TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — The Florida Supreme Court has ruled that a Tallahassee man who showed up drunk to jury selection was wrongly sentenced.
The court ruled Thursday that Noel Plank should not have been found guilty of direct criminal contempt because some of his questionable conduct happened outside of the court and not in direct view of the judge.
Plank showed up for jury selection at Leon County Court in April 2013 and asked to be dismissed. He later fell asleep during jury questioning and was difficult to wake up. A breath test revealed a blood alcohol content of 0.111 percent.
A judge convicted him of direct criminal contempt and sentenced him to 30 days in jail. He was eventually released after 15 days.
