Rochester Minnesota Contempt of Court Lawyer

Minnesota Contempt of Court Attorney

Courts have the power to control what happens in the courtroom and to make sure their orders are enforced. Contempt of court occurs when someone fails to obey a court order, is disrespectful in front of the judge, or disrupts court hearings. Contempts are divided into two categories -- civil contempt and criminal contempt. In addition, contempt can be either direct (occurs in front of the judge and disrupts the hearing) or indirect (occurs outside the presence of the judge, where someone disobeys a Court Order). A Rochester, Minnesota Contempt of Court attorney can advise you what kind of contempt your situation involves and how to go about enforcing your court order.

Civil Contempt of Court

This webpage deals with civil contempt of court issues. Civil contempt occurs when one party fails to follow the court’s order. A contempt of court proceeding is a process that is used to strongly encourage the party to comply with the order. Both a fine and a jail sentence can be imposed for civil contempt. However, a party can “purge” himself of civil contempt by complying with the  court order. This is because the sanctions are meant to compel performance rather than punish the person.

Procedure for Civil Contempt

In order to move ahead on a contempt of court motion, the moving party must:

• Bring a motion in front of the court that issued the original order;
• Prove that the other party failed to perform certain obligations under the order; and
• Give the other party an opportunity to appear and show compliance with the court order or a reason for the non-compliance.

The contempt of court proceeding is a two-stage process. In the first stage, penalties are imposed but they are conditional upon the contemnor being given a chance to comply with the court order. If the contemnor continues to fail to comply with the court order, then the penalty will be imposed in the second stage.
A contempt of court action can be brought for any number of reasons including failure to follow parenting time, failure to pay child support or maintenance, failure to perform the terms of the divorce decree, and various other issues.

Request a Free Consultation

If you have additional questions about Contempt of Court proceedings in Minnesota, please contact the Dilaveri Law Firm today. We always offer free initial consultations to our clients. Call  507.206.6020 or complete our free case evaluation form.