ORIGINAL PROCEEDING WRIT OF HABEAS CORPUS 245th District Court Harris County
The relator filed a petition for writ of habeas corpus challenging the validity of his commitment to jail following a hearing on a motion for enforcement of child support. The instant court ordered the relator released upon the posting of a bond pending a decision in the instant case. In his petition, the relator complained of that portion of the order imposing incarceration for criminal contempt. The appellate court noted that the order in the instant case set forth the provisions of the underlying the trial court order but did not identify the date of any occasion when the relator's failure to comply constituted criminal contempt. Because the order failed to comply with Tex. Fam. Code Ann. section 157.166(b), the punitive portion of the order was void. Accordingly, the relator's petition was granted and vacated the trial court's order holding him in contempt and ordering that he be incarcerated. Further, the court ordered the relator released from the bond set by the instant court on December 23, 2011, and ordered the relator discharged from custody.