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US Vs Ney and Bosque

The defendants, Ney and Bosque, were practicing law together despite Bosque not being licensed to practice law in the Islands. The court had previously denied Bosque's petition for admission to the bar. Papers filed with the court were signed by "Ney & Bosque" with Ney's name also included. The court ruled this was improper and in contempt of the previous order denying Bosque admission. While Bosque directly disobeyed the order, Ney participated in allowing Bosque to practice law and improperly signed pleadings, showing misbehavior as an officer of the court. Therefore, both defendants should be punished for contempt.

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135 views2 pages

US Vs Ney and Bosque

The defendants, Ney and Bosque, were practicing law together despite Bosque not being licensed to practice law in the Islands. The court had previously denied Bosque's petition for admission to the bar. Papers filed with the court were signed by "Ney & Bosque" with Ney's name also included. The court ruled this was improper and in contempt of the previous order denying Bosque admission. While Bosque directly disobeyed the order, Ney participated in allowing Bosque to practice law and improperly signed pleadings, showing misbehavior as an officer of the court. Therefore, both defendants should be punished for contempt.

Uploaded by

Lu Cas
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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US Vs C.W.

Ney and Juan Garcia Bosque

Facts:
In 1904 defendant Bosque, made an arrangement with the defendant Ney, a practicing
attorney, to carry on business together, sending out a circular signed "Ney & Bosque," stating
that they had established an office for the general practice of law in all the courts of the Islands
and that Bosque would devote himself especially to consultation and office work relating to
Spanish law. The paper was headed "Law Office — Ney & Bosque. Juan G. Bosque,jurisconsulto
español — C.W. Ney, abogado americano." Since that time the defendant Bosque has not
personally appeared in the courts, and except when the papers from the office were signed not
with the firm name alone nor with any designation of the firm as attorneys, but with the words
"Ney & Bosque — C.W. Ney, abogado."

On May 1, 1905, and September 15, 1906, this court refused to consider petitions so singed
with the names of the defendants and the practice being repeated, on the 2nd day of October,
1906, ordered the papers sent to the Attorney-General to take appropriate action thereon, and
he thereupon instituted this proceeding.The defendants disclaim any intentional contempt, and
defend their acts as being within the law.

Section 102 of the Code of Civil procedure, provides that every pleading must be subscribed by
the party or his attorney, does not permit, and by implication prohibits, a subscription of the
names of any other persons, whether agents or otherwise; therefore a signature containing the
name of one neither a party nor an attorney was not a compliance with this section, nor was it
aided by the too obvious subterfuge of the addition of the individual name of a licensed
attorney. The illegality in this instance was aggravated by the fact that one of the agents so
named was a person residing in these Islands to whom this court had expressly denied
admission to the bar. The papers in question were irregular and were properly rejected. We
refuse to recognize as a practice any signature of names appended to pleadings or other papers
in an action other than those specified in the statute. A signature by agents amounts to a
signing by non-qualified attorneys, the office of attorney being originally one of agency We do
not, however, mean to discountenance the use of a suitable firm designation by partners, all of
whom have been duly admitted to practice.

Issue:
Whether or not, the defendants should be punished for contempt?

Ruling:
Yes. Where the law defines contempt, the power of the courts is restricted to punishment for
acts so defined.

Section 232 of the Code of Civil Procedure describes contempt as follows:


1. Disobedience of or resistance to a lawful writ, process, order, judgment, or command of a
court, or injunction granted by a court or judge;

2. Misbehavior of an officer of the court in the performance of his official duties or in his official
transactions.

Regarding the first requisite, no direct order or command of this court has been disobeyed or
resisted by the defendant Ney. The only order that the defendant Bosque can have disobeyed is
the one denying him the right to practice law. This order, however, was directly binding upon
him, notwithstanding proceedings taken for its review, and any hope on his part of ultimately
reversing it furnished no excuse for its violation. Even had he been entitled under the statute to
practice law without any license from the court and without an application to it, yet its order
made on his own petition. A mandate of the court, while in force, must be obeyed. The
irregular signature to papers, though affixed by his associate, had his authorization and
constitutes a substantial attempt to engage in practice. Moreover the firm circular in setting
forth the establishment of an office for the general practice of law in all the courts of the
Islands, amounted to an assertion of his right and purpose, not effectively qualified by the
addition that he would devote himself to consultation and office work relating to Spanish law.
Spanish law plays an important part in the equipment of a lawyer in the Archipelago, standing
on a different footing from the law of other foreign countries, in regard to which a skilled
person might as a calling, advise without practicing law. The fact stated on the circular that he
was a Spanish lawyer did not amount to a disclaimer of his professional character in the Islands.
Independent of statutory provisions, a foreigner is not by reason of his status disqualified from
practicing law. Consequently the conduct of the defendant Bosque amounts to disobedience of
an order made in a proceeding to which he was a party.

Under the second requisite, Bosque is obviously not answerable, inasmuch as he was not an
officer of the court. On the other hand, under this subdivision, the defendant Ney, as an
admitted attorney, is liable if his conduct amounted to misbehavior.. In the offense of Bosque in
holding himself out as a general practitioner Ney participated, and for the improper signature
of the pleadings he was chiefly and personally responsible. It is impossible to say that the
signature itself was a violation of the law, and yet hold guiltless the man who repeatedly wrote
it. Moreover we regret to add that his persistent and rash disregard of the rulings of the court
has not commended him to our indulgence, while the offensive character of certain papers
recently filed by him forbids us from presuming on the hope of his voluntarily conforming to
the customary standard of members of the bar.

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