11-51-11 - Appeal from judgment of criminal contempt. - Mississippi Statutes

§ 11-51-11. Appeal from judgment of criminal contempt.
 

(1)  A person ordered by any tribunal, except the supreme court, to be punished for a contempt, may appeal to the court to which other cases are appealable from said tribunal. Where the punishment is either a fine only, or jail confinement only, the appeal shall be allowed upon the posting of a bond, payable to the state, with sufficient sureties, not exceeding one thousand dollars ($1,000.00), conditioned to abide the results of the appeal. Where the punishment is both a fine and jail confinement, the appeal shall be allowed upon the posting of a bond, not exceeding two thousand dollars ($2,000.00), conditioned to appear in the court to which the appeal is prosecuted and to abide the results of such appeal. 

(2)  The amount of the bonds provided for in subsection (1) of this section shall be fixed by the tribunal appealed from, shall be approved by the sheriff or other officer in whose custody the appellant may be and shall not be construed as a limitation on the amount of any fine which may be imposed. 

(3)  All appeals allowed in accordance with the provisions of this section shall operate as a supersedeas. 

(4)  The burden of proof in criminal contempt shall be proof beyond a reasonable doubt. A contemnor shall not be entitled to a jury trial unless the contemnor requests a jury trial and unless the fine exceeds five hundred dollars ($500.00), or the imprisonment exceeds six (6) months. 
 

Sources: Codes, 1880, § 2316; 1892, § 38; 1906, § 39; Hemingway's 1917, § 15; 1930, § 18; 1942, § 1152; Laws,  1978, ch. 335, § 11; Laws, 1981, ch. 369, § 1, eff from and after July 1, 1981.