Court Opinion

ID: 9736175
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-26 18:46:16.57421+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T18:27:04.854200
License: Public Domain

Mr. JUSTICE JOHNSON, dissenting: I respectfully dissent from the majority opinion reversing the trial court. Conduct in the presence of the court which tends to embarrass or obstruct the court in the administration of justice, or which tends to bring the administration of law into disrespect, constitutes a direct contempt and is punishable as such. (People v. Harrison (1949), 403 Ill. 320, 86 N.E.2d 208; People v. Sherwin (1929), 334 Ill. 609,166 N.E. 513; People v. Cochrane (1923), 307 Ill. 126,138 N.E. 291; People v. Gard (1913), 259 Ill. 238, 102 N.E. 255; Dahnke v. People (1897), 168 Ill. 102, 48 N.E. 137.) Upon the commission of a direct contempt in open court, it is competent for the judge to proceed upon his personal knowledge of the facts and to punish the offender summarily without entering any rule against him and without hearing any evidence. Cooke v. United States (1925), 267 U.S. 517, 69 L. Ed. 767, 45 S. Ct. 390; In re Savin (1889), 131 U.S. 267, 33 L. Ed. 150, 9 S. Ct. 699; In re Terry (1888), 128 U.S. 289, 32 L. Ed. 405, 9 S. Ct. 77; People v. Whitlow (1934), 357 Ill. 34, 191 N.E. 222; People v. Andalman (1931), 346 Ill. 149,178 N.E. 412. The obligation of this court, in review, is most clearly articulated by the Illinois Supreme Court in People v. Graves (1979), 74 Ill. 2d 279, 284, 384 N.E.2d 1311,1313-14: “In People ex rel. Kunce v. Hogan (1977), 67 Ill. 2d 55, 59-60, quoting In re Estate of Melody (1969), 42 Ill. 2d 451,452, contempt of court was defined as ‘conduct calculated to embarrass, hinder or obstruct a court in its administration of justice or to derogate from its authority or dignity, or bring the administration of law into disrepute.’ Where, as here, the conduct in question is committed in the presence of the court, neither notice nor pleading is necessary; the contemnor may be punished summarily ‘because the acts occur in the presence of the judge and presumably within his personal observation and knowledge.’ (People v. Gholson (1952), 412 Ill. 294, 299.) As a reviewing court, we determine whether there is sufficient evidence to support the finding of contempt (People v. Richardson (1947), 397 Ill. 84, 90) and whether the judge considered only facts within his personal knowledge. The latter requirement is peculiar to cases of direct contempt such as that involved here, and is warranted by the summary nature of direct contempt proceedings. People v. Loughran (1954), 2 Ill. 2d 258, 263.” (Emphasis added.) In what was plainly an act carried out in the presence of the court, the trial judge recognized defendant’s letter to be a false document. The majority opinion states that “there were no facts before the judge from which he could ‘know’ that the defendant, without question, was the author of the forgery.” However, all elements of the contempt were matters within the personal knowledge of the judge. When he looked at the letter, he immediately knew, beyond a reasonable doubt, that the doctor’s name and signature were not authentic. The doctor’s name, Ellsworth Hasbrouck, and its correct spelling were personally well known to the trial judge; yet he properly took caution not to make his personal acquaintance with the doctor the sole basis of his decision. He also pointed to five independent characteristics of substance and content of the document, which he used in determining its counterfeit nature. The question at trial was not one of facts “before the judge,” but, rather, facts known to the judge, e.g., his personal and judicial experience. See People v. Siegal (1948), 400 Ill. 208, 79 N.E.2d 616; In re Estate of Shlensky (1977), 49 Ill. App. 3d 885, 364 N.E.2d 430. Further, the “author of the forgery” is irrelevant to this appeal. Defendant was using the letter as evidence to excuse his absence from the court. He presented the document to the judge, in open court, and represented it to be authentic. At the end of trial, the judge granted a continuance to allow counsel the opportunity to verify the letter. No such verification appears in the record. The court’s order was not entered until after the continuance. It is not the place of this court or any court to folly in conjecture as to who actually issued the subject letter. It is only our role to determine that there were some grounds upon which the trial court could base its finding the letter nonauthentic. Defendant’s attempt to offer the false document strikes at the court’s effort to administer justice, and his intent to do so may be inferred from the character of his actions. (People v. Collins (1978), 57 Ill. App. 3d 934, 936, 373 N.E.2d 750, 751.) The courts are vested with an inherent power to punish for contempt as an essential incident to the maintenance of their authority and proper administration of their judicial powers. (People v. Javaras (1972), 51 Ill. 2d 296, 299, 281 N.E.2d 670, 671.) Our supreme court has followed the United States Supreme Court in precisely expressing the posture of this dissent. It stated in People v. Siegal (1948), 400 Ill. 208, 212-13, 79 N.E.2d 616, 618: “The Supreme Court of the United States, in a studied opinion by Mr. Justice Harlan in the case above cited, (Ex parte Terry, 128 U.S. 289, 32 L. ed. 405,) in discussing this particular question, stated: ‘It is true, as counsel suggest, that the power which the court has of instantly punishing without further proof or examination contempts committed in its presence, is one that may be abused and may sometimes be exercised hastily or arbitrarily. But that is not an argument to disprove either its existence or the necessity of its being lodged in the courts. That power cannot be denied them without inviting or causing such obstruction to the orderly and impartial administration of justice as would endanger the rights and safety of the entire community. What was said in Ex parte Kearney, 20 U.S. Wheat. 39,45 (5:391, 393,) may be here repeated: “Wherever power is lodged it may be abused. But this forms no solid objection against its exercise. Confidence must be reposed somewhere; and if there should be an abuse, it will be a public grievance, for which a remedy may be applied by the legislature, and is not to be devised by courts of justice.” In summary, any party who swears to false documents in open court should be subjected to punishment for direct contempt. Where, as here, the trial judge makes a determination, based upon his personal knowledge and experience, this court should affirm that judgment unless it is outweighed by the evidence in the record. I would affirm the judgment of the trial court.