Ex parte Abbott

Petitioner was duly convicted in the superior court of Los Angeles of a contempt of its authority, and sentenced to pay a fine of four hundred dollars, and in default of payment, to be imprisoned in satisfaction of the fine one day for every two dollars of the fine unpaid. In pursuance of said judgment, he has been committed to and is imprisoned in the county jail. He asks to be discharged, upon the ground that since the recent amendment of section 1205 of the Penal Code (Stats. 1891, p. 52),the superior courts have no power in contempt cases to imprison the defendant in satisfaction of a fine for a longer period than five days.

The whole question to be decided is, whether this amendment to the Penal Code applies to cases of contempt.

In my opinion, it does not. Section 1205 of the Penal Code, since the amendment referred to, is, as it was before, to be read in connection with section 11 of the same code, which expressly declares that “ this code does not affect any power conferred by law upon any *334 . . . . tribunal, or officer, to impose or inflict punishment for a contempt.”

The power to punish for contempt of court, and its limitations, must therefore be sought elsewhere…