CONTEMPT OF COURT

Otago Daily Times, Issue 24346, 10 July 1940, Page 6

CONTEMPT OF COURT

ACCESS TO : children " ORDER DELIBERATELY FLOUTED" WOMAN SENT TO PRISON Stating that she had deliberately and repeatedly flouted an order of the court giving her husband access to two children of their marriage, Mr Justice Kennedy yesterday sentenced Eliza Janet Noone to three-days' imprisonment for contempt of court. The action was brought as a writ of attachment on behalf of Frederick Noone the husband of the prisoner, and his Honor delivered a written judgment, oh the case on Monday. ■ "."•■' Mr E. J. Anderson, who appeared for the prisoner, said the prisoner was not fully aware of her duty under the order of the court and she now expressed regret at the action she had taken. She had not flouted the court deliberately, and she had. learned her lesson. " The facts are recorded in my judgment," Mr Justice Kennedy said, "and I shall not repeat them here. • For this continued, delibera'e, and repeated flouting of the order of the court the Drisoner must bt committed to prison. She will be sent to prison for three days." ■}; ■" - ,-.' % ■'■-"■' In his written judgment his Honor reviewed the circumstances which led to the separation of the two .parties, and the terms of the deed of separation, which gave the husband, Frederick Noone reasonable access to. the children at all reasonable times, being not less than once each week if required by the husband and a portion of each school holiday. The' judgment stated that in spite of a definition by the court in 1937 of the terms of access, to which both parties consented, the husband was refused access on several occasions. His Honor. concluded: "I am .well satisfied, taking the list of refusals and the history of thi- case and other evidence, and especially having seen and heard the wife, that the reasons given for refusing are reasons in words, but not in fact, and that the real reason for the children not being handed over is that she stubbornly refused the husband his rights. She has, so the evidence shows, denied the father the children, as if she had the right to regulate when or if he should see them when the matter was already regulated by an order of the court. It is true the wife apologised, but having regard to the course of conduct pursued I think the contempts must be noticed and leave is given to issue a writ of attachment for the contempts in not giving custody in May, 1939, August, 1939, January, 1940, and May, 1940, to bring Eliza Janet Noone before this court."