Contempt Order Based on Repeated Derogatory Emails to Judge Upheld

Nickerson v. United States, No. 09-2255, 2010 WL 3511257 (September 9. 2010) (unpublished): pro se appeal of an order from the US District Court for New Mexico finding Mr. Nickerson in contempt and ordering him to pay $300 as a sanction for violating a previous court order. Mr. Nickerson had filed a complaint in district court against the United States because the government refused to issue a consular report of birth abroad of a citizen of the United States for a child born in 1989 in Mexico whom Nickerson claimed was his daughter. The case was dismissed for lack of subject matter jurisdiction. Mr. Nickerson did not appeal.

In October 2008, the court told Mr. Nickerson to stop sending emails to to the Court's chambers, explaining that the court's email address was for submitting proposed orders or jury instructions and not for ex parte communication or to express dissatisfaction. Apparently, Mr. Nickerson had sent a vituperative email to the judge. In response to the instruction, he sent "another lengthy and derogatory email to the Court's chambers." The contempt order was issued and Mr. Nickerson appealed.

The Tenth Circuit first declined to consider any rulings other than the contempt order, because no appeal from those orders was timely filed.

Regarding the contempt order, the Court says "he appears to deny having made derogatory and inflammatory statements in emails to the court. Yet he continues to make inflammatory and disparaging statements regarding that court's judges in his appellate filings, including accusing district court judges of 'misbehav[ing] in a horrible and abusive manner' and referring to 'psychopathic child hating Judges' who 'imagine them[ ]selves to be Latina Princesses.'” Not surprisingly, the COA finds that the district court did not abuse her discretion in imposing the sanctions.