Contempt

Question: What punishment does a Contempt of Court charge carry? I live in California. What punishment does a Contempt of Court charge carry in relation to non-payment of child support when there was ability to pay?

Answer: It complicates that parent's life immediately. But, only if you win. You have to win if you bring these charges. They may get their passport suspended; their driver's license suspended; their income tax investigated. I'm suing my ex-wife now because she owes me college tuition for our son - to the tune of $18,000.00

Question: How do I start a contempt of court order against an attorney? I was involve in this lawsuit, and one of the attorneys filed a false document with the court to obtain an harrasment injunction against me. Now I am facing criminal charges because of the actions of the attorneys. I have filed an action with the board of lawyers. Now I want to know, how do i file a contempt of court action against the lawyer?

Answer: Get an attorney! A good one! You can sue these guys for defamation of character, if you are innocent! I would have protested their action when you were in court!

Question: What is the standard or burden of proof in a contempt hearing? I have a friend that is a defendant in a contempt hearing for violating a custody order. I was just wondering what they have to show/prove so that he is not held in contempt? Is there a specific burden of proof etc?

Answer: I believe that a judge has a very wide range of discretion in finding contempt of court in most jurisdictions. If the judge believes that your friend deliberately or negligently violated the order, she/he might hold your friend in contempt. Appellate courts usually won't question a judge's discretion for this type of offense. The best bet is to look into prior cases handled by this judge, if available, to see what past experience can predict. Basically, your friend should try to show that an action was either (1) not in violation of the order, or (2) unavoidable, or (3) necessary for the best interests of the child AND there was no opportunity to appeal to / notify the court prior to taking the action.

Question: How much trouble for contempt charge involving a child visitation order? A good friends daughter has custody of a child. For the last 5 years she has sent the child to visit her grandmother for most of the summer. The problem is that the daughters ex is supposed to get a six week visit in the summer with the child. How much trouble is the daughter in for contempt of court, and should she even consider going to court without an attorney? Also, the father has had another child removed from his custody by child protective services, this doesn't negate the contempt but can an attorney use this to help her situation?

Answer: If she is called to court, it is in her best interest to go, to avoid getting in trouble. If it is legally in writing that the father is supposed to have the daughter for those six weeks, then she is legally supposed to allow him to have her. Your friend probably feels that it isn't in the best interest of the child to let her father have her, being that he has had the run in with CPS. I would agree. But, this is where your friend needs to talk to an atty. to find out where she stands with the visitation. I think she could stand a chance by filing something with the legal system in attempt for the father not to get the full visitation. Since, he has been in trouble before, it won't look good on his record, which will be taken into account. Your friend does need to do all of this legally, to make it stick. Also, the court will take into account the relationship with the father, and how often he really does see her. If your friend goes to court trying to get no visitation for him then she has got to come up with some good reasons. Example, does he drink, drugs, able to take care of the daughter properly, does she have a place to sleep at his place, etc..... The court will look into all of that stuff. If anything, the court might want to try supervised visits. Its very nerve wrecking, but she has to fight for what she feels fit for her child. I wish her the best of luck. But, yes, she should have a lawyer to get the best out of this situation. Good Luck!

Question: What is the relation between the strict liability rule in contempt of court act and freedom of speech? Does the 'strict liability rule' laid down in the Contempt of Court Act 1981 as interpreted by the courts strikes an appropriate balance between the interests of freedom of expression on the one hand and the administration of justice on the other?

Answer: ? but i think so

Question: Is the United States contempt for the United Nations the biggest scandal of all? The USA Government continues to be contemptuous of the United Nations thus undermining the credibility and influence of the UN. But the US has over all too many years failed to support the UN financially to the extent that it could and should. The scandal is that America is frighteningly willing to spend billions of dollars on war, but unwilling to spend a fraction of that on peace. The UN gives peace a chance - but the US prefers the sword and treats the UN with contempt. How sad and contemptible is this?

Answer: America is a founding member of the UN and holds a very important veto power in her Security Council. What we are all seeing now as regards to America's attitude to the UN is a result of the IMPOTENCY of America's diplomacy, seems the US State does not have the capacity and skills needed to explain to the world Americas standing on issues.....and at the face of International reluctance to tow her line, we see behaviour that can best be classed as INFANTILE. We are in the 21st century, everybody should have their say and due respect.

Question: Is a contempt of family court order a criminal or civil matter? You see my ex is in contempt of a civil court ordered judgment in every way shape and form. Would that contempt charge if be a civil or criminal infraction?

Answer: Usually Family Court is civil in their dealings. But sometimes things are passed to criminal court by a DA.

Question: What does a respondent do after receiving a motion for contempt they disagree with? My husband has received a motion for contempt from his ex's attorney. He disagrees with a lot of the items mentioned in the motion. What should he do now? Should he file something or just wait on a court date? He does not have money to hire an attorney.

Answer: He has the right to response back, so he needs to file a cross motion response to his ex's attorney..the judge will hear both side of the case and then make a decision at the court hearing. You can consult a lawyer to represent you in court if you need to or do it pro se..yourself..either way you have the right to response how you need to in any kind of motion served to you

Question: What are probable punishments for contempt of court? My ex spouse is going off the deep end and lately has started blocking the parenting time I have with my child. This has actually been going on for a while now off and on and ive been trying to reason with her. But its continuing and getting worse so im having her charged with contempt of court for violating court ordered parenting time. What is the likely punishment she is to face for 1st offense, 2nd offense, 3rd offense and so forth?

Answer: Contempt of Court charges vary considerably. It can simply be a slap on the wrist, costs ordered against them or prison time. It's really hard to determine as it varies from case to case based on the nature of the contempt, the persons history with the courts, and even the mood the judge is in that day. My guess in this instance would probably be costs awarded in your favour for the effort you had to make to bring the matter back to the courts.

Question: What felony or misdemeator would contempt of court be? I live in the state of Indiana and I would just like to know what type of charge contempt of court is, thanks.

Answer: Classified usually as civil or criminal contempt. Civil contempt would be from refusing to obey a court order. Criminal contempt is based on conduct that hinders or obstructs justice. Felony contempt results when someone willfully ignores a subpoena issued related to a violent crime in most states. Most other contempt charges would be misdemeanors. Indiana classifies contempt as direct or indirect. http://www.in.gov/legislative/ic/code/ti… http://www.in.gov/legislative/ic/code/ti…

Question: What are the penaltys for contempt of court? If I am held in contempt of court for my first offense what would the penalty be? The contempt of court would be because my son's father and i did not agree on a visitation schedule for father's day weekend and he wrote a letter to the judge saying i did not follow the parenting guidelines for indiana parents.

Answer: Fines or jail. Then there are both Fines and Jail!!

Question: How long could you go to jail for contempt of court in MN for not paying child support? according to my father my mom is behind on child support and in the next 3 - 6 months she will be in contempt of court and could possibly go to jail how long is the jail sentence for contempt of court? please don't leave stupid answers. it can't be until it is paid in full because if she is in jail then she can't do a job to get money to pay her child support.

Answer: First, as a fathers rights rep, I would like to have a little talk with your father on your knowledge about this problem. Have him write me. Second, understand that in this economy, the states do not have the funding to keep all the regular criminals in jail, so the likelihood is low that she will go to jail at all, let alone for any significant time. You should consider researching it n the Internet. ***On the news today, California has to release 6000 prisoners, many of whom are convicted rapists. \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\

Question: How long before you can file contempt for visitation denial? I've had a visitation order for about a month now but my ex states she is always too busy to let me see my son. I have only seen him once since the judge granted my visitation schedule. Is it too early to go back to court to have her held in contempt?

Answer: Well, you have to wait until the court is open, but if the parent did not show up to allow your visitation you have a right then and there to file a motion for enforcement. You can also ask to have the court issue a habeaus corpus and have her bring the child to court to turn him over to you. A motion for enforcement is available for you now also, and you can ask that she pay your attorney fees for failing to comply with the court order, so go ahead and hire an attorney to do it for you, she will have to pay you back any fee you pay. (Usually, although it is up to the court, so if you really can't afford to pay the attorney then you might want to plead it yourself.) You also want to ask the court to sentence her to jail for the criminal contempt, then you can agree to have her sentence probated, and if she violates the court order again it is easier to get her put in jail.

Question: What happens if I have found in contempt for not paying medical bills for my child? I was just issued a citation for contempt/enforcement of my divorce decree. My ex is taking me back to court for not paying my half of our childs medical bills. I was laid off in December and do not have the money. The total is $1804. What will the judge do? Will he give me some time to try and find a job ? Will I have to pay her legal fees? What will happen at our first hearing?

Answer: you may go to prison so when you go to court you should have the money or a great reason why you didnt pay

Question: How exactly is it a bad thing to hold Congress and government courts in contempt? Afterall, Congress is nothing more than a den of thieves and the government courts only dispense genuine justice on rare occasions (mostly, they uphold the myriad of unjust "laws" passed by Congress instead of the natural law that initiating force is always wrong). Why shouldn't Congress and the government courts be held in contempt by every decent human being?

Answer: Because not ever decent human being feels the way you do

Question: How to write a letter to submit with a motion for finding an individual in contempt of court? Does anyone have any hints on writing a letter to submit with a court motion asking the court to find an individual in contempt of court for not paying child support, not providing health insurance, and not searching for a job after the loss of his previous one (these are all orders stated in the original child support order signed by the judge, him, and myself). Any hints or tips would be welcome, thanks in advance.

Answer: Go to the family/children's/human services office in your county and tell your circumstances to the clerks. The good news is, they basically do the paperwork for you, asking you the questions and typing it all into the computer. Then they'll send you a letter telling your when and where the hearing is. It doesn't cost anything. My tips: I you live in a fairly decent-sized city, get there when they open, because they are busy and usually go on a first-come-first-served basis. Also, bring two copies of all the paperwork you have from the previous support order(s) to the hearing, because you never know what may have been 'lost'. And if it was, the judge will want a copy. Good luck.

Question: How far behind do parents have to be in child support before held in contempt? My ex is now almost a month behind in child support and it will just keep getting worse. My lawyer says I should insist to him to pay it and if he refuses to work with me then I can get him held in contempt of court. How far behind do they have to be to be held in contempt of court on child support issues?

Answer: You have a lawyer you can ask this of and you are asking on YA?

Question: contempt of court for not appearing after a traffic violation or misdemeanor? My understanding is by not showing up to appeal a ticket/misdemeanor in court that its not anything too serious - but another opinion suggests that its Contempt of court, and could escalate thereafter to a felony. Whats the situation on this?

Answer: If your presence is required, the judge will issue a failure to appear warrant (or whatever it's called in your state.) The warrant itself will be cleared by your eventual arrest, and will not result in a separate charge. In order to find you in contempt of court, the court first has to issue an order that you violate. Simply setting a court date -- at least in MN, WI and MO -- is not done by court order. That aside, you need to take care of this. Whether you realize it or not, you have regular contacts with people and institutions that check your identity. If you just ignore your charge, sooner or later you WILL run into a situation where a police officer is running an i.d. check on you. You'll end up facing a judge in an orange jumpsuit instead of street clothes, and frankly, that will affect your sentence.

Question: How do judges view people in Contempt of the court? My husband and I are going through some rough times with his ex, anyways, she has been withholding his youngest son from us. We have seen him 30 minutes of his life, he is 3 years old. We are taking her to for contempt and enforcing my husband rights as a parent. What I am wondering if they do find her in contempt of court are they going to slap her hand because she is the birth mother or are they going to hand her the book, she is totally in contempt of court in many different ways. My husband and I are going through some rough times with his ex, anyways, she has been withholding his youngest son from us. We have seen him 30 minutes of his life, he is 3 years old. We are taking her to for contempt and enforcing my husband rights as a parent. What I am wondering if they do find her in contempt of court are they going to slap her hand because she is the birth mother or are they going to hand her the book, she is totally in contempt of court in many different ways. She is homeless we don't know where his son is, she dropped off his daughter to us in july 21st and has maybe 4 days of contact. Besides that my husband is still paying child support of a child we are caring for and she will not allow us to add them on to our insurance, I understand some people may feel that i need to stay out of this situation but i look at it this way, If he was jobless I would have to pay for his child support because I am his wife and I have to according to Wisconsin laws. She is homeless we don't know where his son is, she dropped off his daughter to us in July 21st and has maybe 4 days of contact. Besides that my husband is still paying child support of a child we are caring for and she will not allow us to add them on to our insurance, I understand some people may feel that i need to stay out of this situation but i look at it this way, If he was jobless I would have to pay for his child support because I am his wife and I have to according to Wisconsin laws.

Answer: If there is a court order on visitation, why aren't you seeing the child? She cant keep the child from you. You can call the police, with visitation order in hand, go to her house and the police will make her give you the child for your time. Yes, if you have to do it then do it. Not much will happen to her, the judge will only work as hard as YOU do. I have been through this for YEARS. If you need more info on brut force with your order, email me. When push comes to shove, I used a bulldozer. Good luck

Question: Is a contempt order a criminal case if your ex husband files it? My exhusband filed a contempt order against me for not returning all of my daughter's winter clothes to him. (Which isn't true...I have witnesses!) I'm applying for hardship for an appointed attorney. Do I mark Civil case or criminal. Also, do I include child support as a source of income for my other child?

Answer: Hubby did not file a contempt order. He might have filed a motion for an order, but a contempt order is issued by the court, not be hubby. Contempt in the situation you describe is criminal, not civil. Whether child support is counted as income depends on who is asking.