Attorney Ron Beckstrom was found in criminal contempt after he failed to appear in court when his client’s case was called for trial. On appeal, Beckstrom contends that his contempt conviction should be reversed because 1 he did not receive timely notice of the trial date, and 2 the letters and telephone call from the trial judge directing him to appear at trial were not orders that could be enforced in a contempt proceeding. We disagree and affirm.On appeal of a criminal contempt conviction the appropriate standard of appellate review is whether, after viewing the evidence in the light most favorable to the prosecution, any rational trier of fact could have found the essential elements of the crime beyond a reasonable doubt. Criminal contempt is that which involves some disrespectful or contumacious conduct toward the court. Contempt of court has been variously defined; in its broad sense it means disregard for or disobedience of the order or command of the court.Citations, punctuation, and emphasis omitted. In re Gouge , 206 StateStateGa. App. 462, 463 1 425 SE2d 882 1992. We have repeatedly held that an attorney may be held in direct criminal contempt for wilfully failing to respond to the calendar call or to the call of a case for trial. See, e. g., In re Otuonye , 279 StateGa.App. 468, 470-471 1 631 SE2d 500 2006; In re Herring , 268 StateGa. App. 390, 391-392 2 601 SE2d 839 2004; In re Omole , 258 StateStateGa.App. 725, 726-727 1 574 SE2d 912 2002. Viewed in the light most favorable to the prosecution, the record reflects that Beckstrom, an attorney, represented a criminal defendant in a case pending in the Superior Court of Ben Hill County. The case was set for calendar call on September 13, 2007. Upon receiving notice of the calendar call, Beckstrom faxed a letter to the trial judge advising that he would be unable to attend due to a scheduling conflict, but otherwise announcing that the defense was ready for trial. The trial judge excused Beckstrom from appearing at the calendar call and accepted his announcement of ready for trial.
At the conclusion of the September 13 calendar call, the trial judge set the order of the criminal cases to be tried over the following two weeks. Beckstrom’s case was scheduled for trial at 9:00 a. m. on October 1, 2007.
