Show THE BELLE HARRIS CASE the case or of belle harnis harris H arris arnis was wa s brought up on habeas corpus at on one adock to today day before the supreme court judge hunters judge emerson and judge twiss on the bench PT P T van zile and isra ibra snow ap feared M abedon on of the U 8 mar or the leopie people of fhe the U B S and 8 13 merritt arthur brown and S A kenner on behalf of the petitioner for the writ mr brown speaking ou en motion for the t the made by judda twiss of the second district court the ord order er of bem commitment fitment t and the marshals Mars marb hala haia return and criticized criticised the same the first position that counsel took was atiat the legislature had made a marked contrast between the kinds of punishment for contempt and they were he claimed as distinct as the punishments under criminal law referred to 69 59 cal people against herdak the action of the judge of the second district court in alne and imprisonment judgment covering an offense for the past and present counsel claim ed was illegal by authority of 59 69 cal the court could not punish by virtue of the two sections atone at one ono and the same bame time the famous tweed case in this connect connection lon ion was referred to to show that he ha could not be punished at the one time tima but for one misdemeanor applying apply ing log this prin ciple to this case counsil held that when judge twiss imposed a fine of 25 5 00 his jurisdiction was ex hausted hauB tel teJ that he could not apply the two different kinds of punish ment to the one act counsel claimed also that the order of commitment was indefinite and that it was out of the power of witness to comply and in that re ra was opposed to the statutes on the sub subject leot counsel held also that the act for which prisoner was to be purged for contempt should have been specified in the warrant of commitment that by its omis omission slon sion imprisonment was Ind efin to te and the i act aci rendered impossible to be per formed referring to the judgment I 1 counsel said a fine was made madej and imprisonment imposed until the prisoner pria oner answered a certain question without specifying the question counsel claimed in justice to the petitioner the particular act not and the particular question referred to in the warrant must be stated that to say may the prisoner shall be imprisoned until she answered a certain question without stating the not give the marshal power to retain hur her this counsel illustrated by the case of execution of a deed the warrant holding the party parly until he be execute the deed must describe it part patt leuia feula ly and the court must also be ready at any moment to wait upon the prisoner all of which was denied the prisoner aa w the warrant was not only defective in this respect but the grand jury jurys before which body this case of contempt arose was adjourned from the loth day of may to the day of august thereby placing oho tho petitioner beyond the power to answer within the limited time of imprisonment for contempt namely five days das as provided for by the legislature counsel referred to authorities showing that the coercive of the court was j strictly guarded against by mt statute e so 80 that nothing akin to malice 0 on n the part ot of the court could be en forced counsel held that only on coercive power continuo continuous ua punish ment bould be made and at any time the prisoner was ready to an 9 the opportunity must be furnished which he claimed was waa not done from the fact that the grand jury was adjourned for more than three months counsel claimed further that the petitioner did not commit contempt that the guestion question put to her was a privileged question a question that might tend to criminate eliminate her under the criminal code numerous authorities thorl ties were referred to also in this branch of the argument mr zera snow followed on be half of the people mr B S merritt spoke on behalf of the petitioner which concluded th the argument the court took the matter under advisement and adjourned till monday june aith at 10 belle belie harris was returned to the penitentiary |