Justice Court of Tempe Precinct, Maricopa County v. Keswick

• Decision Date: 04 May 1967
• Docket Number: CA-CIV
• Citation: 427 P.2d 373,5 Ariz.App. 392
• Parties: . Stanley A. KESWICK, Appellee. 1343. Court of Appeals of Arizona
• Court: Arizona Court of Appeals

Page 373

427 P.2d 373 5 Ariz.App. 392 The JUSTICE COURT OF TEMPE PRECINCT, COUNTY OF MARICOPA, State of Arizona, Appellant,
v.
Stanley A. KESWICK, Appellee. 1 CA-CIV 343. Court of Appeals of Arizona. May 4, 1967.
Rehearing Denied June 1, 1967.
Review Granted June 20, 1967.

Robert K. Corbin, County Atty., by John D. Lewis, Deputy County Atty., for appellant.

[5 Ariz.App. 393]

Page 374

Thomas W. Murphy, Phoenix, for appellee.

CAMERON, Chief Judge.

This is an appeal from a 'Judgment Granting Peremptory Writ of Prohibition' of the Superior Court of Maricopa County which prohibited the appellant Justice Court from proceeding in a criminal prosecution of Stanley A. Keswick for failure to provide for minor children. (13--801 A.R.S.) We are called upon to determine whether the exercise of civil jurisdiction by the Superior Court of the State of Arizona in a divorce proceeding in which the husband has been ordered to pay support for a minor child, divests the Justice Courts of the State of Arizona of criminal jurisdiction to hear and punish the said husband for nonsupport of the same minor child pursuant to 13--801 A.R.S.

We do not have a Reporter's Transcript of the proceedings in the trial court, and the facts necessary for a determination of this matter on appeal are gleaned from the uncontroverted statements of the parties in the pleadings below and the briefs filed herein. It would appear from these papers that the appellee, Stanley A. Keswick, was the defendant in a divorce action in 1957. The decree of divorce granted on or about 6 June 1957 provided for support payments of $75.00 per month to be made by Stanley Keswick to his wife as and for child support. All payments were to be made by Stanley Keswick through the Clerk of the Maricopa County Superior Court. Since said date the Superior Court of Maricopa County has caused various orders to issue modifying support payments. An order was made in October, 1964, wherein the said Stanley A. Keswick was ordered to pay the sum of $35.00 per month for support of the minor child of the parties. The memorandum of points filed in the Superior Court and the brief filed herein by the appellant indicates that at the time of the last order to show cause in the divorce action Stanley Keswick was in arrears in the amount of $2,375.00. This is not controverted by Stanley Keswick. In May, 1965, the Superior Court of Maricopa County again reviewed the matter, and the petitioner was ordered to make reasonable payments...