Ex parte McClain

• Decision Date: 17 November 1988
• Docket Number: No. 09-88-164-CV,09-88-164-CV
• Citation: 762 S.W.2d 238
• Parties: Ex parte Reverend Erskine McCLAIN.
• Court: Texas Court of Appeals

Page 238

762 S.W.2d 238

Ex parte Reverend Erskine McCLAIN.

No. 09-88-164-CV.

Court of Appeals of Texas Beaumont.

Nov. 17, 1988.

Michael M. Lee, Port Arthur, for appellant.

James A. DeLee, Port Arthur, for appellee.

OPINION

DIES, Chief Justice.

This is an original habeas corpus proceeding brought by Reverend Erskine McClain, relator. The petition alleges relator is being illegally confined in the Jefferson County jail by virtue of a commitment order finding him in contempt for violation of a permanent injunction decree. Relator has been admitted to bail by this court pending a ruling on relator's petition.

We grant the petition for writ of habeas corpus and order relator discharged from custody.

In January of 1988, four members of the St. John Baptist Church of Port Arthur, Texas, an unincorporated religious association, brought suit against the relator seeking a temporary restraining order and, ultimately, a permanent injunction to enforce relator's ouster as pastor of the church. Permanent injunction was granted in March, enjoining relator from acting as pastor of the church absent further determination of the matter pursuant to church rules, from interfering with the normal workings of the church or its congregation, from going onto or near church property except in a membership capacity, from withdrawing funds from church accounts or spending funds belonging to the church or its congregation, and from engaging in acts "calculated to embarrass, harass [sic], or injure the plaintiffs or any members of the congregation." Relator was also ordered by mandatory injunction to vacate the residence furnished him by the church, to return all keys to the church and residence, and to account for and return all church funds collected under his supervision, within thirty days.

More than two months after the injunction issued, the trial court held relator in contempt and committed him to jail for forty-nine days.

The controlling issue presented for decision by this court is whether the trial court's order fails to state definitely the reason the court held relator in contempt, and if so, whether this indefiniteness renders the order void.

The trial court's order reads in part:

"After examining all the pleadings and hearing the evidence and arguments of counsel, the Court finds and now holds that this Court has jurisdiction of this proceeding; that the Motion for Contempt filed herein is in all respects proper and sufficient; that ERSKINE McCLAIN was afforded due and proper notice of these proceedings and was properly served with the Decree Granting Permanent Injunction of March 7, 1988, by which ERSKINE McCLAIN was ordered to vacate the residence furnished him by St. John Baptist Church and to return all keys to said church and residence in his possession to the trustees of the church within thirty (30) days of entry of said Order.

"IT IS, THEREFORE, ORDERED, ADJUDGED, AND DECREED by the Court that Defendant, ERSKINE McCLAIN, is in contempt of this Court for violation of the Decree Granting Permanent injunction of March 7, 1988."

Though the contempt order lists two of the many provisions contained in the injunction, it fails to state that relator failed to comply with the provisions listed or any other provision contained in the decree. The order is therefore indefinite.

Texas courts have repeatedly held that a contempt order must clearly state in what respect the court's prior order has been violated. See e.g. Ex parte Bullington, 66 Tex.Cr.R. 256, 145 S.W. 1190 (1912); Ex parte Proctor, 398 S.W.2d 917 (Tex.1966). However, the decisions in which the supreme court and court of criminal appeals have narrowly addressed the issue have regarded instances where relators were held under "civil contempt" orders, a remedial or coercive measure. In "civil contempt" cases the rule that the contemner must be told in the judgment the exact nature of his violation apparently arises from a concern that he know what steps are required to purge himself so as to be released from jail. For instance, in Proctor, the supreme court seemed to hinge its decision on the coercive nature of "civil" contempt:

"[T]he relator Proctor is entitled to be released, and it is so ordered.

"This holding does not disturb the recognized power of a court to confine a party for contempt until he obeys the order for which he has been held in contempt for disobeying. However, where this remedy is followed, the order should clearly state in what respect the court's order has been violated and that the party is committed to jail until the court's order is complied with to the extent required by the court."

Id. at 918. Citations omitted.

Relator in this case is held under a contempt order which is punitive in nature, as evidenced by the set term of confinement and the lack of a purging provision. This is "criminal contempt." Ex parte Werblud, 536 S.W.2d 542, 545 (Tex.1976). Relator can do nothing to purge himself.

We find no supreme court or court of criminal appeals case which directly applies to "criminal contempt" cases the rule that contempt orders must clearly state in what respect the court's prior order has been violated. ¹ However, in Ex parte Davis, 171 Tex.Cr.R. 629, 353 S.W.2d 29, 33 (1962), a case in which a reporter was ordered taken into custody until certain fines were paid, the court of criminal appeals noted the rule that recitals in judgments for contempt are presumed to be true and the burden is upon relator to overcome the presumption. The court wrote: "In order for such rule to be equitable and operative, the judgment must of necessity be so definite and specific that one held in contempt might feasibly overcome such presumption by proof." Id. In Ex parte Hardy, 531 S.W.2d 895 (Tex.Civ.App.--Dallas 1975, no writ), the Dallas court of civil appeals applied the rule and the Davis court's reasoning to a "criminal contempt" case. There, the motion for contempt alleged four violations of an oral order, but the contempt order recited no finding of any particular violation. The court wrote:

"In these circumstances we must hold that the order in question does not meet the essential requirements of a judgment for contempt. Such a judgment should clearly state in what respect the court's previous order has been violated. It must contain specific findings so that the contemner will be fully apprised of his alleged act of misconduct so that he may overcome by proof, if any is available, the presumption of validity of the order. The present order fails to meet this test."

Id. at 896. Citations omitted. The relator was discharged from custody in that case.

We believe contempt orders must be clear in both "civil contempt" and "criminal contempt" cases, to afford the contemner the opportunity to purge and absolve himself, respectively. Because the trial courts order in this case was vague and indefinite, relator must be discharged. Relator's first point of error is sustained.

Relator next contends the contempt order is void because the church failed to plead a protectable civil or property right which would give the court jurisdiction to intercede into church affairs.

While the first amendment of the United States Constitution prohibits civil courts from exercising jurisdiction over purely ecclesiastical matters involved in church-related disputes, the courts do have jurisdiction as to civil, contract, and property rights even when they are involved in, or arise from, a church controversy. Serbian Orthodox Diocese v. Milivojevich, 426 U.S. 696, 96 S.Ct. 2372, 49 L.Ed.2d 151 (1976); Waters v. Hargest, 593 S.W.2d 364, 365 (Tex.Civ.App.--Texarkana 1979, no writ); Lide v. Miller, 573 S.W.2d 614, 615 (Tex.Civ.App.--Texarkana 1978, no writ).

Relator cites Hughes v. Keeling, 198 S.W.2d 779 (Tex.Civ.App.--Beaumont 1946, writ ref'd n.r.e.), in which this court upheld the trial court's refusal to issue an injunction forcing the pastor of a church to allow election of a new pastor and church officers. Appellants there alleged the pastor had prevented the election by dominating church members. Id. at 780. Our court stated in Hughes:

"There is nothing here upon which the trial court could act; for if the church or a majority of the church, are willing to follow [the pastor], that is the end of the matter--on such facts as are before us. In a sovereign entity such as [this church], a majority of the members present in a meeting ... ordinarily speak for the church.... There being no trespass, there was ... nothing on which the court could act, nothing justifying injunctive relief."

The facts in this case, where the pastor has refused to follow the vote of a majority of the church, are more akin to those in Schumann v. Dally, 29 S.W.2d 422 (Tex.Civ.App.--Amarillo 1930, no writ). In Schumann, the appeals court affirmed an injunction forbidding members of a church from interfering with religious services and business activities after a small minority of members held a meeting and...