Harlan F. Stone

“ Even though the particular acts of the petitioner may take the characteristics of both a civil and a criminal contempt, and so may not be classified as exclusively one or the other, see Bessette v. W. B. Conkey Co., 194 U.S. 324, 329, 24 S.C.t. 665, 48 L. Ed. 997, still, under the allegations and prayer of the petition, it would have been competent for the District Court to punish the contempt by its coercive order until Lamb made restitution of the property or to impose a fine, payable to the receiver, compensation for its taking. A proceeding to secure such relief is civil in its nature. ”

“ To the extent that this purpose might be effected by process against Lamb for contempt, the proceeding was remedial, to aid in giving to the plaintiffs the property which, as against the defendants in the principal suit, they were entitled to receive. It is the purpose of the punishment, rather than the character of the act punished, which determines whether the proceeding is for civil or criminal contempt. ”

“ The objections chiefly urged by petitioner are that the present proceeding was criminal in its nature, to punish for criminal contempt, and hence the order dismissing the petition was not appealable, United States v. Sanges, 144 U.S. 310, 323, 12 S.C.t. 609, 36 L. Ed. 445; Toledo Newspaper Company v. United States, 247 U.S. 402, 410, 38 S.C.t. 560, 62 L. Ed. 1186; and that, if the proceeding be regarded as civil, still no appeal would lie from the order of dismissal, because no appeal was taken from the final decree in the principal suit. ”