Mississippi Supreme Court, 1956

Adams v. State

Mississippi Supreme Court · Decided March 5, 1956 · Gillespie, Roberds, Hall, Kyle, Holmes

227 Miss. 25; 85 So. 2d 908; 1956 Miss. LEXIS 652

Counsel

D. Gary Sutherland, Hattiesburg, for appellant. I. In a proceeding for criminal contempt, the accused must be proved to be guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. Evans v. Evans, 193 Miss. 468 , 9 So.2d 641 ; Hamblin v. Hamblin, 107 Miss. 113 , 65 So. 113; Melvin v. State, 210 Miss. 132 , 48 So.2d 916; 12 Am. Jur., Contempt, Secs. 75-6. Page 26 John Price, Jr., Asst. Atty. Gen., Jackson, for appellee. I. The guilt of appellant of contempt of Court was proved beyond a reasonable doubt. Commonwealth v. Costley, 118 Mass. 1 ; Miller v. State (Miss.), 35 So. 690; Walton v. State, 212 Miss. 270 , 54 So.2d 391 ; Secs. 2613, 2634, Code 1942.

Opinion of the Court

Gillespie, J.

At a trial for criminal contempt for violating an injunction against the possession of intoxicating liquors, it was proven that Adams had in his possession a quantity of intoxicating liquor. Appellant contends that the State failed to prove him guilty of criminal contempt beyond a reasonable doubt because it was not shown that he was able to comply with the injunction; that it was shown by the testimony that the liquor he possessed was “drinking whiskey” kept for his personal use; that he was addicted to drinking whiskey, and was thereby unable to comply with the decree enjoining him from possessing liquor. This argument is unusual and unsound.

Affirmed.

Roberds, P.J., and Hall, Kyle and Holmes, JJ., concur.

Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.