The People v. Ryan

The respondent, Willis Ryan, an attorney, was found guilty of contempt of court and fined $100 for his refusal to comply with an order of the county court of Douglas County directing him to produce a signed statement of his client which he had in his possession.

Respondent originally appealed to this court on the constitutional ground of an alleged violation of the privilege against self-incrimination. We determined that no fairly debatable constitutional issue was involved and transferred the cause to the Appellate Court. (People v. Ryan, 25 Ill.2d 233.) The Appellate Court affirmed the trial…