42 U.S.C. § 1995 — Criminal contempt proceedings; penalties; trial by jury
submitted 69 years ago by Pub. L. 85-315 to r/title-42-THE-PUBLIC-HEALTH-AND-WELFARE · 286 words · no verdicts yet
A person convicted of criminal contempt under the referenced Act may receive a fine, imprisonment, or both, subject to maximums for a natural person. The section sets jury and retrial rules and preserves specified contempt powers and exceptions.
Criminal contempt under this Act may be punished by a fine, imprisonment, or both. For a natural person, the fine may not exceed $1,000 and imprisonment may not exceed six months. At the judge’s choice, the case may be tried with or without a jury. If a judge tries it without a jury and imposes more than a $300 fine or more than 45 days in prison, the accused may demand a new jury trial, conducted as nearly as practical like other criminal trials. These rules do not apply to contempt in or near the court that directly interferes with justice, or to misconduct by a court officer concerning the court’s writs, orders, or process. They also do not remove a court’s power to use a juryless civil-contempt proceeding to secure compliance with, or prevent obstruction of, a lawful court command, including by detention.
In all cases of criminal contempt arising under the provisions of this Act, the accused, upon conviction, shall be punished by fine or imprisonment or both: Provided however, That in case the accused is a natural person the fine to be paid shall not exceed the sum of $1,000, nor shall imprisonment exceed the term of six months: Provided further, That in any such proceeding for criminal contempt, at the discretion of the judge, the accused may be tried with or without a jury: Provided further, however, That in the event such proceeding for criminal contempt be tried before a judge without a jury and the sentence of the court upon conviction is a fine in excess of the sum of $300 or imprisonment in excess of forty-five days, the accused in said proceeding, upon demand therefore, shall be entitled to a trial de novo before a jury, which shall conform as near as may be to the practice in other criminal cases.
This section shall not apply to contempts committed in the presence of the court or so near thereto as to interfere directly with the administration of justice nor to the misbehavior, misconduct, or disobedience, of any officer of the court in respect to the writs, orders, or process of the court.
Nor shall anything herein or in any other provision of law be construed to deprive courts of their power, by civil contempt proceedings, without a jury, to secure compliance with or to prevent obstruction of, as distinguished from punishment for violations of, any lawful writ, process, order, rule, decree, or command of the court in accordance with the prevailing usages of law and equity, including the power of detention.
Source credit: (Pub. L. 85–315, pt. V, § 151, Sept. 9, 1957, 71 Stat. 638.)
- 1957Enacted · Pub. L. 85-315 · 71 Stat. 638
A history note hasn’t been published yet. The record shows enactment by Pub. L. 85-315 on 1957-09-09.
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