Ogletree v. Watson
| Decision Date | 21 September 1967 |
| Docket Number | No. 24274,24274 |
| Citation | 157 S.E.2d 464,223 Ga. 618 |
| Parties | William F. OGLETREE v. Sylvene Norred Ogletree WATSON. |
| Court | Georgia Supreme Court |
Syllabus by the Court
1. The superior court rendering a final order retains jurisdiction to enforce its order by attachment for contempt, although subsequent to the rendition of the order the party sought to be adjudged in contempt removed his residence to another county.
2. An order or judgment that merely declares the rights of the parties, without any express command or prohibition, is not one which may be the basis of contempt proceedings.
Wyatt & Wyatt, L. M. Wyatt, LaGrange, for appellant.
A. W. Birdsong, Jr., LaGrange, for appellee.
On October 23, 1964, Mrs. Sylvene Norred Ogletree Watson, appellee, and William F. Ogletree, appellant, were divorced with the custody of their minor child, Geneva Lynn Ogletree, being awarded to the mother with visitation rights in the father. Subsequently, both parties remarried, and on August 29, 1966, the Juvenile Court of Turner County awarded custody of the child to the father with reasonable visitation rights in the mother. On October 28, 1966, the father filed an application for writ of habeas corpus in Troup Superior Court which alleged that the mother was illegally restraining the parties' minor child. No answer was filed by the mother to this application and the following order was issued: 'The within case having come on for a hearing and after evidence being heard it is hereby ordered that the custody of Geneva Lynn Ogletree be awarded to her father William F. Ogletree until such time as Sylvene Ogletree Watson shall become divorced from James Watson and at such time of said divorce custody shall revert as set forth in the divorce decree of Wm. F. Ogletree vs. Sylvene Norred Ogletree dated Oct. 23, 1964, and recorded in office of the Clerk of Superior Court of Troup County, Georgia and as shown as Exhibit 'A' of the within petition.'
In May, 1967, the appellee mother filed in Troup Superior Court the present action, an attachment for contempt, against the appellant father. Appellee's petition alleged she had obtained a divorce from her second husband, James Watson, and the appellant refused to turn the parties' minor child over to her pursuant to the order of October 28, 1966. Appellant filed an answer, motion to dismiss, plea to the jurisdiction and general demurrer to the petition. After a hearing of the evidence, the court overruled the appellant's plea to the jurisdiction and general demurrer and adjudged the appellant in contempt of court. The appellant assigns error on these orders.
1. Appellant contends the court lacked jurisdiction over him in that both parties are no longer residents of Troup County. This contention is without merit. Every court has power to compel obedience to its judgments, orders and processes. Code § 24-104(3); Gaston v. Shunk Plow Co., 161 Ga. 287, 298, 130 S.E. 580. The superior court rendering the final order placing the custody of the parties' minor child in the appellant retains jurisdiction to enforce its order by attachment for contempt, notwithstanding the fact that subsequent to the rendition of the order the appellant may have removed his residence to another county....
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Culpepper v. State
...reaffirmed the rule that only the court offended has the power to entertain proceedings to punish the defendant. Ogletree v. Watson, 223 Ga. 618, 619, 157 S.E.2d 464, 465 (1967); Connell v. Connell, 222 Ga. 765, 767, 152 S.E.2d 567, 569 (1966); Pirkle v. State, 114 Ga.App. 244, 150 S.E.2d 8......
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Illinois Commerce Commission v. Salamie
...only the court offended has the power to punish for the contempt (Grotnes v. Grotnes (Fla.App.1976), 338 So.2d 1122; Ogletree v. Watson (1967), 223 Ga. 618, 157 S.E.2d 464; Houston v. Hennessey (Mo.App.1975), 534 S.W.2d 52), and that therefore disobedience of the order of a state court is n......
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Ford v. Hanna
...applications must be filed in the county where the divorce and alimony decree was entered.” (citations omitted)); Ogletree v. Watson, 223 Ga. 618, 619(1), 157 S.E.2d 464 (1967) (“[O]nly the court offended has the power to punish for the contempt [of a custody decree] or to entertain proceed......
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Tuten v. Tuten
...221 Ga. 379, 380, 144 S.E.2d 722; Id., 222 Ga. 765(1), 152 S.E.2d 567 (wherein the defendant was personally served); Ogletree v. Watson, 223 Ga. 618, 619(1), 157 S.E.2d 464 and cit. This requirement has not been changed by the enactment of the 1967 Civil Practice Act (Code Ann., Title 81A; ......