Turquette v. State

• Decision Date: 26 September 1927
• Docket Number: (No. 173.)
• Citation: 298 S.W. 15
• Parties: TURQUETTE v. STATE.
• Court: Arkansas Supreme Court

Page 15

298 S.W. 15

TURQUETTE v. STATE.

(No. 173.)

Supreme Court of Arkansas.

September 26, 1927.

Appeal from Circuit Court, Miller County; Jas. H. McCollum, Judge.

Proceeding by the Municipal Court of Texarkana against W. R. Turquette for contempt. From a judgment refusing to quash a judgment against defendant, he appeals. Affirmed.

This is an appeal from a judgment of the circuit court refusing to quash a judgment of the municipal court of Texarkana punishing W. R. Turquette for contempt of court.

On the 21st day of January, 1926, Louis Josephs, judge of the municipal court of Texarkana, Ark., caused to be spread upon the records of that court a citation against W. R. Turquette for making an assault upon the presiding judge of said municipal court on account of rendering a judgment fining said Turquette for violation of an ordinance of the city against reckless driving. In the citation it was ordered that an attachment for contempt of court be issued to said W. R. Turquette, and that he be apprehended and cited to appear in said court to answer why he should not be punished for contempt. This was served upon Turquette on June 28, 1926, in the city of Texarkana, Ark., while Turquette was in attendance upon the circuit court upon the appeal of his case from said municipal court. Judge Louis Josephs disqualified himself in the contempt proceeding against W. R. Turquette, and the Honorable P. P. Bacon became special judge to try the contempt proceeding. W. R. Turquette appeared at the trial of the contempt proceeding in person and by attorney, and the prosecuting attorney and other attorneys represented the state.

The record shows that W. R. Turquette was charged with reckless driving in the city of Texarkana, in violation of an ordinance of the city. He entered a plea of not guilty, and was tried before Louis Josephs, the presiding judge of the municipal court. He was found guilty and fined in the sum of $10. On the day of the trial, which was on January 2, 1926, W. R. Turquette prayed and was granted an appeal to the circuit court. His bond was fixed in the sum of $110, and, upon giving the same, he was released from custody.

The city of Texarkana is situated in both the states of Texas and Arkansas. Louis Josephs was the presiding judge of the Texarkana municipal court in Miller county, Ark., at the time W. R. Turquette was fined for reckless driving contrary to the ordinance of the city. Turquette resided in Texarkana, Tex., and went home after he was released from custody upon filing his appeal bond. The trial of the case was had on Saturday, and on the following Monday, Judge Louis Josephs, during a recess of the municipal court of Texarkana, Ark., went across the state line into the State of Texas for the purpose of obtaining a cool drink. The drug store which he entered was about 200 feet from the state line. He left the drug store and started back to resume the trial of a case which he was engaged in trying as judge of the Texarkana municipal court in the state of Arkansas. Turquette approached him while in Texarkana, Tex., and told him that he wanted to talk about his case. Judge Josephs refused to talk with him upon the street about the case, and started to walk away. Turquette then assaulted Judge Josephs and struck him a hard blow with his fist.

W. R. Turquette was a witness for himself, and admitted that he struck Judge Josephs on the streets of Texarkana, Tex., and knocked him down. He claims that he did so because he approached Judge Josephs in a quiet and gentlemanly manner for the purpose of talking about his case, and that Judge Josephs stared at him rudely and refused to talk with him at all.

Judge Bacon made a finding of fact that W. R. Turquette struck Judge Josephs with his fist in Texarkana, Tex., on January 4, 1926, and knocked him down; that said assault was made upon said judge because of his judicial action in finding the defendant guilty of reckless driving in the city of Texarkana, Ark., and assessing a fine against him. The court further found that, at the time of said assault upon the judge of the municipal court of Texarkana, Ark., W. R. Turquette was constructively before said court; the assault having been made at a time when the case against Turquette was still pending in the municipal court of Texarkana, Ark., and at a time when said court had control over said judgment. The court found that Turquette was guilty of contempt, and fixed his punishment at a fine of $50 and 10 days in the county jail of Miller county, Ark.

W. R. Turquette filed his petition in the circuit court to quash said judgment, and presented with his petition a record of the proceedings in the municipal court of Texarkana, Ark., substantially as above stated. The circuit court dismissed the petition upon the record presented; and, as above stated, the case is here on appeal.

Shaver, Shaver & Williams, of Ashdown, for appellant.

H. W. Applegate, Atty. Gen., and Jno. L. Carter and Darden Moose, Asst. Attys. Gen., and John N. Cook and Will Steel, both of Texarkana, for the State.

HART, C. J. (after...