Court Orders, Contempt of Court and Good Ole' Boys

Court orders are effective as soon as the Judge speaks them. 

Yesterday the US government chartered a flight and removed a woman and her child from this country in the midst of litigation.  The government told a judge they would not remove them, but then did.  This was announced in court, while the plane was in the air going from Texas to El Salvador.  The government’s lawyer was apologetic and told the Judge she would get the woman and child back.  The Judge was angry because he was told the woman and child would not be removed.  The Judge ordered they be brought back, the plane be turned around.  The Judge said if this did not happen he would hold people in contempt beginning with Jeff Sessions, the Attorney General.  The woman and child came back.  This was a touching, moving, and beautiful display of the rule of law and checks and balances in our government. 

Contempt of court brings punishment.  Punishment can be all manner of things, like incarceration or losing your case.

A court order is effective as soon as it comes from the Judge’s mouth.  It is almost always reduced to writing, but it is effective from the moment it is spoken.  This gets lost in every day court.   I practice civil law.  We don’t always take down every word the Judge says in every civil case, like a divorce.  It costs money to have a court reporter there and transcribe what the judge said.   Nevertheless, a court order is effective the minute the Judge rules, from his mouth.  Let me tell you a story.

Once upon a time there was a beautiful woman who fell in love with a manipulative flashy man.  They bought a house, but it was in the man’s name.  They broke up and woman sued man for the house, either the whole house or half the house, I don’t remember. 

I was woman’s fourth lawyer in pre-computer days.  I went to the courthouse and sat in the file room reviewing her file and having them copy pages for me at a $1.00 a pop.  It was a huge file.  I stayed on the case for a while and then jumped ship because my client owed me money.  When I bailed I had a lien on the file.

Years passed, beautiful woman won the house, it went all the way up the appellate process and she won.  There were a lot of liens on the house.  The house had been sold, I think in a tax sale, and there were people lined up, including me, to be paid.  A large sum of money was obtained for the house.  I was number 4 to be paid and there was plenty of money.

Until manipulative flashy man’s lawyer stepped in.  He said he held a first mortgage, and it was for more than all the money obtained for that house.  A mortgage beat all other liens, except this mortgage was recently obtained and was for attorney fees. 

Sometimes, most times, I have a very good memory.  When beautiful woman first served flashy man with her lawsuit, the first thing he started doing was transferring the property.  He would “sell” the property to his friend.  Beautiful woman’s lawyer would go to court to reverse the sale.  This happened three times.  The third sale was reversed and, in open court, the Judge said, “Flashy man, I am ordering you are not to transfer or encumber this property again during this lawsuit.”  Except that order was never typed up.  I think because beautiful woman’s lawyer quit after that hearing, I’m sure because he wasn’t getting paid.  But the transcript was sitting in the court file.  I had read it, and I remembered.  I went back to the file room and found those pages and argued flashy man’s lawyer should not get paid.

Flashy man’s lawyer was from an Old Miamah family.  He was old enough to be my grandfather.   I was a young lawyer.  He said something to me like, “Missy, I sure am glad I am on the right side of this case.”

Our Judge was Leroy Moe, a really good judge.  As Miamah argued for his fees Judge Moe read the transcript prohibiting flashy man from encumbering the property.  Miamah had been at that hearing.  Judge Moe told Miamah to back off from the fees.  Miamah wanted the fees.  The Judge asked how important this was to him.  Miamah said very important.  Judge asked if it was as important as his ticket.

Miamah did not get his fees.  Within two years Miamah lost his license to practice law.  I assume the Judge turned him in.  I did not turn him in.

Fast forward years and years, I go out to do a deathbed will.  The man in the bed’s last name is Miamah, from the old Miamah family.  There are numerous Miamahs in the large house, for their family member is dying.  After we do the will I ask if they were related to Attorney Edward Miamah, who is, by now, dead.  They are.  I had a case with him and he got in some trouble for things he did in that case.  They said, “Not all Miamahs are good people.”