Barton v. Maxwell

933 P.2d 966, 325 Or. 72, 1997 Ore. LEXIS 16
CourtOregon Supreme Court
DecidedMarch 20, 1997
Docket87CV201; CA A80236; SC S43170
StatusPublished
Cited by5 cases

This text of 933 P.2d 966 (Barton v. Maxwell) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Oregon Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Barton v. Maxwell, 933 P.2d 966, 325 Or. 72, 1997 Ore. LEXIS 16 (Or. 1997).

Opinion

DURHAM, J.

Defendant Maxwell seeks review, pursuant to ORS 2.520,1 of an order of the Chief Judge of the Court of Appeals. The order summarily imposed a sanction, in the form of a $500 fine, against Maxwell for contempt of court, pursuant to ORS 33.096, which provides:

“A court may summarily impose a sanction upon a person who commits a contempt of court in the immediate view and presence of the court. The sanction may be imposed for the purpose of preserving order in the court or protecting the authority and dignity of the court. The provisions of ORS 33.055 and 33.065 do not apply to summary imposition of sanctions under this section.”

The contempt sanction imposed in this case arises from the following facts. Maxwell is involved in a lengthy legal dispute. After a trial and an appeal several years ago, the Court of Appeals remanded the case for further proceedings. Barton v. Maxwell, 106 Or App 583, 809 P2d 1340 (1991). After the judgment was entered in the proceeding on remand, Maxwell again appealed. During that second appeal, Maxwell filed a substantial number of motions with the Court of Appeals.

On January 31,1996, the Chief Judge of the Court of Appeals entered an order denying one of Maxwell’s motions. The order also stated, in part:

“Appellant [Maxwell] is directed not to file any additional motions in this case without leave of the court.”

On February 28,1996, Maxwell filed a motion in the Court of Appeals seeking certain sanctions against plaintiffs [75]*75counsel. Maxwell did not seek leave of the court before filing that motion.

On March 4,1996, Maxwell filed a motion for retroactive leave to file the motion that he had filed on February 28,1996. On March 5,1996, the Chief Judge entered an order nunc pro tunc to March 4, 1996, denying retroactive leave. The order also stated:

“Further, the filing of the motion without leave of the court was in direct violation of the court’s order of January 31, 1996, and, as such, was a contempt of court. ORS 33.096. Pursuant to ORS 33.015(2),

Several weeks later, the Court of Appeals affirmed the trial court’s judgment. Barton v. Maxwell, 140 Or App 137, 913 P2d 348, rev den 324 Or 18 (1996).

This court allowed Maxwell’s petition for review of the order imposing the contempt sanction. Maxwell argues that his alleged misconduct — filing a motion on February 28, 1996, without the court’s permission — did not occur “in the immediate view and presence” of the Court of Appeals, as required by ORS 33.096.

ORS 33.096 was adopted in 1991 as a part of a comprehensive reform of several statutes that control proceedings for contempt of court. Or Laws 1991, ch 724, §§ 1-14. The preexisting statutory scheme incorporated several concepts regarding contempt of court that had their origin in the common law. One concept was that a “direct” contempt is one [76]*76committed in the presence of the court while sitting in a judicial capacity. See State v. Jones, 111 Or 295, 300-02, 226 P 433 (1924):

“Our statute, in defining contempt in respect to unlawful interference with the process or proceeding in a court of justice, is largely, if not entirely, declaratory of the common law. * * *
‡ ^ ‡ ‡
“* * * Contempts are classified as direct or indirect, and as criminal or civil; a direct contempt is such as is offered in the presence of the court while sitting judicially; and an indirect or, as it is sometimes called, a constructive contempt, is such as tends by its operation, though not committed in court, to obstruct and embarrass or prevent the due administration of justice: 6 R. C. L. 488, § 1.”

The 1991 amendments eliminated references to the categories of direct, indirect, criminal, and civil contempt that Jones described.

In one respect that is relevant to our inquiry here, the 1991 amendments did not modify the preexisting statute. ORS 33.096 maintains intact the decades-old rule that the authority of the court to punish a contempt summarily — that is, by court order without presentation of an accusatory instrument or affidavit — exists only if the offender commits the contempt “in the immediate view and presence of the court.” This court has explained the meaning of that statutory phrase in several cases, to which we now turn.

In Taylor v. Gladden, 232 Or 599, 377 P2d 14 (1962), the plaintiff unsuccessfully moved to remove the trial judge for alleged prejudice. He then said to the court, “I think you better disqualify yourself’ and “I can’t express my contempt for you.” Id. at 601-02. The court summarily found the plaintiffin contempt of court. On appeal, this court said:

“The contempt in this case was ‘committed in the immediate view and presence of the court’ and ‘may be punished summarily.’ ORS 33.030. Conduct of [the plaintiff] such as is disclosed by the record is defined as a contempt in ORS 33.010(l)(a), which reads:
[77]*77“ ‘Disorderly, contemptuous or insolent behavior toward the judge, while holding the court, tending to impair its authority or to interrupt the due course of a trial or other judicial proceeding.’
“The power of the courts to punish for a direct contempt is not, however, derived from the statute, but is inherent in all courts and arises from necessity. Rust v. Pratt, 157 Or 505, 511, 72 P2d 533, app dis 303 US 621, 58 S Ct 648, 82 L Ed 1084 [(1937)]. Differently from proceedings for indirect con-tempts, which must be instituted by affidavit and the issuance of a show cause order or warrant of arrest, ORS 33.040, no pleading is required in cases of direct contempt but the offence may, as the statute says, ‘be punished summarily.’ ” Id. at 603-04.

This court in Taylor also noted that the statute incorporated the common law rule that a court may punish a direct contempt committed “in the face of the court”:

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
933 P.2d 966, 325 Or. 72, 1997 Ore. LEXIS 16, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/barton-v-maxwell-or-1997.