Defiance, disdain and disrespect = Contempt

Many years ago, I worked with a counsellor who was holding a seminar on marriage reparation.  Over coffee she explained how she could predict if a marriage was repairable. One of the signs she described that indicated to her that the marriage was in serious trouble, was when one of the couple rolled their eyes when the other was expressing a feeling or recounting an event.  She identified this as contempt.

What is contempt?  Defined by many dictionaries, it incudes defiance, showing disdain and disrespect and a disregard of the rules. It also illustrated by a lack of respect for a person or disregard for something that should be taken into account.

In my time in policing, I had the opportunity to attend court well over a hundred times.  I became aware of a criminal charge called "comtempt of court".  Contempt in a criminal court setting is characterized as disobeying the Judge or showing no respect for the Judge's decisions.  A person can also be found in contempt if they show no respect for the rules or decorum of the court.  We have all seen movies where an accused becomes verbally abusive or assaults a guard and a Judge has them removed from the Courtroom and cites them for contempt -  right from the bench.

It was rare that a Judge cited or convicted someone with "contempt of court" as most Judges were aware that people often did not know all the rules or the consequences of showing contempt by disobeying a Judge.  And the accused usually changed their behaviour once they were made aware of the consequences of doing so.

Civil Court however is a little different than criminal court.  Over the last 6 years, I have watched many court appearances in Civil Court - based on torts and not criminal law.  I have also observed many instances of someone showing contempt for the rules of the court, the rule of law, or the order of a Judge.

When someone flagrantly defies an order of a Judge, a motion can be brought before the court to show the Judge how the person defied the order.  When this happens, the Judge may find the person 'in contempt of court'.  Judges however have no interest in jailing someone for contempt in a civil matter and usually the contempt sentencing includes a fine payable to the court.

An example might be - someone is ordered not to repeat certain phrases that defames another person.  If that someone continues to speak or write the words they are ordered not to speak they may be found in contempt.  A Judge will usually rebuke the person and give them time (2 weeks - 30 days) to make reparations - letting them 'purge' their contempt.  When they return to court for sentencing,  the accused then has the opportunity to show how they have purged the contempt.  A Judge is usually more lenient if someone shows true remorse for their actions that resulted the contempt finding.  It is rare that a person is found in contempt more than a couple of times - especially if they end up paying hefty fines.

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Jail Time

What if a fine does not deter someone from disobeying the order of a Judge - or Court Order? In these cases, the Judge can order the person to go to jail.  And just like in the game "Monopoly", you do not pass go, do not collect $200 and you go directly to jail - for as long as the Judge sentences you. And that could be until you pay a fine - or do what the Court has ordered you to do.

Once a person is jailed for contempt, certainly not a pleasant experience,  one would hope that a person would learn to respect the orders of the Court.

Occasionally, there are people out there, that think that they are right (about just about everything) and cannot accept the findings of a Judge or the Court.  A person like this is doomed to continue to make the same mistakes over and over when they cannot accept direction from a higher authority.

What if you don't agree with a Judges Order?

Appeal.  That is the only recourse.  After any sentencing or decision rendered by a Judge, the person may appeal the judgement.  Usually they have 30 days to do so.  

Endorsements vs Orders

In civil law, when the Judge renders a decision on a matter before them, they will issue an endorsement.

​The endorsement is like an executive summary for the events that led up to matter including both sides of the argument and finally the decision of the Judge. It can be many pages long and reveal the details of the event that the Judge must decide on.

That endorsement  may say that an order is appropriate and/or they may include part of the order in the endorsement.  It's then up to the lawyers to interpret the endorsement and draft the order for a Judge to sign.  Until the Judge signs that order, the endorsement is the 'spirit' or the intent of the order and can carry equal weight as the order.

If a Court Order has net yet been signed - it is still possible to be found in contempt.  

Not all appeals are accepted at the Court of Appeal.  The person appealing must show that the Judge erred in law.

Rolling ones eyes, repeatedly telling a Judge that he or another Judge has erred or openly announcing that one will defy the order of the Court is asking for a new residence. 

​One where the rooms are quite small, the food is served cafereria style and a 'walk in the park' may be limited to a small courtyard. And if one does it often enough, the stay in this residence can be an extended indefinitely.