Martin

In their “Petition for Writ of Certiorari and/or Prohibition,” petitioners attack the constitutionality of Code of Civil Procedure section 1209.5. This section provides:

Their first contention is that the statute, creating “prima facie evidence of a contempt of court,” denies to the alleged contemner due process of law under the Fourteenth Amendment. They argue: “Since it is necessary in order to find an individual to be in contempt of court that it be shown he had the ability to comply with the previous court order and willfully failed to do so, the ultimate effect of section 1209.5 is that the facts of ability to comply and willful failure to comply are presumed from the facts that he had knowledge of the order and did not comply with it. It is the position of petitioners that such a statutory presumption is ‘irrational’ or ‘arbitrary’ and hence a denial of due process of law.”

Reliance is placed upon Tot v. United States, 319 U.S. 463 [ 87 L.Ed. 1519 , 63 S.Ct. 1241 ], and Leary v. United States, 395 U.S. 6 [ 23 L.Ed.2d 57 , 89 S.Ct. 1532 ].

In Tot the United States Supreme Court struck down as unconstitutional a federal statute ( 15 U.S.C. § 902 (f)) which provided…