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FOR IMMEDIATE NEWS RELEASE NEWS RELEASE # 28 FROM: CLERK OF SUPREME COURT OF LOUISIANA The Opinions handed down on the 21st day of April, 2003, are as follows: BY KNOLL, J.: 2002-CC- 2005 MARCUS PAUL DAUPHINE v. CARENCRO HIGH SCHOOL, ET AL. (IN RE: SUPERINTENDENT, DR. JAMES EASTON AND DR. DONALD AGUILLARD) (Parish of Lafayette) For the foregoing reasons, the order of May 23, 2002, holding Dr. James H. Easton and Dr. Donald W. Aguillard in contempt of court is reversed, vacated, and set aside. The fines that Dr. James H. Easton and Dr. Donald W. Aguillard paid are ordered reimbursed. REVERSED, VACATED, AND SET ASIDE. JOHNSON, J., dissents.

04/21/2003

SUPREME COURT OF LOUISIANA NO. 02-CC-2005 MARCUS PAUL DAUPHINE VERSUS CARENCRO HIGH SCHOOL AND LAFAYETTE PARISH SCHOOL BOARD
ON WRIT OF CERTIORARI TO THE COURT OF APPEAL THIRD CIRCUIT, PARISH OF LAFAYETTE

KNOLL, Justice The writ before us concerns an injunction and contempt proceedings. The two issues presented raise the validity vel non of the temporary restraining order (TRO), and notwithstanding any legal deficiencies of the TRO, whether the criminal contempt conviction based upon a violation of the TRO should be reversed. Specifically, defendants, Dr. James H. Easton, the superintendent of the Lafayette Parish School System, and Dr. Donald W. Aguillard, the principal of Carencro High School, were held in contempt of court for willfully violating a TRO delivered to them by plaintiff's attorney thirty minutes prior to graduation. The TRO directed them to allow the plaintiff, Marcus Dauphine, to "to participate in the graduation ceremonies of Carencro High School scheduled to occur on May 18, 2002, to the fullest extent possible and with all rights and privileges afforded to any and all of the graduates of Carencro High School and be allowed to receive a diploma." For reasons that follow, we reverse, finding legal deficiencies render the TRO invalid, and notwithstanding that defendants could still be held in contempt of an invalid TRO, the record evidence fails to support that Drs. Easton and Aguillard intended to defy the court's authority.

FACTS AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY On Wednesday, May 15, 2002, Principal Aguillard notified Dauphine's mother that her son was ineligible to participate in the upcoming graduation ceremony scheduled for 2:30 p.m. on Saturday, May 18, 2002, because he was deficient one-half math credit required for graduation; the deficiency occurred as a result of Dauphine's failure to successfully complete one semester of Algebra I during his freshman year in high school.1 On the afternoon of Friday, May 17, 2002, Superintendent Easton also telephoned Dauphine's mother to tell her that her son would not be allowed to participate in Saturday's graduation exercises because he failed to satisfy the math requirement needed for graduation. Sometime on Saturday, May 18, 2002, prior to the commencement of the graduation ceremony, Dauphine's attorney obtained a TRO from the Fifteenth Judicial District Court.2 The order stated, in pertinent part: IT IS HEREBY, ordered, directed and mandated, in the name of the State of Louisiana and of the Fifteenth Judicial District Court for the Parish of Lafayette, that Marcus Paul Dauphine be allowed to participate in the graduation ceremonies of Carencro High School scheduled to
Dauphine failed two classes during his four years of high school: one-half year of Algebra I in 1999 and Family & Consumer Science I in 2000. In the Fall of 2001, Dauphine successfully completed a correspondence course entitled Family Life Education offered through Louisiana State University. There is no showing that Dauphine attempted to retake the Algebra I course during the remainder of his high school years. The Louisiana Board of Elementary and Secondary Education (BESE) requires each high school graduate to successfully complete twenty-three (23) hours of course work to become eligible for graduation, one of the requirements being the one-half unit of Algebra I that Dauphine failed. Thus, Dauphine was short one-half math credit for graduation from high school. One of the allegations raised in Dauphine's petition for injunctive relief is that his guidance counselor told him that with the successful completion of his Family Life course by correspondence he would be eligible for graduation in May 2002. Dauphine alleges that relying upon that information, his mother paid graduation fees and costs on March 9, 2002. Because of the facts of this case and Dauphine's dismissal of his petition for injunctive relief immediately after he was denied participation in graduation, see page 4, infra, these factual allegations were not proven and tested at a hearing. Accordingly, they remain unproven allegations. The Rules of the Fifteenth Judicial District Court provide that in a non-family matter docket suit in which there is a request for a temporary restraining order, "the suit must be filed and assigned to a division before any Order may be submitted to a Judge for signature." It further provides that in an emergency situation a judge may enter an order granting a TRO outside his division where the assigned judge cannot be contacted. These rules do not specifically encompass the situation presented in the present case where there was no formal suit filed and allotted to a judge because it was initiated on a weekend. Although the district court rules provide for a duty judge during the weekdays, the rules are unclear if a duty judge is assigned for weekends. 2
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occur on May 18, 2002, to the fullest extent possible and with all rights and privileges afforded to any and all of the graduates of Carencro High School and be allowed to receive a diploma. A PERSON WHO VIOLATES THIS ORDER MAY BE PUNISHED UNDER LA. R.S. 13:4611 FOR CONTEMPT OF COURT BY A FINE OF NO MORE THAN $1,000.00 OR BY CONFINEMENT OF JAIL FOR AS LONG AS SIX MONTHS, OR BOTH, AND MAY BE FURTHER PUNISHED UNDER THE CRIMINAL LAWS OF THE STAT [SIC] OF LOUISIANA. THIS ORDER SHALL BE ENFORCED BY ALL LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICERS OF THE STATE OF LOUISIANA. Although the order bore the signature of a judge of the Fifteenth Judicial District, it contained no reference to the judicial division of the signing judge and the judge's name was not typewritten on the order. Because the order was obtained without having the Clerk of Court open his office on an emergency basis, the order also neither bore a filing stamp from the clerk of court nor the docket number for this proceeding. Although the order was issued on an emergency basis and at a time when the clerk of court's office was not open, the signing judge did not certify a copy of the order for service as provided in LA. CODE CIV. PROC. ANN. art. 251(B). Dauphine's attorney testified that he and his law partner delivered the order to Principal Aguillard at the Cajundome.3 Although the identity of the signing judge could not be deciphered from the signature on the order, Principal Aguillard stated that approximately thirty minutes before graduation, two gentlemen dressed in suits, neither of whom he knew, handed him a folder. At that time, the two gentlemen told him that the folder contained an order signed by Judge Rubin After examining the order, Principal Aguillard consulted with Superintendent Easton who was in attendance at the Carencro High School graduation. After conferring with each other and considering that Dauphine did not meet the requisite

There is no indication that Drs. Easton and Aguillard were provided copies of Dauphine's petition for injunctive relief or any of the supporting documents. At this juncture we also point out that we do not reach the issue of whether such notification was proper. See n7, infra. 3

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academic requirements for graduation, they concluded that they would not allow Dauphine to participate in the graduation ceremony. Their decision was further based upon the timing of delivery of the order and suspicions raised in the manner in which the order was presented, i.e., by someone other than a law enforcement official, the document had no court markings such as a docket number and court seal, and the order was illegibly signed. On the following Monday, May 20, 2002, counsel for Dauphine filed a "Verified Writ of Injunction" with the Lafayette Parish Clerk of Court. At that point, the proceeding was assigned a docket number and was randomly allotted to Judge Byron Hebert. The record shows, however, that shortly after this filing, Dauphine voluntarily dismissed his petition for writ of injunction ostensibly because graduation had passed and no injunctive relief could be provided that would benefit Dauphine. Additionally, Dauphine formally filed the TRO that Judge Rubin signed on the preceding Saturday, May 18, 2002, and service was made on Principal Aguillard and Superintendent Easton. Contemporaneous with that filing, counsel for Dauphine provided Judge Rubin with a letter that detailed what had transpired when he gave the restraining order to Principal Aguillard and Superintendent Easton just prior to the graduation exercise and further explained that Dauphine was not allowed to graduate. Judge Rubin then issued a sua sponte order, directing Principal Aguillard and Superintendent Easton to appear before his court to show whether they had complied with the TRO issued on Saturday, May 18, 2002. On May 23, 2002, Judge Rubin conducted a hearing. After Judge Rubin examined the three individuals primarily involved,4 he held Principal Aguillard and Superintendent Easton in contempt of court for refusing to comply with the TRO. In
The trial court called Dauphine's counsel, Aguillard, and Easton to testify and it questioned them about what transpired at graduation. Dauphine, his mother, and Dauphine's counsel's law partner did not testify. 4
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finding Aguillard and Easton in contempt, the trial judge first determined that it is only within the province of the court to determine the legality of orders and that individuals who choose to act in contravention of a court order place themselves in a precarious position. The trial judge further rejected the assertion of Aguillard and Easton that they could not obey the order because Dauphine simply was not eligible for graduation and compliance with the court order would have required them to violate state law. In discounting this argument, the trial judge stated that the circumstances of this case would have allowed the school board to grant an exception to the graduation requirements; Judge Rubin based this determination on

correspondence he requested from the Board of Elementary and Secondary Education shortly before the contempt hearing. Moreover, the trial judge stated that even if Dauphine had not been granted a diploma, he could nonetheless have been allowed to participate in the graduation ceremony without violating state law. Judge Rubin ordered them to serve fifteen days in jail and to each pay a $250 fine. In lieu of being placed in secured custody, the judge indicated the men would be under the electronic monitoring program. After applying for supervisory writs and obtaining a stay of the trial court ruling, the Court of Appeal, Third Circuit, recalled the stay and denied the writ application, finding the defendants were required to obey the order until it was stayed or reversed by orderly review.5 Dauphine v. Carencro High School, et al., KW 0200590 (La. App. 3 Cir. 6/21/02). We granted the writ application of Easton and Aguillard to consider the propriety of the trial court's ruling. Dauphine v. Carencro High School, et al., 02-2005 (La. 11/22/02), 829 So. 2d 1053. LAW AND ANALYSIS

After the appellate court lifted the stay and denied the writ application, Drs. Aguillard and Easton paid the fine and served fifteen days under house arrest. 5

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Injunctive Relief We will first examine the validity of the TRO before we reach the contempt issue. Although this case addresses a TRO, it is important to remember that the underlying action is for an injunction. The TRO, when granted, is issued ancillary to an injunction. LA. CODE CIV. PROC. ANN. art. 3601. A writ of injunction is a harsh, drastic, and extraordinary remedy and should only issue where the party seeking it is threatened with irreparable loss or injury without an adequate remedy at law. Greenberg v. DeSalvo, 229 So. 2d 83, cert. denied, 397 U.S. 1075 (1970). Accordingly, LA. CODE CIV. PROC. ANN. art. 3601 provides that an injunction shall issue in cases where irreparable injury, loss, or damage may otherwise result to the applicant, or in other cases specifically provided by law. During the pendency of an action for an injunction the court may issue a TRO. Id. A TRO serves only as a temporary restraint on the defendant until the propriety of granting a preliminary injunction may be determined, objectively preserving the status quo until that determination. Powell v. Cox, 83 So. 2d 908, 910 (La. 1956). It is issued preliminary to a hearing and wholly independent from the hearing on a preliminary injunction. Id. A TRO does not determine any controverted right, but issues as a preventative to a threatened wrong and operates as a restraint to protect the rights of all parties involved until issues and equities can be resolved in a proper subsequent proceeding. Id. Because injunctive relief and the issuance of a TRO are unusual remedies and their issuance should be carefully designed to achieve the essential correction at the least possible cost and inconvenience to the defendant, our Code of Procedure sets specific requirements for their issuance. With regard to the issuance of a TRO without notice under emergency conditions, LA. CODE CIV. PROC. ANN. art. 3603 provides:
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A. A temporary restraining order shall be granted without notice when: (1) It clearly appears from specific facts shown by a verified petition or by supporting affidavit that immediate and irreparable injury, loss, or damage will result to the applicant before the adverse party or his attorney can be heard in opposition, and (2) The applicant's attorney certifies to the court in writing the efforts which have been made to give the notice or the reasons supporting his claim that notice should not be required. B. The verification or the affidavit may be made by the plaintiff, or by his counsel, or by his agent. Elaborating on the notice provisions of article 3603, Comments (a) and (b) state: This amendment [1985 Acts, No. 204,

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