Contempt

Introduction to Contempt

Contempt, in law, disobedience of, or disrespectful or disorderly conduct in the presence of, any court or legislative body.

Contempt of court is usually divided into criminal and civil contempt. Criminal contempt is conduct committed in the presence of the court; it may consist of disorderly behavior, disrespect, or disobedience of a judge’s orders. Examples of criminal contempt committed during a trial are an attorney’s persistence in pursuing a line of questioning that the judge has ruled improper and the refusal of a witness to answer a question despite the judge’s direction. Criminal contempt may also include disorderly acts occurring sufficiently near the courtroom (for example, in the corridors or on the courthouse steps) to interfere with court proceedings. Criminal contempt may be summarily punished by the court through the imposition of a fine or imprisonment or both; to prevent abuse of this power, however, the laws of some jurisdictions permit appeals from findings of criminal contempt.

Civil contempt of court is the disobedience of a court order designed to grant relief to a party to a lawsuit. Such orders, often called decrees, stem from the equitable powers of courts. Common examples of equitable decrees are the injunction and the order for the payment of alimony. Civil contempts are punished by fine or imprisonment as a result of proceedings brought by the aggrieved party, for example, by a person who has not received overdue alimony payments.

Both criminal and civil contempt of court may be purged in many cases by obeying the order of the court or by apologizing for the misconduct. The person in contempt is often held in jail until the contempt is purged. Decisions by the U.S. Supreme Court have limited the power of the courts by requiring a jury trial in certain cases of criminal contempt.

The distinction between civil and criminal contempt commonly is not made in regard to legislative bodies. Contempt of the legislature usually signifies either a person’s refusal to obey a subpoena ordering him or her to attend and give testimony at a hearing conducted by a legislature, or the refusal, without lawful excuse, to answer a proper question at such a hearing. When contempt supposedly has occurred, the legislative house may vote a contempt citation, and the public prosecutor may then bring the alleged offender before a criminal court for trial. The U.S. Supreme Court has upheld as lawful a refusal to answer a question of a congressional committee on the grounds that the witness fears that an answer would be self-incriminatory.” (1)

Contempt

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See Also

• Civil contempt
• Common-law contempt
• Contempt of Congress
• Contempt of court
• Direct contempt

Resources

Notes and References

• Information about Contempt in the Encarta Online Encyclopedia

Guide to Contempt