In re Mettler

146 P. 747, 50 Mont. 299, 1915 Mont. LEXIS 19
CourtMontana Supreme Court
DecidedFebruary 19, 1915
DocketNo. 3,616
StatusPublished
Cited by21 cases

This text of 146 P. 747 (In re Mettler) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Montana Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
In re Mettler, 146 P. 747, 50 Mont. 299, 1915 Mont. LEXIS 19 (Mo. 1915).

Opinion

MR. JUSTICE HOLLOWAY

delivered the opinion of the court.

Frank W. Mettler, an attorney duly admitted to practice in the courts of this state, having been adjudged to be in contempt of the district court of Lewis and Clark county, applied for his [300]*300release from imprisonment upon habeas corpus proceedings. The sheriff has made return to the writ that he detained the petitioner by virtue of a certain order of the district court, which is attached to and made a part of the return and is as follows:

“ [Title of Court.]
“In the Matter of the Contempt of F. W. Mettler.
“The court having under consideration the disobedience of a subpoena by a witness who was duly subpoenaed in this court, and having placed the witness upon the stand and interrogated him as to the reason why he did not appear, F. W. Mettler, an attorney and practicing lawyer at this bar, interrupted the proceedings by making demands that he be heard after the court had told him that there was nothing to be heard, and he refused to sit down, and by his conduct, words and manner disturbed the orderly proceedings of this court, and by his insolent demeanor, angry words, is in contempt of this court, and is adjudged in such contempt, he will pay a fine of $300, and stand committed to the county jail until this- fine is paid.”

A demurrer has been interposed, and the only questions which call for solution are such as appear from the face of the return and test the jurisdiction of the court which entered the order; and the further inquiry whether this petitioner was held by legal process. In State v. District Court, 35 Mont. 321, 89 Pac. 63, this court, having under consideration a proceeding of similar character, said: “While there is some conflict between the early and later decisions as to the scope of the meaning of the term ‘jurisdiction’ as applied to a case of this character, the decided weight of authority now supports the view that, in order for the judgment to be proof against an attack made by habeas corpus proceedings, the court rendering it must have had jurisdiction of the person and of the subject matter, and, in addition thereto, must have possessed the power or authority to render the particular judgment which it did pronounce; and the absence of any one of these factors renders the judgment void, and [301]*301consequently open to collateral attack. ’ ’ That the district court had jurisdiction of the subject matter is determined by the Constitution. (Sec. 11, Art. VIII, Const.; State v. District Court, 35 Mont. 51, 88 Pac. 564.) The order above discloses on its face that the court had jurisdiction of the person.

A contempt committed in the immediate presence of the court is designated “direct,” as distinguished from a “constructive” contempt, which is not committed in the court’s presence. A contempt directed against the dignity or authority of the court is “criminal,” as distinguished from a “civil” contempt, which arises out of a failure to obey an order made in a civil action for the benefit of the opposing party. A direct contempt may be punished summarily (Rev. Codes, sec. 7311), but a constructive contempt can be punished only after a hearing upon an affidavit showing the facts constituting the contempt (sec. 7311) and the answer thereto by the party accused (see. 7317).

It appears from the order under consideration that it was the purpose of the lower court to punish this petitioner for a criminal contempt committed in the immediate presence of the court, and by this process of elimination our inquiry is narrowed to an investigation of two questions: Had the district court authority to make this particular order? And was the paper authority in the hands of the sheriff effective for the purpose intended ?

Section 7309, Revised Codes, enumerates the acts and omissions which constitute contempt of court. Among them are:

“1. Disorderly, contemptuous or insolent behavior toward the judge while holding the court, tending to interrupt the due course of a trial or other judicial proceeding.
“2. A breach of the peace, boisterous conduct or violent disturbance, tending to interrupt the due course of a trial or other judicial proceeding. * * *
“9. Any other unlawful interference with the process or proceedings of a court.”

From the tenor of the order in question, it appears that this petitioner was charged with misconduct under one or more of these subsections. But in the wisdom of the legislature it was [302]*302deemed incompatible with our ideas of the due administration of justice that the decision of the presiding judge should be final, and provision was made accordingly for a review by this court. [1, 2] (Sec. 7322.) While the right to punish for a direct contempt is inherent in the court, the procedure is purely statutory, and compliance with the law must be had. Having invoked the remedy by habeas corpus proceeding, the law does not permit the petitioner to deny the facts stated in the order adjudging him to be in contempt. Such facts as are stated are to be taken as true, but no presumptions or intendments are to be indulged against the accused. (Batchelder v. Moore, 42 Cal. 412.) To the end that the order adjudging one to be in contempt may be [3] reviewed, section 7311 provides: “When a contempt is committed in the immediate view and presence of the court, or judge at chambers, it may be punished summarily, for which an order must be made, reciting the facts as occurring in such immediate view and presence.” Unless the order recites the facts which constitute the alleged contempt, no review is possible ; and if an order omitting such facts be permitted to stand, the very purpose of the statute would be defeated.

The only facts recited in the order above are that the accused attorney (a) demanded to be heard, and (b) refused to sit down. The recitals that Mettler “by his conduct, words and manner disturbed the orderly proceedings of this court, and by his insolent demeanor, angry words, is in contempt of this court,” do not contain any facts, but merely conclusions. What the attorney’s words were, what his manner was, what it was that constituted his insolent demeanor — none of these matters is disclosed by the order. Whether an order in this form is sufficient to justify any punishment is not a new question in this state or elsewhere, and the subject has become stale through oft-repeated declarations of courts and text-writers. In State ex rel. Breen v. District Court, 34 Mont. 107, 85 Pac. 871, this court had under consideration an order very similar to the one now before us, and concerning it said: “The conviction here was for a direct contempt. The judgment; however, is wholly insufficient to meet. [303]*303the requirements of the statute. It does not contain, even by appropriate reference to the proceedings before the court, anything to show what the matters referred to as scandalous were, nor any fact tending to show what the manner of the relator was. It states conclusions and inferences only, drawn by the judge from the facts as they actually transpired, thus leaving this court no alternative but to accept these conclusions or to hold the order invalid.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
146 P. 747, 50 Mont. 299, 1915 Mont. LEXIS 19, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/in-re-mettler-mont-1915.