In Re Smith

In this proceeding in habeas corpus, petitioner Robert James Smith, an attorney, seeks to annul orders of the Ventura County Superior Court dated August 10 and August 19, 1976, adjudging him in contempt of court on four counts, and on one count sentencing him to jail for one and one-half hours and imposing a $500 fine, and imposing a fine of $500 on each of the three other counts.

The incidents resulting in these orders occurred in open court during the trial of a civil action entitled Herbert Charles Frame v. City of Simi Valley, et al., No. 55640, in which petitioner represented plaintiff. In the course of the trial petitioner called Herbert Fairfield, a licensed engineer, as an expert witness to testify relative to various matters including the normal walking speed of adult humans. Several questions were propounded of Fairfield, then outside of the presence of the jury and in open court, the trial judge heard oral argument on a relevancy objection to questions relating to studies Fairfield said he conducted which established the normal walking speed of three miles per hour of adult humans, and to whether he could estimate the velocity from a demonstration. Prior…