Facts
- Lenzie Allison was convicted of manslaughter in the Circuit Court of Rankin County, Mississippi, and sentenced to 20 years in prison.
- Allison’s trial lawyer, Cullen C. Taylor, took the steps necessary to perfect a timely appeal to the Supreme Court of Mississippi.
- Mississippi Supreme Court Rule 40 required any attorney who perfected an appeal to continue prosecuting it by filing an assignment of errors and an appellate brief when due, unless the court permitted the attorney to withdraw.
- After perfecting the appeal, Taylor filed no assignment of errors, filed no brief, and filed no motion asking the court for permission to withdraw.
- Taylor attempted to contact Allison multiple times to request an additional $3,000 to pursue the appeal and told Allison the matter required prompt action; Taylor also indicated he would turn over the file to another attorney Allison chose.
- Allison did not respond to Taylor’s communications, and Taylor took no further action on the appeal.
- About a year after the appeal was filed, the Supreme Court of Mississippi issued an order requiring Taylor to show cause why he should not be held in contempt for failing either to prosecute the appeal or to seek leave to withdraw.
- Taylor’s response focused on nonpayment and Allison’s lack of communication, and it did not explain why Taylor failed to request permission to withdraw once he decided he would not proceed without payment.
- For purposes of the contempt proceeding, the court accepted Taylor’s factual account of the payment dispute and client nonresponse.
Issues
- Whether an attorney who has perfected a criminal appeal may stop all appellate work because the client does not pay and does not respond, without filing required appellate papers or obtaining the court’s permission to withdraw, without being in contempt.
Decision
- The court held that, by perfecting the appeal, Taylor entered an appearance in the Supreme Court “for all purposes” and became bound by Rule 40.
- The court found Taylor violated Rule 40 by doing nothing to prosecute the appeal and by failing to seek leave to withdraw.
- The court adjudged Taylor in contempt of the Supreme Court of Mississippi.
- The court imposed a $100 fine.
Legal Principles
- When an attorney perfects an appeal in the Supreme Court of Mississippi, the attorney must continue to prosecute the appeal by filing required papers (including an assignment of errors and brief) unless the court grants permission to withdraw.
- The duty created by perfecting an appeal runs not only to the client but also independently to the appellate court; counsel may not abandon the court’s process through inaction.
- Nonpayment of fees and an unresponsive client may justify a motion to withdraw, but they do not excuse failing to file required appellate documents or failing to request leave to withdraw.
- An attorney’s unexplained default on mandatory appellate obligations after perfecting an appeal may be punished as contempt, including by a monetary sanction.
Conclusion
In Allison v. State, the Mississippi Supreme Court addressed a contempt matter arising from attorney Cullen C. Taylor’s failure to prosecute an appeal he had perfected for Lenzie Allison. Even accepting Taylor’s account that Allison did not pay an additional fee and did not respond to communications, the court held that Rule 40 required Taylor to either continue the appeal by filing the necessary papers or seek the court’s permission to withdraw. Because Taylor did neither, the court found him in contempt and fined him $100.