The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1897-10-31
CONTEMPT OF COURT.
Some Amusing Leaves From Legal
Reports.

primarily an offense against the sovereign
| (who used to sit as a judge, and, as a fic-
ton Of law, does 50 yeO. or against his
palace. Readers of Scotts novels will
remember how the hero of The Fortunes
of Niger" was forced to fee to a sane
tuary lest his right hand be stricken off
| Tor his having drawn sword within the
precincts of the palace where the king re-
sided; such cutting off of the right hand
was the regular punishment also for con-
tempts in the presence Of the kings courts
of justice. Instances of the infiiction of
TINS penalty appear in several cases in
the older law reports-fOr example, in that
quaint case where Charles ]. 'jeering
judge" Chief Justice Richardson. was as
saulted by felon just condemned, the lat
ter TO quote a little Of the amusing Law
French jargon), ject un br.ckbat a le dit
justice que narrowly mist. The judge,
STOPPING, was unframed, and jocularly re-
marked, before passing sentence of ampu-
tation: Il had been slain if l had been
an upright Judge"
Punishment for such offenses in open
court may be awarded even now with
rapidly which the leading authority on
contempt describes as Oriental" Some
times the judge, out of court, takes
execution into his own hands in a man
ner quite western, as did that Tennessee
chief justice who was indicted about a
year ago for shooting an attorney; he
acted with less excuse than had the mar
shall who, in defense of United States
Judge Field. shot dead counsel in the Ter
ry-Sharon litigation.
With contempt committed before the
court itself or against its officers, while
on duty, this article will deal.
one of the earliest examples of such
contempt was that by Shakespeare's
Prince Hal, who with drawn sword, tried
to rescue this servant when on trial be-
fore Chief Justice Gascoigne; the prince,
in great anger, paid no attention to the
admonitions of the judge to keep the peace
and to depart, but he furiously approached
the bench, as it seemed to Say the judge.
The latter, unaffrighted, said (as his words
come down to u.s.: "Syr, remember your
self; l kepe here the place of the kynge,
your soveraine lorde and father, to whom
We owe double obedience. And now, for
your contempte and disobedience, go You
to the prysone of the kynge's bench,
whereunto l commytte YOU The prince,
abashed at these words and at the judges
gravity, made reverence and departed to
prison. When all this was reported to the
king he finally in a joyful voice, thanked
God for having given him a judge who
feareth not to minister justyce, and also
sOnne who can suffre semblably and obeye
justyce." While ii Is treason to kill the
royal justices in their places doing their
Offices" and while trials and convictions
have been had for assaults upon judges
while on necessary journeys, it is no con-
tempt to strike judge while taking his
walks abroad even upon the public high
ways, which seem to be sacred ground in
the coal mining regions in these days.
Sometimes, however, the judges have
not exercised their inherent power to
maintain their dignity and to prevent in
arfa t4rith az W
at Plymouth, in colonial times, one Briga-
der Ruggles told an old WSman. who was
valnly looking for a seat in the crowded
court room, to sit on the bench. The
judge, on coming Ia, naturally remonstra-
ted, and, ascertaining who had directed
her act, he questioned Ruggles why he had
told her to sit on the bench where to that
undismayed attorney replied: II thought
the place was made for old women"
A slur on the court in latter days is
said to have been made here in Boston
by an attorney who was so exuberant that
it overlooked, in the form of scriptural
quotations, upon his Office stationery; hav-
ing occasion, therefore, to present a mo-
ton to the supreme court he made it on
a sheet headed Eye are all bought with a
pricer' This reflection was overlooked eX-
cept that his application was denied. A
charge, somewhat similar and more de-
liberately made, arose in the case of a
prominent political boss on the Pacific
coast; incidentally learning how a supreme
court decision there had been made, but
which had not yet been promulgated this
boss wenA to the successful party, alleg-
ing his pulp with the court, and prom
Used for $500 that decision should be given
in his party's favor; the latter, realizing
the hazards of the sea, of litigation, was
glad to insure his ships coming i'm by
| the payment of premium demanded; the
4a,.f fc
boss should be punished-(to quote from
another opinon-)"to keep a glory round
| and to deter people from attempting to
render them contemplate in the eyes of
| the public
Those coming before some courts must
be careful as to their apparel-e. g., in
| England members of the bar should be
CARRIED somberly, the bar having gone
| into mourning at the death of Queen Anne
| and never having emerged therefrom; fol
| tins reason a chancellor refused to hear a
| solicitor adorned with a white waistcoat
| and another judge said he listened with
| little pleasure to counsel whose legs are
| encased in gray trousers Our own JUS
! tice Gray refused to hear counsel whose
coats were not satisfactory to him, and
while sitting in our supreme court he once
| refused to receive testimony from Ia
| borer in his shirtsleeves, who, being me
| chanical had dared to come abroad with
! (these) the signs of his profession"
let us hope no judge would be so au,
| tocratic and SO embody his representation
of the sovereign as to object to reciprocal
comments on his own raiment, and, like
Emperor William, recently. to prosecute
one who spoke disrespectfully of his
| trousers
There was a time, during Wyatts re-
belion, when counsel used to argue cases
while in harness" that is, clad in com
plete armor; it is doubtful if they fel
more fighting mad" than did a queen.
counsel in Canada recently when a chic
| justice compelled continuous sessions O
court from to 6; this counsel took t.
munching biscuit while trying his case
thus setting up a private lunch bar, 70
| which the court did not even reprove him
Counsel are theoretically bound to us