The Georgia Court of Appeals tossed out a contempt citation a Macon judge handed to Atlanta litigator Mark Spix, writing that the trial judge’s summary order sanctioning him for “sending emails to opposing counsel that are unprofessional and lack civility” violated Spix’s due process rights. 

The $300 fine by Bibb County Superior Court Judge Jeffery Monroe, announced by the judge at the end of a hearing involving settlement discussions, did not involve “contumacious conduct by Spix in open court that threatened the court’s immediate ability to conduct its proceedings,” said the opinion, written by Appeals Court Chief Judge Christopher McFadden.