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Former Lawyer Gets 90 Days For Contempt

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By TODD LESKANIC

The Tampa Tribune

Published: July 9, 2008

NEW PORT RICHEY - NEW PORT RICHEY - Former Port Richey lawyer Jessica Miller was sentenced to 90 days in the county jail Tuesday for failing to appear at a court hearing in December.

Circuit Judge Shawn Crane found Miller guilty of contempt of court after a daylong hearing June 23. Miller, 30, was first charged with contempt after she failed to appear at a hearing Dec. 20, opting instead to leave the state for vacation the day before.

Crane chastised Miller at last month's hearing and continued on a similar path Tuesday before announcing her sentence.

"The pronouncement I made after the finding of guilt still stands," Crane said. "I've heard nothing here today which changes anything I said. That all stands as true today as the day we had the hearing."

December's court hearing was set to allow Miller to explain why she had failed to transfer $28,000 of clients' money into the account of another lawyer. The money, which belonged to a divorcing couple, is the profit from the sale of their house.

Miller represented the husband, William Morales. Neither Morales nor his wife has received the money, which amounts to their life savings.

Morales appeared in court Tuesday and described his frustration at trying to get his money. He asked Crane to sentence Miller to the maximum penalty, five months and 29 days in jail.

"I was depressed at times," Morales said. "Just the aggravation of dealing with that office - with the numerous phone calls, the visits, the messages that went unanswered, the visits when I had appointments and no one was there. I just went through hell with this office."

The missing money touched off a Florida Bar investigation and led to Miller surrendering her law license this year. The Bar concluded its investigation after Miller agreed to relinquish her license, but a criminal investigation continues.

Miller pleaded ignorance when she took the stand at the contempt hearing last month. She blamed her paralegal and office manager, Kristen Collins, for not transferring the money. Miller said Collins had sole control of the office finances. She said she had asked Collins to transfer the $28,000 and that Collins told her she had done it.

Miller's attorney, Steve Bartlett, said the money was already gone by the time his client was to transfer it. Bartlett said Miller didn't even know the money was missing until she went to court for an arraignment after her arrest Dec. 28.

Reporter Todd Leskanic can be reached at tleskanic@tampatrib.com or (727) 815-1084.

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