Also known as: civil contempt orders · civil contempt
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
A judicial directive finding a party in violation of a court order and imposing sanctions to coerce compliance rather than to punish past conduct. The order typically permits the contemnor to purge the contempt by satisfying the underlying obligation. Due process requires adequate notice of the ability-to-pay issue along with a fair opportunity to present financial evidence and an express finding on ability to pay before incarceration may follow in child-support enforcement proceedings.
Cody Callahan appeared at a hearing after missing several child-support payments. The court gave him written notice of the proceeding and a financial disclosure form, asked targeted questions about his current earnings, and made an express finding that he could pay before ordering incarceration until the arrears were cleared. Cody later challenged the civil contempt order on due process grounds.
Catherine Carter refused a state court order to produce membership records of a nonprofit organization. After she persisted in noncompliance, the court entered a civil contempt order imposing daily fines that would cease only when the records were produced. Carter challenged the order as violating associational rights.
Select any source to read its text and confirm it supports the definition.
Cascade Manufacturing continued discharging pollutants after a federal court enjoined the practice. Friends of the Earth obtained a civil contempt order requiring the company to pay a daily fine until it installed required treatment equipment. The order was designed to bring the facility into immediate compliance.
Camila Cervantes, a prison official, failed to implement court-ordered reforms to solitary confinement practices. The district court issued a civil contempt order imposing escalating sanctions until the required changes were completed. The order aimed to secure future adherence to the remedial decree.
Cameron Cruz, a noncitizen, was denied a notary commission under a state statute. After a court order directed the state to process his application, officials continued to withhold the commission. The court then entered a civil contempt order directing immediate issuance of the commission.
Claire Campbell received a civil contempt order after school officials ignored an injunction barring corporal punishment. The order required the district to cease the practice and to submit compliance reports. Sanctions were set to increase until the reports confirmed adherence.
No categorical right to counsel exists. When the opposing parent is also unrepresented, alternative safeguards such as notice of the ability-to-pay issue, a fair chance to present financial evidence, and an express judicial finding on ability to pay can satisfy due process.
Officers, agents, servants, employees, attorneys, and persons in active concert with a party are bound once they receive actual notice. A billing subsidiary or collections agency that follows a party's instructions to continue enjoined conduct after receiving notice can therefore be sanctioned.
The court must supply adequate notice that ability to pay is the central issue, afford a meaningful opportunity to present and contest financial information, and make an express finding on present ability to pay. Absence of these protections renders the incarceration order constitutionally defective even without appointed counsel.
…Opinion of Mr. Justice Harlan We review from the standpoint of its validity under the Federal Constitution a judgment of civil contempt entered against petitioner, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, in the courts of Alabama. The question presented is whether Alabama, consistently with the Due…