Ex Parte Taylor
| Decision Date | 24 March 1920 |
| Docket Number | (No. 3363.) |
| Citation | 220 S.W. 74 |
| Parties | Ex parte TAYLOR. |
| Court | Texas Supreme Court |
Pope & Young, of Dallas, for relator.
Crane & Crane, of Dallas, opposed.
The Circuit Court of Cook County, Illinois, in a suit there pending of Nancy J. Wicks v. The Tribune Company, issued, on November 20, 1919, a commission to Jack A. Schley, a notary public of Dallas County, Texas, for the taking of the oral deposition of the relator, Thomas Taylor. The notary caused Taylor to be served with a subpoena for the purpose of obtaining his appearance, but Taylor refused to appear before him. Thereafter, on January 17, 1920, the Circuit Court of Cook County, Illinois, in the form of a letter rogatory, made request of the District Court of Dallas County, that by appropriate process it cause the witness Taylor to appear before the notary, or some one authorized by it, and give his oral deposition for use in the cause pending in the former court. The letter rogatory recited that Taylor's testimony was material in the cause and justice could not be completely done between the parties without it, as given by oral deposition; the issuance of the previous commission at the instance of the defendant after due notice to the plaintiff; Taylor's refusal to appear before the notary; and, in substance, that the formalities of the Illinois laws had been complied with in respect to the giving of notice for the taking of the deposition.
The District Court of Dallas County, Hon. E. B. Muse, presiding, on January 19, 1920, honored the request so made of it, and issued its writ commanding the witness to appear before the notary, Schley, on January 30, and give his deposition on oral interrogatories as might be propounded by the attorneys for the respective parties in the Illinois suit.
Taylor refused to obey this writ. Thereupon, The Tribune Company, defendant in the Illinois suit, filed an ancillary proceeding in the Dallas County District Court against Taylor to have him adjudged in contempt. He was cited to appear, and on examination announced to the court that he would refuse to give his oral deposition in obedience to its order. The court adjudged him in contempt and remanded him to the custody of the sheriff to be confined until such time as he would consent to obey its order.
The question presented is one of jurisdiction — whether it was within the power of the District Court of Dallas County, under the proceedings recited, to order the relator to appear before the notary and give his oral deposition. If the court had the authority to make the order, it was within its authority to enforce it, and to hold the relator in contempt for its disobedience.
The power of a proper court to honor the request of a court in an independent jurisdiction expressed by letters rogatory, for the use of its process in aid of obtaining the deposition of a witness whose testimony is material in a cause pending in the latter, while perhaps not frequently called into exercise, is inherent, and does not depend upon statutes. It exists to prevent a failure of justice. It is related to the administration of justice in its best sense. Men, generally, owe the duty of giving their...
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