Judicial Contempt in the United States

Any act that obstructs the administration of justice by a court or that brings disrespect on a court or its authority. Judicial contempt may be direct in that it occurs in the presence of the court and constitutes a direct affront to the court’s authority. While some due process protections apply to contempt, it is generally a summary order through which penalties of fine or imprisonment may be directly imposed by the court. Contempt may be indirect in that the behavior that demonstrates contempt occurs outside the courtroom. It is also necessary to distinguish criminal and civil contempt. Criminal contempt is an act of obstruction or disrespect typically occurring in the courtroom. A party who acts in an abusive manner in a court is in criminal contempt. He or she may receive a fine and/or imprisonment for up to six months. Such punishment may be summarily imposed. Civil contempt, on the other hand, results from failure to comply with an order of a court. Civil contempt is designed to coerce compliance with an order to protect the interests of the party on whose behalf the order was issued. Civil contempt ends when the desired conduct occurs. A legislative contempt power also exists. It may be used if a disturbance is created within a legislative chamber or if people subpoenaed to appear before legislative committees fail to testify. Congressional contempt is not summarily imposed, however. It is handled through the standard criminal process with trial occurring in a federal district court if an indictment has been secured from a grand jury.

Analysis and Relevance

The judicial contempt power provides courts with leverage to maintain courtroom decorum appropriate for judicial proceedings. Contempt enables a court to punish disruptive or disrespectful conduct, and it serves as a deterrent to such conduct. The contempt power also permits courts to compel compliance with a court order. This gives courts some capacity to reinforce the authority of any such order.

Notes and References

1. Definition of Judicial Contempt from the American Law Dictionary, 1991, California