State ex rel. McLeod v. Hite
| Citation | 251 S.E.2d 746,272 S.C. 303 |
| Decision Date | 24 January 1979 |
| Docket Number | No. 20861,20861 |
| Court | United States State Supreme Court of South Carolina |
| Parties | STATE of South Carolina, ex relatione Daniel R. McLEOD, Attorney General, Petitioner, v. James F. HITE, Respondent. |
Atty. Gen. Daniel R. McLeod, Deputy Atty. Gen. Emmet H. Clair and Staff Atty. Corrine G. Russell, Columbia, for petitioner.
C. Alan Runyan of Glenn, Porter & Sullivan, Columbia, for respondent.
Respondent James E. Hite was held in contempt of court for jury tampering and was sentenced to confinement in the Lexington County jail for a period of three (3) months. After serving one month, respondent was paroled by the South Carolina Probation, Parole and Pardon Board. As the result of questions concerning the power of the Board to parole a person who had been sentenced for contempt of court, the Board rescinded its prior parole order and the Attorney General filed a petition in the original jurisdiction of the Court seeking the recommitment of respondent to complete the service of the remainder of his sentence.
The sole question presented is whether the South Carolina Probation, Parole and Pardon Board had authority to grant a parole to a defendant serving a sentence for contempt of Court.
The answer to the present question lies in the nature of the contempt power. In speaking of the origin of the power, we stated in State v. Goff, 228 S.C. 17, 88 S.E.2d 788:
There can be no doubt about the power of the courts of general jurisdiction in this State to punish for contempt. This power is not derived from any statute but from the common law which from its inception recognized this implied and necessary power, without which contumacious conduct could well destroy the authority of any court.
And the Court, in Goff, quoted with approval the following from Ex parte Robinson, 19 Wall. 505, 510, 86 U.S. 505, 22 L.Ed. 205, 207, as follows:
The power to punish for contempts is inherent in all courts. Its existence is essential to the preservation of order in judicial proceedings, and to the enforcement of the judgments, orders and writs of the courts; and consequently to the due administration of justice.
Respondent was convicted of contempt for jury tampering. His actions constituted an offense against the court and were calculated to obstruct, degrade, and undermine the administration of justice. The court has the inherent authority to punish such conduct. This power cannot be abridged. As stated in 20 Am.Jur.2d, Courts, Section 78:
The phrase "inherent powers" is used to refer to powers included within the scope of a court's jurisdiction which a court...
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...to the due administration of justice." Curlee v. Howle, 277 S.C. 377, 382, 287 S.E.2d 915, 917 (1982) (citing McLeod v. Hite, 272 S.C. 303, 251 S.E.2d 746 (1979); State v. Goff, 228 S.C. 17, 88 S.E.2d 788 (1955)); see also In re Brown, 333 S.C. 414, 420, 511 S.E.2d 351, 355 (1998) ("The pow......
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...to the due administration of justice." Curlee v. Howle, 277 S.C. 377, 382, 287 S.E.2d 915, 917 (1982) (citing McLeod v. Hite, 272 S.C. 303, 251 S.E.2d 746 (1979); State v. Goff, 228 S.C. 17, 88 S.E.2d 788 (1955)). The determination of contempt ordinarily resides in the sound discretion of t......
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...contempt is inherent in all courts and is essential to preservation of order in judicial proceedings."); State ex rel. McLeod v. Hite, 272 S.C. 303, 306, 251 S.E.2d 746, 748 (1979) (instructing that a court has the inherent authority to punish offenses calculated to obstruct, degrade, and u......
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Brandt v. Ozmint
...offenses against the court that are calculated to obstruct, degrade, and undermine the administration of justice. McLeod v. Hite, 272 S.C. 303, 251 S.E.2d 746 (1979). This contempt power extends to punish acts performed with the "deliberate purpose to corrupt administration of justice, acco......