Glossary
Contempt of court
Defying a court order or disrupting court proceedings. Civil contempt aims to coerce compliance; criminal contempt aims to punish past defiance. Both can result in fines or jail.
Contempt comes in two flavors. Civil contempt is forward-looking: the court holds someone in custody or imposes ongoing fines until they comply. The classic example: a party refuses to produce documents in discovery, the judge orders them to comply, they still refuse, and the judge sends them to jail "until they purge the contempt" by complying.
Criminal contempt is backward-looking: punishment for completed defiance, with a fixed sentence. It carries similar protections to other criminal proceedings.
In family court, civil contempt is commonly used to enforce child support and visitation orders. In civil litigation, contempt enforces discovery orders, injunctions, and protective orders.