52 Kan. 366 | Kan. | 1893
The opinion of the court was delivered by
The petitioner is confined in the Shawnee county jail under a commitment by the judge of the circuit court of Shawnee county for contempt. He asks to be released, claiming that the judge of said court had no authority under the law to order his commitment. It appears that on 13th day of March, 1893, an action in which Elizabeth Kern was plaintiff, and the petitioner, George Wolf, was defendant, was tried in said circuit court, and thereupon the court found that the defendant had obtained by fraud from the plaintiff
“that said defendant, George Wolf, has the property and the proceeds thereof belonging to the plaintiff, consisting of money, in his possession and under his control, which should be produced, restored, and applied to the satisfaction of the order,, decree and judgment herein; that said property was obtained through fraud and the fraudulent conduct of said defendant, as found in the original decree herein; that said defendant has refused and refuses to produce, restore or otherwise comply with the said order and degree, and that the said refusal is willful and contumacious, without any lawful or sufficient excuse or reason.”
Thereupon, the defendant was required to appear on the 25th of March and show cause why he should not be committed for a contempt of the order of the court. On the 25th of March the parties again appeared, and, after a hearing, the defendant was committed for contempt in having disobeyed the order of the court.
It is contended that the circuit court lost jurisdiction of the case when the orders of March 13 were made; that a final judgment was then rendered, which, under § 17 of chapter 83 of the Laws of 1891, should have been immediately transcribed and certified to the clerk of the district court, and that thereafter no further proceedings could be had in the circuit court, but that all processes for the enforcement of the judg-
“ S.ec. 5. The judge of the circuit court within his county, and respecting actions or-proceedings pending, or to be brought in or before the superior court, shall have and exercise jurisdiction and powers in vacation or at chambers, to hear and determine motions to grant, vacate or modify injunctions, to dissolve or to discharge attachments, to appoint receivers, to vacate orders of arrest, and to grant or vacate all necessary interlocutory orders, and to punish for contempt; and in all other cases the judge of the circuit court may have and exercise the like powers and jurisdiction in the term time or at chambers respecting actions or proceedings in the circuit court, as by law are conferred upon the district judge respecting actions and proceedings in the district court.”
This section gives ample authority to the judge of the circuit court to punish parties guilty of contempt of its orders.
The petitioner will be remanded to the custody of the sheriff.