Contempt of Court Defined
When attempting to address non-compliance with a court order from a former spouse, Missouri Family law practitioners often ask themselves: what is the nature of the non-compliance? If the non-compliance has risen to the level of contempt of court, how should I proceed? Why does the nature of the non-compliance matter? Without getting too philosophical and leaning towards the abstract, a contempt proceeding for non-compliance is one of the few times where I believe that the "why" of the issue really matters. If the non-compliance is willful, a sanctions hearing and coercive contempt motion is the correct procedure. But willfulness is a critical prerequisite. While not willful, the non-compliance must be severe enough to warrant a Rule 75 contempt action or review of the contempt by the court of appeals.
The distinction between civil and criminal contempt is most easily determined based upon whether the contempt is (a) coercive; or (b) punitive. Civil contempt may be coercive or punitive while criminal contempt is always punitive. Coercive civil contempt is conditionally lifting the stay on the provision subject to contempt until the contemptuous act is "purged." Punitive civil contempt is a punishment for the actual contemptuous act. However , while differences in terminology may prove illusory, Missouri Courts have identified the differences in considering the type of contempt at issue. In State v. Messmer, 8 S.W.3d 92, 95 (Mo.App. W.D. 1999), the Court of Appeals of Missouri West District noted: While different terminology has been used to describe "contempt," the definitions are consistent. There are two categories of contempt proceedings: those which are criminal in nature and those which are civil in nature. Civil contempt consists of acts to enforce, and provide for the term of, a judgment. Criminal contempt is directed towards maintaining the dignity of the court. Alternatively, Missouri courts have defined civil contempt, in part, as that of obliging or coercing the payment of money. See, e.g., In re Marriage of Evans, 75 S.W.3d 780, 784 (Mo.App. S.D. 2002) and In re Marriage of Mantle, 22 S.W.3d 706 (Mo.App. W.D. 1999). Whether the contemptuous act is criminal or civil must be determined from the character of the relief sought. Id. at 785, citing In re C.B.B., 757 S.W.2d 922, 926 (Mo. App. W.D. 1988).
Reasons to File a Motion for Contempt in Missouri
There are generally three grounds for filing a contempt motion in the Missouri courts. These include:
1. Failure to follow a court order.
A failure to follow a Missouri court judgment gives the court the power to find you in contempt of that order. Common violations leading to contempt findings and motions to show cause in Missouri include:
• Failure to pay child support or spousal support maintenance.
• Failure to follow custody and parenting plans.
• Failure to comply with your appeals.
While nonpayment of child support is the most common pickup for contempt motions, the failure to follow court orders in custody, parenting plans and spousal maintenance create the potential for being held in contempt.
2. Failure to abide by the circuit court’s rules, procedures and other regulations.
Failure to follow the Missouri Rules of Civil Procedure, as well as local rules and procedures, can result in a contempt motion in Missouri. This includes violations such as the following:
• Failure to obtain leave of the Court to file before 4:30 p.m. if done the day before a holiday.
• Filing of an emergency language document without prior approval of the court or the judge.
• Failure to prosecute an action within a reasonable amount of time.
• Violation of the judge’s courtroom decorum rules.
• Failure to follow filing procedures of pleadings and other court documents.
• Violating in-court decorum procedures.
• Failing to disclose relevant information during family law proceedings, including mandatory disclosures.
3. Disruption of the proceedings of the court so as to interfere with the administration of justice.
Essentially, failure to control your temper and your feelings in the courtroom can potentially result in contempt proceedings being taken against you, even if the other side is at fault. In almost every case, if there is a problem in the courtroom that is initiated by a party, that party will be held responsible.
Preparing for Contempt
Before filing a motion for contempt of court, it is important to gather evidence to support the motion. Unfortunately, Missouri courts do not have local forms available for motions for contempt. Motions must be in writing and signed by the party (or the attorney filing it on a party’s behalf).
The motion must state the owned obligation and how long it has been owed. It should include facts about how the Obligor was served with the Court’s Order. Did the Obligor attend Court and agree to abide by its terms? Did the Obligor fail to attend a hearing? If the Obligor did attend a previous hearing, the Motion should outline all pertinent dates. What was the date of the last payment? What was the date the Obligor was served with the Order?
Although an Obligee can serve the motion upon the Obligor, it is important that the Obligee provide the Court a copy of the motion that has been properly served on the Obligor. The Court should have the motion, proof of personal service, the original of its previous order, and a record of any outstanding payments.
Filing a motion for contempt can be time consuming and requires a lot of documentation. Missouri courts are busy places and issues of contempt are likely to take several weeks to be heard. If you have questions about whether a motion for contempt is appropriate, we are happy to help.
The Filing Process for Missouri Contempt of Court
The filing process for contempt of court in Missouri begins with the completion of a motion for contempt. Unlike some other types of pleadings, a motion for contempt doesn’t have to be open-ended (such as a complaint) but rather can ask the court to compel a specific act or to impose a specific punishment. The style of a motion for contempt is as follows:
All motions must also be verified either by affidavit or declaration made under penalty of perjury. An example of an affidavit would be, "I declare under penalty of perjury that what I am stating herein is true and correct." In addition, the motion should state an amount of money for any purge amount, whether there will be incarceration, the amount of attorney fees and costs and/or interest.
The motion for contempt can be filed in the same case as the contempt order alleges to be violated. A contempt order is not a cause of action so it should not be filed as a separate case. Once the motion is completed it can be filed in most Missouri Circuit Courts electronically.
Once the motion is filed, a hearing will be set. That hearing will last as much as one day or even a week. The judge is required to make a determination as to whether the obligor is in contempt of court. The burden of proof for a finding of contempt of court is "clear, convincing and cogent evidence, which goes beyond a mere preponderance of the evidence."
If found in contempt, a judge in Missouri can impose incarceration, fines, attorney’s fees and costs and/or a specific purge amount.
The Hearing Before the Court and What to Expect
Once all the preliminary steps of filing for contempt of court are complete, including service of the necessary documents and awaiting the court’s scheduling of the hearing, the party bringing the action must be prepared for the hearing itself. At the hearing, the court will decide whether the other party is in contempt.
Contempt hearings are civil (rather than criminal) proceedings, so the standard of proof is much lower than is the standard of proof used in criminal cases (beyond a reasonable doubt). In civil cases, the judge decides if the evidence demonstrates what is called "clear and convincing evidence." Missouri courts have held that this standard is understood to mean that "the evidence must be of such a degree of certitude as to enable one to firmly establish the proposition in question." In other words, clearer than a "preponderance" (aka preponderance of the evidence) standard, which is the standard most commonly used in civil cases for deciding issues before the court. In other words, the material or evidence that you produce in a contempt of court case must be strong enough to make the court firm in its belief that the alleged contempt occurred.
During the hearing, both parties are permitted to present their case to the judge . This means submitting evidence and questioning witnesses. The person who filed the motion for contempt of court is generally referred to as the movant, and that person goes first ("the state or alleges the contempt by movant"). The person who was accused of being in contempt may be the respondent, the other party, or the alleged contemnor. The respondent can submit evidence and call witnesses after the movant finishes presenting evidence. The judge may (and often does) ask questions at any time during the hearing.
If the judge finds in favor of the person who filed the motion (the movant) and decides that the accused was in contempt, the judge may choose to provide that person with a chance to correct the contempt. For instance, if the alleged contemnor has been accused of failing to pay child support, the judge might allow him or her to "work off the contempt" by making payments for X months in order to avoid jail time and/or fines. If the alleged contemnor continues to be in contempt despite being given the chance to correct the contempt, the judge may hold the contemnor in civil contempt and then get serious about the punishment, such as imposing jail time or monetary fines.
What Can Happen to a Person as a Result of Contempt?
When found in contempt of court, a person faces the possibility of several sanctions. A large variety of penalties are available to the judge, some of which include: a fine, jail time, attorney’s fees and costs, revocation of a privilege, a change in law, property seizure, a case dismissal, a rescission of an administrative rule, a probation order or even a contemptuous party’s arrest. The judge has the authority to impose virtually any issue on a party that seeks to insure compliance with the order. Contempt of court is available in civil, as well as criminal matters, and because the amount of punishment for the offender can vary as extensively as the circumstances surrounding it, contempt of court remains a very useful mechanism for both parties in litigation.
Whether it is actual jail time or a fine that is imposed is entirely up to the judge. Yet, there are a few general principles that courts typically follow when imposing contempt sanctions. For instance, if the contempt is civil, the punishment is directly related to the contemptuous party’s compliance with the court order, and once that party shows compliance, the civil penalty is purged. However, if the contempt is criminal, the court may order the party to do, or to refrain from doing, some activity in the future, but not likely to impose an indefinite term of jail time to serve as a punishment for conduct related to a prior date. In that case, an eye towards future conduct is absent from the judge’s decision.
Likewise, if a contempt of court action is found to be civil, the court may allow the contemptuous party to purge the contempt by demonstrating the requisite amount of compliance with the court order, while a criminal contempt action cannot be purged or rendered moot by compliance. Therefore, the purpose of criminal contempt is not to compel future conduct but instead to punish past behavior and preserve order.
One major point when contemplating the consequences of a contempt of court action is to make sure the court properly distinguishes between the two types of contempt: civil and criminal. It is probably easiest to say that if the sanction benefits a private party, the contempt is civil, but if the sanction is enforced to benefit the public or to vindicate judicial authority, the contempt is criminal. This differentiation becomes especially important because Missouri courts are limited in the amount of jail time they may impose in certain criminal contempt cases. Judges are able to impose as much as six months in jail for criminal contempt in class C and D felony cases, but in class A and B felony cases they may appoint a special master to supervise the contempt party’s punishment.
When a court uses its contempt powers to coerce compliance, Missouri courts will not assess attorney’s fees or costs, but they may award them if the contempt finding was for a civil contempt. Noncompliance in civil contempt actions can lead to an award of attorney’s fees, but not in criminal contempt actions because the focus in criminal contempt is on punishment, rather than compensation to the nonoffending party. Additionally, when the contempt is civil rather than criminal, damages can be awarded as long as they are not punitive in nature but instead are used to compensate the aggrieved party for damages stemming from the contemptuous action. Therefore, damages may be awarded in civil contempt actions, but not in criminal actions.
Hiring an Attorney
While it is possible to file a motion for contempt of court without legal representation in Missouri, having an experienced attorney on your side can be extremely helpful. A lawyer will be familiar with the various Missouri laws and procedures that will come into play during the contempt motion process. For example, your lawyer will be able to help you determine whether the motion should be filed in the county or appellate court. Your will also be able to advise you as to whether an immediate ruling is needed or whether the motion can wait.
A long-time St. Louis lawyer will know what to expect from opposing counsel and the presiding judge , and will be able to provide you with a realistic picture of the likely outcome of your case. An attorney will be able to help you determine how best to present your arguments, such as through a deposition or other means of factual discovery. He or she will be able to guide your case through every bend in the legal road.
Having a lawyer on your side is particularly important when there is an apparent power imbalance between the parties. There’s no reason to go to court alone when an attorney can give you a valuable advantage on your side. A good child support attorney in St. Louis has experience representing clients on both sides of contempt motions, and knows how to deal with recalcitrant defendants and aggressive petitioners alike.