BURT HOWARD ROBERTS, APPELLANT,
v.
STATE OF FLORIDA, APPELLEE
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ORFINGER, Judge.
We affirm the order of the trial court finding defendant to be in direct criminal contempt and sentencing defendant to six months’ incarceration in the Orange County jail. The evidence presented at the hearing on defendant’s motion to vacate his plea of nolo contendere supports the findings of fact recited in the judgment of guilt that the defendant committed perjury in his testimony before the court either at the time he entered his plea or at the time he gave diametrically opposite testimony when he sought to withdraw it. Peijury in the context of a motion to vacate a plea is sufficient to support a finding of direct criminal contempt. See Bumgarner v. State, 245 So. 2d 635 (Fla. 4th DCA 1971). Unquestionably, peijured testimony has an obstructive effect on the judicial system, and trial judges should not tolerate this type of interference with the judicial process. See Bartz v. State, 221 So. 2d 7, 9 (Fla. 2d DCA 1969).
AFFIRMED.
SHARP and COWART, JJ., concur.
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Oquendo v. State, 2 So. 3d 1001 (Fla. 4th DCA 2008)…-, 2008 WL 3540219 (Fla. 1st DCA Aug. 15, 2008). Postconviction movants should also remain aware that penalties for direct contempt of court or perjury may be imposed when movants are untruthful in postcon-viction proceedings. See Roberts v. State, 515 So. 2d 434 (Fla. 5th DCA 1987) (ap [*1007] proving a finding of direct contempt of court where the movant’s testimony was diametrically opposed to prior sworn testimony); see also Emanuel v. State, 601 So. 2d 1273 (Fla. 4th DCA 1992) (explaining that a prosecu…
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Sparks v. State, 740 So. 2d 33 (Fla. 1st DCA 1999)…ower to hold a witness in contempt for perjury is limited, but it would be proper to exercise that power in a case such as this one where the witness has signed an affidavit that is diametrically opposed to his trial testimony. See Roberts v. State, 515 So. 2d 434 (Fla. 5th DCA 1987). Here, the trial judge took a much less drastic step. Whether a judge may properly inform the lawyers of perjury in a situation such as this is an issue upon which experienced trial judges might disagree. Some might argue that i…
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Emanuel v. State, 601 So. 2d 1273 (Fla. 4th DCA 1992)…guilty of perjury. In other words, the contemner is entitled to a jury trial if the facts are substantially disputed, and the court cannot take judicial knowledge that the testimony or allegation is false. 189 So. at 715. See also Roberts v. State, 515 So. 2d 434 (Fla. 5th DCA 1987) (order of contempt upheld where defendant’s testimony at his motion to withdraw his plea was diametrically opposite to his testimony taken in court when he entered his plea); Duff v. Southern Bell Telephone and Telegraph Co., 386…
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- Bumgarner v. State, 245 So. 2d 635 (Fla. 4th DCA 1971)
- Bartz v. State, 221 So. 2d 7 (Fla. 2d DCA 1969)