Powers v. Superior Court

BRAY, J.

*

Petition for writ of review to annul an order of the Shasta County Superior Court adjudging petitioner

[618]

guilty of failure to comply with a court order that required him to pay $50 a month for the support of a minor child.

1

Questions Presented

1. Did the court have jurisdiction to sentence defendant to imprisonment for more than five days ?

2. Is the order sufficiently specific ?

Becord

Defendant was brought into the superior court on an order to show cause why he should not be found in contempt for failing to comply with the order in a divorce decree requiring him to pay $50 a month for the support of each of his two minor children. Upon the hearing, the court found that in 1966, defendant paid the sum of $275 instead of the $600 ordered, in 1965, $415, and in 1964, $495, instead of the $600 ordered for each of those years. No contention is made as to the validity of this finding. The court then found, concerning alimony ordered to be paid: ‘ ‘ The alimony cannot be disregarded, as this too is a valid enforceable Court Order."

2

The court’s order found further that defendant had knowledge of the order for child support and alimony, and “that he had the ability to comply with those orders

in a much more substantial way than he actually clicl, but that he did wilfully fail to do so on at least ten separate and distinct occasions.

As punishment for such contempt, the defendant is sentenced to serve five days in the Shasta County Jail for each instance of contempt for a total of fifty (50) days.”

3

(Italics added.)

1. The sentence in excess of five days.

Assuming that in other respects the order was regular, the court had jurisdiction to sentence defendant to imprisonment for not exceeding five days on each violation of the support order. Section 1218 of the Code of Civil Procedure provides, in pertinent part, that where a person is adjudged in contempt “he may be imprisoned not exceeding five days.” Failure, without just cause, to make the payment ordered for each month that passed would constitute a separate contempt for which the court would have the power to sentence defendant to imprisonment for a period not exceeding five days.