Commonwealth v. Heenerfauth

Citations

• 70 Pa. Super. 527
• 1918 Pa. Super. LEXIS 296

Syllabus

<p>Criminal law — Common scold — Contempt of court — Jurisdiction.</p> <p>The court has no jurisdiction to commit to prison for contempt a person indicted as a common scold because she did not obey an order “to remove from the premises wherein she then resided, within thirty days.” Such an order the court has no authority to make and is powerless to enforce.</p> <p>Nor in such a case can she be committed for contempt because she brought about “eight successive postponements of the cause.” Such postponements must necessarily have been with the approval of the court for causes then deemed adequate. The penalty imposed in such a ease “committed until purged thereof” is without authority of law.</p>