United States v. Kent Hovind (Government's Renewed Motion for Order to Show Cause)

by the United States Attorney in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Florida, 12 November 2013

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
NOTHERN DISTRICT OF FLORIDA
PENSACOLA DIVISION
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
v.
KENT E. HOVIND,
Defendant.
Case No. 3:06CR83 - MCR

GOVERNMENT’S RENEWED MOTION FOR ORDER TO SHOW CAUSE

COMES NOW, the United States of America, through the below named attorney and files its Renewed motion for Order to Show Cause. As grounds, the government states as follows:
1. On October 11, 2013, the Court entered an Order (Doc. 469) denying the government’s previously filed Motion for Order to Show Cause and for Discharge of Lis Pendens and granting thirty days to file a renewed motion to show cause. (Doc. 465)

2. This Court has correctly pointed out the elements of criminal contempt: (1) a lawful and reasonably specific order that (2) the defendant has violated (3) willfully. Romero v. Drummond Co., Inc., 480 F.3d 1234, 1242 (11th Cir. 2007). Applying Romero to the instant case, we have a lawful and specific order entered by this Court, Case No. 3:12cv136 (Doc. 7, Para. 7), that specifically states:

“Defendants are hereby permanently enjoined from interfering with the rights of the United States of America in and to the property described above in any manner including filing or attempting to file liens, claim or other encumbrances in any manner whatsoever without a prior order of this court. Defendants are also enjoined from filing or attempting to file, directly or through the services of others, new notices of lien, indebtedness, claims or purported liens, of whatever nature, with the Clerk of Court in an for Escambia County, Florida, on any property forfeited to the United States.”

and that Hovind has violated by filing four lis pendens against property that is subject to the Court’s order and Hovind’s filing was willful.

3. As such, the government requests that the proper sanction is to hold Hovind in criminal contempt.

4. The United States Attorney’s Office is ready to immediately appoint a criminal prosecutor to the case for any further action that this Court deems necessary.

5. The government further suggests that the only sanction that will punish Hovind is additional prison time as the government does not believe that Hovind has additional assets with which to pay a fine and, will, simply solicit funds from hardworking, law-abiding citizens.

WHEREFORE, the government prays this Honorable Court will enter an order holding Hovind criminal contempt for willfully violating the prior order of the court.
Certificate of Service
On November 12, 2013, a copy of the foregoing was sent via U.S. Mail to Kent E. Hovind, (BOP# 06452-017), FCI Berlin, Federal Correctional Institution, P.O. Box 9000, Berlin, New Hampshire 03570.
Respectfully submitted,
PAMELA C. MARSH
UNITED STATES ATTORNEY