Questions tagged [contempt-of-court]
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Held indefinitely for contempt of court?
Tommy Gregory Thompson is a former deep-sea treasure hunter and is about to mark his fifth year in jail for contempt of court for refusing to disclose the whereabouts of 500 missing coins made from gold found in an historic shipwreck. The normal…
Digital fire
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USA: Can a witness take the 5th to avoid perjury?
Lawyer Alice is questioning witness Bob. Bob is not on trial, and no one has accused him of a crime. Alice demands Bob answer a particular question with either a "Yes" or a "no." Bob believes that doing so would mislead the court so greatly that he…
GridAlien
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Why don't people who are untruthful during jury selection get held in contempt of court?
This question is U.S. based.
I ask this because recently I was summoned for jury duty. When we were in the courtroom, the judge asked each of the jurors in the box a list of questions. One of them was their command/understanding of the English…
Classified
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Can everyone name Soldier F now that an MP has named him in Parliament?
Recently, the MP for Foyle, the Hon Colum Eastwood, named "Soldier F", who is facing charges of murder over Bloody Sunday in 1972. A judge in Northern Ireland had made an anonymity direction in the case, but Mr Eastwood used parliamentary privilege…
nilawquestion
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Can a British judge convict and sentence someone for contempt in their own court on the spot?
There are many videos of US judges imposing punishments on people who commit obvious contempt of court in their own courts in front of them. They can order the person taken to jail on the spot.
Do British judges have the same power for people who…
DJClayworth
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What does SEC. 70302 of the "Big Beautiful Bill" actually do?
The One Big Beautiful Bill Act, also known as "H.R.1" passed the House of Representatives yesterday. Some online opponents have mentioned that it prohibits the courts from holding Trump and other officials in contempt of court for ignoring court…
Elros
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If a witness in a trial is appearing via Zoom from another country and is found guilty of being "in contempt" how would the punishment be enforced?
So a witness can only appear via Zoom due to being in another country (or refuses to come to the country where the trial is being held).
They are found in contempt of court for whatever reason.
How would the punishment (in the UK up to 2 years in…
Sam Dean
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May a juror refuse to answer questions?
I'm working on a novel about jury nullification. The jury decided to ignore the judge's orders and to define what they think the law is. The judge hears the rumor and summons the foreperson to their chambers to find out what the jury is up to.
My…
Sv Tarwathie
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Is a juror allowed to explicitly form an opinion off of something stricken from record?
Say that something is said during a trial, and for whatever reason (an objection, irrelevant, etc.) the judge says that it should be stricken from the record, and the jury basically forget it. But then, during the jury's deliberation, a juror Jerry…
chausies
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Is it required for a defendant to be in court?
Say that Nathan is on trial for 100 murder charges. He already knows his life is over, so every time they bring him into court, he starts screaming expletives out of turn. They charge him 1000 times over for contempt of court. But even if they gag…
chausies
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What is the Maximum Sentence for Contempt of Court? (USA)
Is there a maximum sentence that a New Jersey Superior Court Judge can impose on someone for contempt of court?
I understand that there are different types of contempt of court, so here's a made-up example to illustrate the question.
Suppose person…
user75575
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How common actually are perjury proceedings?
I’ve read a number of tenant advice materials that caution that landlords frequently lie at court and so one really has to be prepared for this to potentially happen.
Meanwhile, I have read a number of civil court decisions where judges quite…
TylerDurden
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What confidence level is required to incarcerate someone for civil contempt?
This question is prompted by the story of Tommy Gregory Thompson who has just been released from nearly 10 years of incarceration for civil contempt (and starting 2 years for criminal contempt).
He claims he suffers from a rare form of chronic…
User65535
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Who can overrule a court's finding of contempt?
A judge has authority and broad discretion to incarcerate people for contempt-of-court.
Who, besides the judge who holds a person in contempt, has authority to overturn a finding of contempt or an order of incarceration for contempt?
Do higher…
feetwet
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Legality of the Cat Lawyer video
You may have seen the recent video of the lawyer who couldn't turn off the cat filter during a Zoom trial.
What struck me about it is the legal warning in the top left frame warning that it is prohibited to record or livestream the hearing. And yet…
Pete
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