In Re Circosta

219 Cal. App. 2d 777, 33 Cal. Rptr. 514, 1963 Cal. App. LEXIS 2439
CourtCalifornia Court of Appeal
DecidedSeptember 6, 1963
DocketCrim. 4380
StatusPublished
Cited by9 cases

This text of 219 Cal. App. 2d 777 (In Re Circosta) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering California Court of Appeal primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
In Re Circosta, 219 Cal. App. 2d 777, 33 Cal. Rptr. 514, 1963 Cal. App. LEXIS 2439 (Cal. Ct. App. 1963).

Opinion

SULLIVAN, J.

Petitioner Nick Circosta seeks his release on habeas corpus on the ground that the Superior Court of the City and County of San Francisco acted in excess of its jurisdiction in adjudging him guilty of contempt of court for having violated a permanent injunction and in imposing a judgment of fine and imprisonment for such contempt. The *780 issuance of such injunction was ordered by the above court in an action entitled “The People of the State of California, Plaintiff, vs. Nick Circosta, Defendant,” brought under the Bay Area Air Pollution Control Law. (Health & Saf. Code, § 24345 et seq.) 1 We issued an order directed to the People to show cause why the relief prayed for by petitioner should not be granted and pending further order of this court stayed the enforcement of the judgment of contempt. In response thereto the People and the Bay Area Air Pollution Control District (hereafter referred to as the District) have filed a return. Petitioner has filed a traverse to said return.

The record discloses the following facts. 2 On December 30, 1958, the District Attorney of the City and County of San Francisco brought the above-mentioned action against petitioner as defendant. The complaint filed therein contains in substance the following allegations: That on December 12, 1956, after due notice, the board of directors of the District adopted a resolution pursuant to section 24362 declaring it was necessary to adopt regulations to control the release of air contaminants; that on March 20, 1957, after proper legal proceedings, such board “adopted a regulation of such District, entitled Regulation No. 1, a true and correct copy of which is attached to this complaint hereby referred to, marked Exhibit ‘A’ and incorporated herein to the same extent as though it were here set forth at length”; that defendant from October 1, 1957, to and after December 18, 1958, was and is the owner of certain described property located in San Francisco; that defendant has on repeated occasions, both as owner and occupant of the property, violated Regulation No. 1 “by igniting, permitting to be ignited, suffering, allowing or maintaining open outdoor fires within the Bay Area Air Pollution Control District”; that on December 3, 1958, the *781 control officer of the District filed an accusation against defendant before the hearing board pursuant to section 24362.5; that after due notice, the hearing board of the District on December 18, 1958, had and conducted a hearing on such accusation and, after the reception of evidence, “the said Hearing Board did on the 29th day of December, 1958, make and enter its order in the said proceeding, a true copy of which is hereunto attached, hereby referred to, marked Exhibit ‘B’ and incorporated herein as though the same were here set forth at length”; and that the hearing board “certified all of the said facts to the District Attorney of the City and County of San Francisco, on the 29th of December, 1958.” The prayer is for an order to show cause why an injunction should not be issued commanding defendant to forthwith cease and desist from maintaining or permitting any outdoor fire within the District “which is not within the exceptions in Regulation No. 1 ... or without a valid variance granted by the Hearing Board. . . ,” 3

On March 4, 1959, petitioner was served with summons and complaint, order to show cause, declaration in support of preliminary injunction and memorandum of points and authorities. On April 2, 1959, petitioner’s default was duly entered and “Judgment Granting Permanent Injunction” was rendered and filed. A permanent injunction issued forthwith commianding that petitioner “forthwith cease and desist from permitting, suffering, allowing, maintaining, igniting, or causing to be ignited any open outdoor fire within the Bay Area Air Pollution Control District, which is not within the exceptions of Regulation No. 1 of the Bay Area Air Pollution Control District or without a valid variance granted by the Hearing Board of the Bay Area Air Pollution Control District.” This injunction was personally served on petitioner on April 3, 1959.

On June 1, 1959, contempt proceedings were commenced against petitioner for alleged violations of the above injunction and on September 10, 1959, the superior court made and filed its “Order and Judgment in re Contempt,” adjudging petitioner in contempt of court and imposing a judgment of imprisonment but also providing that the sentence for contempt be suspended upon certain conditions being satisfied and complied with by petitioner. Both the judgment of April *782 2, 1959, granting the injunction and the contempt order of September 10, 1959, were signed by the Honorable Orla St. Clair.

In 1961 contempt proceedings were again initiated but were discontinued. An order to show cause in re contempt was issued on February 24, 1961, returnable March 16, 1961. Petitioner filed an affidavit in opposition thereto. According to the affidavit of counsel for the District filed with respondent’s return to the order to show cause issued herein, “ [t]he order to show cause issued May 24, 1961 [sic—probably should be February 24, 1961], was by stipulation of the defendant, Nick Circosta, through his attorney, put off calendar on May 16,1961, with the understanding that it could go back on calendar on the filing of a new affidavit in re contempt if further violations of the permanent injunction occurred.”

On January 14, 1963, the contempt proceedings now engaging our attention were initiated with the issuance of an order to show cause in re contempt. On February 13, 1963, petitioner filed a declaration in opposition thereto in which he “urged,” among other things, that the trial court had no jurisdiction to determine whether or not he was in contempt of court since it never acquired jurisdiction to issue an injunction for the following reason: The complaint for injunction did not state facts sufficient to state a cause of action for equitable relief because it did not have attached to it either Exhibit A (Regulation No. 1 of the District) or Exhibit B (the hearing board’s order made on December 29, 1958). 4

It is to be noted that the foregoing objection to the jurisdiction of the court was asserted for the first time in practically identical language in petitioner’s affidavit in opposition to the order to show cause issued in connection with the 1961 contempt proceedings which were subsequently put off calendar. The instant record shows that it was not raised *783 at all during the 1959 contempt proceedings which culminated in the contempt order signed by Judge St. Clair on September 10, 1959.

While the 1963 contempt proceedings were pending, a second order to show cause in re contempt was issued on March 22, 1963, presenting to the court an additional violation alleged to have been committed by petitioner. On April 8, 1963,

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Bluebook (online)
219 Cal. App. 2d 777, 33 Cal. Rptr. 514, 1963 Cal. App. LEXIS 2439, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/in-re-circosta-calctapp-1963.