In Re Jorgensen

On the ninth day of May, 1912, by an order duly given and made by the superior court of Merced county, petitioner was adjudged guilty of contempt of the said superior court for the violation of its decree in an injunction case, and was sentenced to imprisonment in the county jail for the period of two days and to pay a fine of $200 and, in default of the payment of said fine, to be confined in the county jail for one day for every two dollars of said fine.

Petitioner was taken into custody and imprisoned on May 9th and so remained until May 16th, when the petition for the writ herein was filed.

There is but one question presented, namely: Is that part of the sentence, imprisoning petitioner one day for each two dollars of the fine remaining unpaid, void?

The claim of petitioner is that the sentence was imposed under section 1218 of the Code of Civil Procedure, which authorizes the infliction of a fine not to exceed $500 or imprisonment not to exceed five days, or both; that section 1205 of the Penal Code, which authorizes the imposition of imprisonment for nonpayment of fine to the extent of one day for every two dollars of the fine unpaid, expressly provides that such…