Contempt of court is a powerful legal concept that underscores the importance of maintaining respect and order within the judicial system. It refers to actions that show disrespect for the court or obstruct the administration of justice. Understanding the distinctions between civil and criminal contempt, as well as the requirements for each, is crucial for anyone engaged in legal proceedings or interested in the justice system.
What is Contempt of Court?
Contempt can broadly be defined as behavior that disobeys or shows disrespect for a court’s authority. It can arise in various contexts, including failure to comply with court orders, disruptive behavior during proceedings, or any action that undermines the court’s ability to function effectively.
Types of Contempt
Contempt is typically categorized into two main types: civil contempt and criminal contempt. Each serves a different purpose and has distinct requirements and consequences.
Civil Contempt
Purpose: Civil contempt primarily aims to compel compliance with court orders. It serves the interests of the party wronged by the noncompliance rather than punishing the contemnor.
Requirements:
- Clear Court Order: There must be a clear and specific FINAL and LEGAL court order that the individual is alleged to have disobeyed. Ambiguous orders may not suffice for a finding of contempt.
Sara does not have a final order therefore she cannot be held in contempt. However, this key point is being ignored and the court has proceeded with contempt. Nor is this order forcing visitation with a 3rd party Constitutional. The original petition did not have standing; therefore, it is a void order.
Troxel v. Granville | 530 U.S. 57 (2000) – “Parents have a fundamental right to control the upbringing of their children, and a law that allows anyone to petition a court for child visitation rights over parental objections unconstitutionally infringes on this right. Courts may not use a freestanding “best interest of the child” standard to overturn parental rights.”
- Willful Disobedience: The individual must have willfully failed to comply with the order. This means that they had the ability to comply but chose not to.
Sara is not willfully disobeying a legally valid court order. Sara is holding fast to her constitutional rights, which are being violated in this case. Therefore, she cannot be held in contempt of an order that is in direct violation of the constitution.
Sherar v. Cullen, 481 F. 2d 946 (1973) “There can be no sanction or penalty imposed upon one because of his exercise of constitutional rights.”
- Notice and Opportunity to Comply: The person must generally be given notice of the contempt proceeding and a reasonable opportunity to comply with the order before being held in contempt.
Complying with this unlawful order would be subjecting her children to prolonged trauma. Aspects of the order such as access to personal and confidential information are simply illegal provisions.
Consequences: Civil contempt typically results in the individual being ordered to comply with the court’s order or face penalties such as fines or even imprisonment until compliance is achieved. The key here is that the individual can “purge” the contempt by complying with the court order.
In Sara’s case her purge requirements were impossible and contradictory. Like she was held in contempt for not putting her children in therapy (they were) and a purge requirement was to give the therapy records to the father of their abuser. The reason they are in therapy to begin with. She was also ordered to write a letter of apology to the children for “not letting them talk to Pop Pop.” When that is nothing but court ordered brainwashing of the children, as they are the ones who refuse to talk to him.
Criminal Contempt
Purpose: Criminal contempt serves to punish behavior that disrespects or disobeys the authority of the court. It is more about upholding the integrity of the judicial system than about compelling compliance.
Requirements:
- Clear Evidence of Disrespect: There must be clear and convincing evidence that the individual engaged in conduct that disrespected the court’s authority, such as insulting remarks, disruptive behavior, or failure to appear as ordered.
Not bringing her children in for illegal questioning is not disrespect of the court’s authority. The court does not have that authority.
- Intent: The individual must have acted with intent to disrespect or defy the court. Unlike civil contempt, it is not enough that the individual simply failed to comply; there must be a willful intent to show contempt.
- Due Process: The individual must be afforded due process rights, including notice of the charges against them and an opportunity to defend themselves in court.
Before telling Sara, she was in direct criminal contempt, none of the due proves safeguards were afforded to her.
Consequences: Criminal contempt can result in fines and/or imprisonment. The penalties are punitive, intended to deter future disrespect toward the court.
Key Differences Between Civil and Criminal Contempt
- Objective: Civil contempt aims to compel compliance; criminal contempt aims to punish disobedience.
- Nature of the Act: Civil contempt usually involves failing to comply with a court order, while criminal contempt involves acts that disrespect the court or disrupt proceedings.
- Burden of Proof: Civil contempt typically requires a preponderance of evidence, while criminal contempt requires proof beyond a reasonable doubt.
- Potential Penalties: Civil contempt penalties focus on coercive measures to compel compliance, whereas criminal contempt penalties are punitive.
In Sara’s case
When it comes to Sara’s case she was found in both civil and criminal contempt. Judge Menges found her to be in direct criminal contempt for not bringing her children to court. He requested that she bring the children to court so he could interview them. However, he would not allow them to have counsel present. This is not a lawful request. Children are protected in the same way adults are. In re Gault is a Supreme Court Ruling that made children’s access to counsel a constitutional requirement. This extends into civil law as well. The only difference is this can be waived with parental consent for child custody interviews. It cannot, however, be forced. The requirement is either permission, or counsel. This is not discretionary.
For criminal contempt, Sara is to be afforded the same rights as if it were a criminal trial. Including her right to a jury trial. This was not afforded to her. She did end up going to get the children to avoid the threat of 30 days.
In this child interview Judge Menges stated the children made claims stating that they do not care which person they live with. Both children vehemently deny this claim. However, without counsel present there is no way to prove the claims of either Judge Menges or the children when it comes to legal sufficiency. Everyone familiar with the dynamics knows the children did not say that.
He also found her in civil contempt for “non-compliance” despite Bruce not presenting any evidence other than the claim. Finding her in contempt simply off the word of Bruce is a violation of state and federal applications of law, and a due process violation. Burden of proof lies on the person making the claim.
Luckily Sara’s court appointed criminal defense lawyer (for a civil case if you want to wrap your brain around that), was able to get her out of jail in 10 days, rather than the 6 months (for civil contempt). While unsure of how this happened as some of the purge requirements were impossible, it is probably due to the fact that none of this seems to apply with applicable laws.