State ex rel. Holland v. Miesen
| Decision Date | 01 May 1906 |
| Docket Number | 14,862 - (209) |
| Citation | 108 N.W. 513,98 Minn. 19 |
| Parties | STATE ex rel. HENRY HOLLAND v. ANTON MIESEN |
| Court | Minnesota Supreme Court |
Writ of habeas corpus issued from the supreme court upon the relation of Henry Holland, directed to respondent as sheriff of Ramsey county. Relator remanded to custody of the district court.
Constructive Contempt.
The power of a court to punish for a constructive contempt is limited by R.L. 1905, § 4640, to a fine not exceeding $50 unless it expressly appears that the right of a party to an action or special proceeding was defeated or prejudiced thereby.
Habeas Corpus.
In habeas corpus proceedings, where the judgment by virtue of which the petitioner is held is unauthorized, but his conviction is valid, he will be freed from detention under the judgment and remanded to the proper court or officer for further proceedings according to law.
Sheehan & Keefe and Ayers & McDonald, for relator.
Thomas R. Kane and O. H. O'Neill, for respondent.
On May 1, 1906, the following opinion was filed:
The relator was brought before this court by virtue of a writ of habeas corpus. The matter was heard upon the petition and writ and the respondent's return thereto; it being conceded for the purposes of the hearing that the allegations of fact in the petition are true. A prompt decision necessitates the postponement to a later date of the filing of a formal opinion herein. At this time we simply announce our conclusion, which is that the judgment and commitment by virtue of which the respondent, as sheriff, justifies his detention of the relator, are void for the reason that the district court had no jurisdiction to sentence the relator to imprisonment, except for the purpose of enforcing the payment of a fine, as punishment for the contempt of which he was found guilty.
Therefore it is ordered that the relator be, and he is hereby discharged from imprisonment under such judgment and commitment; but ordered, further, that the respondent, as sheriff, without unnecessary delay deliver the relator into the custody of the district court of the county of Ramsey, to the end that he may be resentenced by such court upon its finding that he was guilty of the contempt charged against him. Let a certified copy of this order be filed in the office of the clerk of such court.
On August 3, 1906, the following opinion was filed:
The relator on April 20, 1906, was duly convicted -- that is, found guilty -- of constructive contempt of court in the district court of the county of Ramsey, and as punishment therefor he was by the judgment of the court sentenced to imprisonment in the county jail for the period of five months. A commitment to carry the judgment into execution was issued and delivered to the respondent as sheriff of such county. Thereupon the relator sued out a writ of habeas corpus, and the matter was heard here upon the concession that the allegations of fact in the petition were true. See preceding opinion. The record shows that the relator was convicted of constructive contempt, in that he attempted to influence the action of a juror in a pending case by bribery. On its merits the justice of the judgment cannot be questioned, for the relator's offense was flagitious. The question here, however, is whether the judgment is not void, as claimed by the relator, for the reason that the court had no jurisdiction to sentence the relator to imprisonment, except for the purpose of enforcing the payment of a fine, as punishment for the particular contempt of which he was found guilty.
While the legislature cannot take away from courts created by the constitution the inherent right to punish contempts yet it may regulate, within reasonable limits, the exercise of the power. Accordingly the legislature in 1851 enacted a statute as to the punishment of contempts in which a distinction was made between contempts occurring in the immediate view and presence of the court and those not committed in...
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