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Eaton v. City of Tulsa, 415 U.S. 697 (1974)
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General SummaryThis case is from a collection containing the full text of over 16,000 Supreme Court cases from 1793 to the present. The body of Supreme Court decisions are, effectively, the final interpretation of the Constitution. Only an amendment to the Constitution can permanently overturn an interpretation and this has happened only four times in American history.
Eaton v. City of Tulsa, 415 U.S. 697 (1974)
Eaton v. City of Tulsa No. 73-5925 Decided March 25, 1974 415 U.S. 697
ON PETITION FOR WRIT OF CERTIORARI TO THE COURT OF
CRIMINAL APPEALS OF OKLAHOMA
Syllabus
Petitioner was convicted of criminal contempt for referring to his alleged assailant as "chicken shit" in answering a question on cross-examination at his trial for violating a Tulsa, Oklahoma, ordinance. The Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals affirmed, rejecting petitioner’s contention that the conviction must be taken as resting solely on the use of the explective, and holding that, since the record showed that petitioner, in addition to using the explective, made "discourteous responses" to the trial judge, there was sufficient evidence upon which the trial court could find petitioner in direct contempt.
Held:
1. The single isolated usage of street vernacular, not directed at the judge or any officer of the court, cannot constitutionally support the contempt conviction, since, under the circumstances, it did not "constitute an imminent . . . threat to the administration of justice." Craig v. Harney, 331 U.S. 367, 376.
2. Where the trial court’s judgment and sentence disclosed that the conviction rested on the use of the explective only, the Court of Criminal Appeals, in relying on petitioner’s additional "discourteous responses," denied petitioner constitutional due process in sustaining the trial court by treating the conviction as one upon a charge not made.
Certiorari granted; reversed and remanded.
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Chicago: U.S. Supreme Court, "Syllabus," Eaton v. City of Tulsa, 415 U.S. 697 (1974) in 415 U.S. 697 Original Sources, accessed November 24, 2024, http://originalsources.com/Document.aspx?DocID=769XQPNIE7KPNHU.
MLA: U.S. Supreme Court. "Syllabus." Eaton v. City of Tulsa, 415 U.S. 697 (1974), in 415 U.S. 697, Original Sources. 24 Nov. 2024. http://originalsources.com/Document.aspx?DocID=769XQPNIE7KPNHU.
Harvard: U.S. Supreme Court, 'Syllabus' in Eaton v. City of Tulsa, 415 U.S. 697 (1974). cited in 1974, 415 U.S. 697. Original Sources, retrieved 24 November 2024, from http://originalsources.com/Document.aspx?DocID=769XQPNIE7KPNHU.
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