What is contempt of court?
Contempt of Court occurs in Kentucky Family Courts when a party to a domestic action fails to abide by a prior order of the Court. Such an order may be an Agreed Order or a Judgment following the trial of a contested matter. Any party who petitions the Court for relief under CR 70.02 "for contempt" is essentially accusing the other party of violating the law.
Contempt of Court orders are serious innovations into the law that provide many consequences for disobedience. It is not uncommon for the Court to issue a temporary order setting terms for compliance within a time window. Depending on the type of relief sought by the Petitioner, the petitioner may allege that the opposing party has violated the Order in their Petition for Contempt. After examining the facts of the situation, the presiding judge may find that the other party incurred contempt for the delay in complying with your prior order. That judge will set a new time frame for the other party to comply with the Court’s order. If you file for contempt against the opposing party and they do not comply with the order in time, the next hearing will likely address penalties for violating the Court’s order.
Judges in domestic court hear about contempt for a number of reasons. The reasons often include violating spousal/child support orders, failing to return property (such as a minor child) to the other parent when ordered to do so, or violating the terms of the parenting schedule. Not following what the Court says may result in the judge setting a longer period to comply and/or order a fine payable to the aggrieved party , the Clerk’s office, the children’s college fund or a non-profit organization. If a party blatantly and willfully disobeys the order, then it can also result in incarceration.
The Court orders parents to use an on-line service called "Our Family Wizard" to reduce the likelihood of engaging in long courtroom battles over parental disagreements. This program is one program used in Louisville Metro Court that encourages communication between parties and quick resolution of issues, while providing a written record of all communications between parties. This means that parents who previously injured one another by sending nasty notes and behaving poorly may no longer engage in the exchange. Parents may now file a motion for contempt when parenting time is disrupted.
When parties enter into a Marital Settlement Agreement ("MSA"), and the Court makes that MSA into an Order of the Court, failure to pay the required spousal support or child support can also lead to a finding of contempt. Failure to pay a student loan under certain circumstances may lead to contempt, especially if the parties agreed as part of the divorce settlement that the student loan would continue, but the student-loan borrower is not making the payments.
In situations where a party owes significant amounts of money, both parties must consistently share their income and expenses. One party cannot hoard information from the other party. By sharing that information, the other party can file for contempt and ask the Court to award them the missing funds.
Different types of contempt in family law
Types of contempt actions are: criminal contempt, civil contempt, and quasi-criminal contempt. The first two types of contempt are the most common in family law cases, but all are important.
Criminal contempt in Kentucky is defined in specific terms in KRS 432.310. It provides as follows: (1) Except as provided in subsection (2) of this section, any person who: (a) Commits a contempt of court by knowingly disobeying a judgment or order of a district court, circuit court, or the Court of Appeals; or, (b) Commits a contempt of court as that term is defined in KRS 432.310(2), shall be guilty of a violation and upon conviction thereof shall be fined not less than twenty-five dollars ($25) nor more than one thousand dollars ($1,000). (2) A person who is found to have committed criminal contempt may not be held in contempt if he or she shows by a preponderance of the evidence that he or she had a reasonable belief that the judgment or order of the district court, circuit court, or Court of Appeals was unconstitutional or otherwise invalid.
Criminal Contempt typically involves the person in contempt knowingly disobeying the Court’s orders, but also includes other actions. For example, it is often exercised when the parent who does not have custody of the children refuses to return the children to their custodial parent at the designated time. Based on the testimony of the custodian, a Kentucky Divorce Court can issue a show cause order setting a hearing date to consider holding the non-custodial parent in contempt of Court. If the judge finds that the non-custodial parent is in contempt, the judge may order jail time in a Kentucky jail, in addition to fines or attorney fees.
Civil contempt is more like about somebody taking your money as opposed to going to jail. In family law cases, this often involves child support obligors who will not pay child support after the Kentucky Divorce Court has ordered them to do so. A motion for a show cause hearing is filed by the custodial parent’s divorce attorney in Kentucky to request the Court hold a hearing to determine if the noncustodial parent has been paying the ordered child support. In decisions made in both the Kentucky Courts of Appeal and the Kentucky Supreme Court, criminal contempt has been distinguished from civil contempt. Criminal contempt conforms to generally accepted notions of its meaning as a matter of Kentucky law. Civil contempt, on the other hand, is essentially reserved for situations where the criminal law fails to remedy the situation. To make the point, the Kentucky Supreme Court has held: "The distinction between civil and criminal contempt lies in the purpose of the contempt." Betsey Layne Community School v. Sexton, 936 S.W.2d 639, 641 (Ky. 1997).
Quasi Criminal Contempt arises in somewhat the same manner as criminal contempt but may also rely on other issues such as: "commits a contempt of court by knowingly publishing, or causing to be published, any report of the district court, circuit court, or Court of Appeals which in any section thereof comments on the facts in a cause then pending before the court. Conviction of contempt pursuant to this subsection shall be a Class A misdemeanor…".
In family law cases, because child support is a valid debt owed which can be collected through garnishment, in addition to contempt, the Court can also award attorney fees.
Common circumstances that result in contempt
While contempt of court motions are often associated with the willful withholding of court-ordered child support obligations, there are several other scenarios where parents in Kentucky family law cases can find themselves facing contempt motions. All of the following scenarios can cause a parent to find themselves in contempt of court.
- Violation of Child Custody Orders: Failing to timely pick up or return children to their custodial parent, failing to cooperate with their travel plans, or keeping children from visiting with their grandparent/relative visitation schedule can all create a basis for a contempt motion.
- Avoiding Payment on Child Support: Either through wage garnishment, intercepting tax refunds, or going back and re-opening a dissolution of marriage case, child support can be collected and must be paid. Failure to pay on the day that it is due, even if you do not have parenting time with your child, can cause you to be found in contempt of court by a Kentucky family law court.
- Failure to Communicate with Opposing Counsel: Not returning opposing counsel’s phone calls, not getting discovery responses (interrogatories, production of documents, and requests for admissions), or ignoring subpoenas or other court orders can all lead to a contempt of court motion.
- Violation of Parts of the Family Court’s Order: Family law cases are often governed by parts and parcels of the court’s order, some of which can range from visitation exchanges, vacation consent, school activity consent, health care consent, and more that may require the written consent of both parents before action can be taken.
- Refusal to Cooperate: Refusal to allow for a non-custodial parent to visit with their child, refusal to exchange Christmas visitation and other holidays, or withholding the child’s location from the other parent can all result in the filing of a contempt of court motion.
- Electroshocktherapy: When a parent refuses to subject a child to a medical procedure that has been approved by the courts, such as a circumcision, can lead to a contempt motion.
How contempt works in Kentucky
In Kentucky family law cases, the legal process for contempt of court is initiated by filing a motion for contempt with the appropriate family court. A motion for contempt must be filed with the division of circuit court in the relevant home county for the parties. If a party lives in Jefferson County, the motion must be filed in Jefferson County.
Once the motion is filed with the court, notice will be given to the alleged violator of the terms of the Order in question. As there is no set timeframe in this process, it may be several weeks or even months before your case has a court date. Upon the case being called, the judge will look at whether there has been a violation of the order by the alleged violator and then subscribe to one of three options:
- Dismiss the action with no further consequences;
- Find that there has been a violation and create a remedial measure to fix the problem, which would include language such as If [alleged violator] violates this remedial order on two more occasions in the next 30 days, this will provide a presumption of contempt and proceed to the motions hearing; or
- Set the case down as a contempt case.
On a few occasions, the court will refer the matter to a mediation process to see if the situation can be resolved. If the parties cannot come to an agreement, they will be referred back to the court for hearings on the matter.
If after consideration, the court finds that a party is in contempt of an order or judgment, the court can issue a fine or order jail time. Courts also have the option of placing a party on probation for a specific period of time with rules that must be followed.
Consequences or punishment of contempt of court
Kentucky law provides two types of contempt in family law cases: civil contempt and criminal contempt. Civil contempt is used to compel a person to obey a court order. The penalties associated with civil contempt are directed towards the contumacious litigant and, theoretically, would cease once the contemptuous conduct is abated. Criminal contempt is punitive and meant to punish a person for his or her violation of a court order. Penalties for criminal contempt are directed toward punishing the habits, tendencies, or character of the litigant who has committed the contempt — rather than compelling the litigant’s compliance with the court’s order.
In Kentucky, criminal contempt is categorized as a misdemeanor and is statutorily punishable by up to ninety (90) days in jail and/or a fine of up to $500.00. The penalties available through contempt are discretionary and are determined by the particular judge presiding in your case, whether he or she believes the specific facts warrant it. There are practitioners who think that a chance of jail time for contempt is a good "stick" with which to get a stubborn litigant to comply with an order. However, this approach exposes the litigant to the possibility of a criminal conviction which in turn might have a very negative impact on career and livelihood. Under Kentucky law, certain convictions might trigger occupation prohibitions and present obstacles to finding and keeping a job. Further, we live in the age of the internet, meaning that an arrest or conviction might show up on the internet (particularly , but not limited to, Google) for all to see. Human resource departments have been known to conduct searches on job candidates and, if a conviction shows up, might be inclined to dismiss the candidate out of hand, without even calling him or her for an interview.
Moreover, simply because one is found in contempt and punished therefor does not mean that that individual actually was in contempt. Failure to comply with a court order does not necessarily mean that the litigant is intentionally violating a court order. Sometimes circumstances arise should make compliance impossible. For example, custodial interference is often a symptom of an alienating parent, beginning as early as infancy. Courts in different jurisdictions have recognized that custodial interference can interfere so thoroughly with the efficient enforcement of their orders so as to render them incapable of adhering to the court’s directives. Thus, causation issues in and of themselves may prevent a finding of contempt.
Furthermore, the penalty for contempt, should be calculated based upon the defendant’s financial condition. A finding of contempt presupposes that the defendant can comply with the order and has purposely chosen not to do so. Thus, he or she should be able to pay any monetary sanctions the court imposes for the contempt. If the defendant cannot afford to pay such sanctions then he or she cannot comply with the order. So if the defendant has no ability to pay, the court should not punish him or her.
Ways to defend against contempt
Defenses Against Contempt Charges in Kentucky Family Law
When a party accuses you of violating a court order, the focus often shifts from the issue or issues you are alleged to have failed to conform with to the question of whether you can prove you had a valid reason for not being in compliance. Can you prove you acted reasonably? If so, you may have a chance of avoiding a finding of contempt.
For that matter, can there be a "valid reason" for violating a court order? Sure. If you could not pay child support because you were out of work or had been hospitalized or simply could not afford the required sum that is certainly a valid reason. But again, you may have to prove it. There is a presumption in Kentucky Family Law that a party will comply with a court order so you may be required to go into some detail in order to prevent being held in contempt. For example, if you were out of work you will probably need to provide documentation of your employment situation to show that you were acting in good faith and reasonably sought to gain re-employment. Examples of reasonable efforts can include executory steps taken to mitigate one’s income loss, such as sending out "targeted" resumes (not a generic "blast" of a one-size-fits-all resume), attending job fairs, and even volunteering to gain new skills.
Another example of a "valid reason" or defense against a charge of contempt is if you were unable to make the required payment because of an emergency situation that was beyond your control. If, for example, you have an obligation to pay 50% of your child’s tuition to a private school but that child has an emergency medical situation that requires an immediate outlay of cash or insurance limits are exceeded that require immediate payment of otherwise covered medical expenses; those payments being of a greater amount than the amount of tuition or child support owed, you may not be able to meet your obligations otherwise. Still, you will need to document this through copies of bills and other records.
Other commonly recognized defenses against a charge of contempt include:
•the event that prompted the contempt charge occurred outside the period allowed for compliance with the specific order;
•the order or decree in question is unclear on its face and therefore cannot be considered to be reasonably achievable;
•the individual to whom the duty is owed was not the person to deliver the order (i.e., an attorney, not the client); and
•the individual who filed the contempt motion did not have standing to bring the motion. A person who is not specifically the subject of a court order, or does not have standing to bring a motion for contempt, cannot seek contempt of that order.
A recent opinion handed down by the Kentucky Court of Appeals made clear that the grounds for contempt are not limited only by the examples provided above. The Court’s opinion cites legal precedent holding that a pattern of intentional behavior which is calculated to directly interfere with another’s rights can be sufficient grounds for a contempt citation. In that case, Kentucky’s high court found that the actions of the parent being accused of contempt directly interfered with the other parent’s ability to exchange parenting time with the minor child based in fact upon the pattern of behavior over a 6 month period. The abandoning parent voluntarily relinquished his parental time when he scheduled a 5 week trip overseas that he was aware he had to reschedule because of the child’s upcoming surgery. Even more telling, the abandoning parent neither returned to the United States until months after the child’s surgery, nor issued any communication to the court or plaintiff’s counsel advising of his planned relocation and subsequent schedule changes at any point. It became clear that this abandonment of his rights to parent his child were deliberately orchestrated to directly interfere with the other parent’s enjoyment with the minor child; and the abandonment parent’s behavior was the cause of the other parent’s lost enjoyment of the parenting time with their child the past 6 months.
How to seek legal help
When faced with a contempt of court charge in a Kentucky family law case, it is essential to consult with an experienced and qualified Kentucky family law attorney. Contempt can have serious consequences, including fines, attorney’s fees, increased child support or maintenance orders, or even incarceration in extreme cases. Navigating the complexities of contempt proceedings requires a deep understanding of Kentucky law, local procedures, and the specific circumstances surrounding each case.
A Kentucky family law attorney can help you understand your rights and obligations, as well as the potential consequences of contempt proceedings . They can also guide you in gathering the necessary documentation and evidence to support your position, whether you are the party arguing for or against contempt.
If you are the one accused of contempt, your attorney will help you navigate the process, present your case, and potentially resolve the issue before a finding of contempt is made. On the other hand, if you are the moving party, your attorney will be able to present your case and push for an appropriate sanction for the contempt if your allegations are supported.
It’s important to keep in mind that every case is unique; however, your attorney’s expertise and experience should help you navigate the complexities of contempt law both quickly and efficiently.