Contempt Hearing Set for Miscarriage Victim : Courts: Judge’s sentence of woman who tried to talk to boyfriend in court is being challenged by the Orange County public defender’s office.

SANTA ANA —  Traci Lynn Pixler was desperate to tell her boyfriend, who was in court to face a misdemeanor charge, that she had suffered a miscarriage and lost their baby. Instead, she ended up with a three-day jail sentence for contempt.

Pixler, 24, of Garden Grove, went to Central Orange County Municipal Court on Feb. 9, where her boyfriend was charged with drinking in public, and tried to talk to him, a violation of law. Twice the bailiff warned her, and twice she persisted.

When the judge ordered her to leave the courtroom, she continued to motion to her boyfriend through the windows of the door. At that point, Judge Gregory H. Lewis ordered her arrested.

The Orange County public defender’s office challenged the sentence, and a hearing is set for March 12 in Orange County Superior Court.

“He put a woman who just suffered a miscarriage in jail,” said Deputy Public Defender Allyn Jaffreywho is representing Pixler. “A compassionate judge, after learning the details, would not have placed the woman in jail and might even have allowed her a moment with her boyfriend. But my real concern is that she was wrongly incarcerated.”

But Deputy County Counsel Nick Chrisos, who will represent Lewis at the hearing, said: “This was a direct contempt, and the judge has the power to immediately punish that” without holding a hearing and securing an attorney for the person held in contempt.

Lewis declined to comment because the case is still pending. Pixler could not be reached for comment.

It was unclear Wednesday whether Lewis knew the nature of the discussion between Pixler and her boyfriend. Court documents filed by her attorneys say she had explained to the judge that she had suffered a miscarriage and wanted to tell her boyfriend.

But Robert B. Kuhel, executive officer of the Central Orange County Municipal Court, said Lewis did not mention that issue. Chrisos said he also did not know whether Lewis was aware of the woman’s situation, but he noted that it would not matter.

“The question is whether this was a willful violation of oral and written instruction that disrupted the courtroom,” he said. A sign in the courtroom also admonishes visitors not to talk to prisoners.

Chrisos said the woman had other ways to communicate with Martin Lopez Rodriguez, 29, of Santa Ana, who also was charged with failing to appear in court previously for the public drinking charge.

Perhaps Pixler could have asked the courtroom bailiff to pass along an urgent message. She could have visited him in jail or written him a letter, Chrisos said. “Judge Lewis has a reputation as an excellent judge, and I’m sure he carefully reflected on all the evidence before him.”

The rule prohibiting the public from communicating with prisoners is designed to maintain order and safety.

“After you warn a person repeatedly that what they are doing is a crime, what do you do then? The Legislature says you cite them for contempt,” Kuhel said.