Lapique

This is a proceeding in certiorari to review an order of the superior court for Los Angeles County (Honorable Frank C. Collier, Judge) adjudging petitioner guilty of contempt of court. The order apparently was made upon the theory that petitioner violated section 281 and subdivision 13 of section 1209 of the Code of Civil Procedure in that he practiced law in the superior court without a license. There is, however, no recital or finding in the order that petitioner was not licensed to practice law.

No affidavit of the facts constituting the contempt was. presented." Petitioner was punished summarily upon the theory that he was guilty of a. direct contempt, i. e., a contempt committed “in the immediate view and presence of the court’’ and that therefore it was not necessary to initiate the proceeding by an accusatory affidavit. Whether the order shows affirmatively upon its face that the acts recited therein constitute a direct contempt is the principal question presented for our consideration.

The facts antecedent to the order, which conduce to an understanding thereof, are these: There was pending in the superior court an action to foreclose a mortgage, commenced on March 6,…