Attorney Adam Reposa given six months in jail for contempt
Stating that Adam Reposa’s unruly behavior continued after he served jail time for contempt in 2010, Travis County Judge Paul Davis delivered the maximum sentence of six months in jail for the Austin attorney’s latest courtroom outburst.
Davis on Wednesday found Reposa guilty of five acts of contempt stemming from a disagreement he had with a judge in a March drunken driving trial. The announcement came about a week after Davis found Reposa guilty in a two-day trial.
In assessing punishment, the judge said he considered Reposa’s actions after the March trial, including two profanity-laced videos Reposa posted on social media mocking local judges and Reposa’s belligerent behavior toward members of the district attorney’s office as they prosecuted the case.
Reposa has until noon Sept. 29 to surrender to the sheriff ’s office. He will not get credit for good time, so it’s likely he will serve all 180 days of his sentence. He is expected to appeal.
“If you think these people are going to break me, you’re out of your mind,” Reposa told the American-Statesman. He and his lawyers argued that Davis improperly handled the contempt case, denying him a jury trial.
“We fought to have a jury trial and to have the community decide his fate,” Reposa’s attorney, Steven Brand, said. “The Travis County DA’s office fought against a jury trial.”
The five findings of contempt affirm that Reposa refused to approach County Court at-Law Judge Nancy Hohengarten’s bench after being summoned; continued to question prospective jurors when the judge attempted to have a bench conference with attorneys; continued to question a prospective juror after the judge instructed the juror to not answer the question; stated within earshot of the jury panel that he wanted to show jurors how hard it is to “get a fair trial” in Hohengarten’s court; and spoke in a disrespectful tone when addressing the judge.