should invoke the 5th until she gains blanket amnesty from the court.
Please cite an authoritative source for this huge error.
I am an attorney and would also tell my clients never to talk to the police. If you are the target of the police they are talking to you for one reason only and that is to collect evidence to be used against you. One has no obligation to talk to the police - ever. A police station is not a court of law.
The way to smoke out a bluff regarding a fifth amendment assertion is to grant limited immunity from prosecution for any offenses that may arise due to the answer given. Once immunity is granted, you must answer the question or will be in contempt. If you assert the fifth without any reasonable basis for doing so, you will also be in contempt. Whether there is any reasonable basis can be decided by the judge and attorneys in chambers.
No, IANAL, but even I know that it would be far better to soak up a contempt charge, do a few weeks and walk rather than say something that might get you a whole lot worse. A good attorney could, should and probably would advise his/her client about how to proceed but it’s just advice and it doesn’t have to be heeded. As an attorney, I’m sure you’ve had clients who weren’t completely forthcoming about all the possibilities that might arise in the oourse of the case. A client might very well be less fearful of the certainty in front of him than the possibility down the road.
The 5th Amendment applies in CRIMINAL, not Civil cases. If you read the article carefully, you will note that the proceeding was civil, and the invocation of the 5th Amendment had nothing to do with questions regarding the homicide or her sexual misconduct.
By the bye, a prosecutor can give a witness, even a defendant, in a criminal case, immunity. If he does, the person cannot invoke the 5th, and a refusal to answer constitutes contempt of court.
Start with the Miranda warning, which states you have the right not to “incriminate” yourself.
Yes, you can plead the 5th in a civil matter to avoid criminal prosecution, but doing so in a civil matter can and will be used against you.
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