Contempt - Contempt Of Court, Criticisms Of The Contempt-of-court Power, Contempt Of Congress

Contempt - Contempt Of Court

Contempt of court is behavior that opposes or defies the authority, justice, and dignity of the court. Contempt charges may be brought against parties to proceedings; lawyers or other court officers or personnel; jurors; witnesses; or people who insert themselves in a case, such as protesters outside a courtroom. Courts have great leeway in making contempt charges, and thus confusion sometimes exi…

Contempt - Criticisms Of The Contempt-of-court Power

The discretion permitted to judges in determining what is contempt and how to punish it has led some legal scholars to argue that the contempt power gives too much authority to judges. Earl C. Dudley, University of Virginia law professor, wrote that in the contempt power, "the roles of victim, prosecutor and judge are dangerously commingled." Similarly, individuals who have refused t…

Contempt - Contempt Of Congress

In 1957 a federal court found playwright Arthur Miller guilty of contempt of Congress charges for refusing to disclose the names of alleged Communist writers to the House Un-American Activities Committee. The conviction was overturned by an appellate court in 1958. AP/WIDE WORLD PHOTOS itself to the courts. Until 1945, Congress largely ignored this criminal statute and continued to compel …

Contempt - Contempt Proceedings Against President Clinton

The Jones lawsuit languished in pre-trial discovery for the first three years after it was filed. On January 17, 1998, Jones and her lawyers deposed Clinton, who was now serving his second term as president of the United States. During the deposition, Clinton was asked a series of questions about his relationship with a White House intern named Monica Lewinsky. The president testified that he was …

Contempt - Further Readings