civil contempt
Definitions from Case Law · United States Supreme Court
Definitions from Case Law
From 384 U.S. 364 - Shillitani v. United States · 1966Most cited · 2,479 citing opinions
The act of disobedience consisted solely 'in refusing to do what had been ordered,' not 'in doing what had been prohibited.' When the petitioners carry 'the keys of their prison in their own pockets,' the action 'is essentially a civil remedy designed for the benefit of other parties and has quite properly been exercised for centuries to secure compliance with judicial decrees.
How the Supreme Court has restated “civil contempt”
Each Supreme Court definition of “civil contempt,” sized by how often later courts cited it. “Change” is measured by wording overlap with earlier definitions — a rough signal, not a semantic judgment.
How often courts cite the cases defining “civil contempt”
Court decisions citing the 11 opinions that defined “civil contempt” — 8,990 in all, by decade. Counts are citations to the defining cases as a whole, not verified uses of the term. The dip in the most recent years is a data-coverage gap, not a real trend — our corpus holds fewer opinions from the latest years.
All 12 definitions, chronological · 1907–1966
- ORIGINAL
While the party may suffer imprisonment, 'he carries the keys of the prison in his own pocket', and, by compliance with the order of the court, may deliver himself from punishment.
carrying keys
For civil contempts, the punishment is remedial and for the benefit of the complainant, and a pardon cannot stop it.
a motion to commit the bankrupt for failure to obey an order of the court to turn over to the receiver in bankruptcy the property of the bankrupt is a civil contempt and is to be treated as a mere step in the proceedings to administer the assets of the bankrupt as provided by law, and in aid of the seizure of those assets and their proper distribution. While in a sense they are punitive, they are not mere punishment-they are administrative but coercive, and intended to compel, against the reluctance of the bankrupt, performance by him of his lawful duty.
bankruptcy turnover
a proceeding for civil contempt is for the purpose of compensating the injured party, and not, as in criminal contempt, to redress the public wrong
purpose
Proceedings for civil contempt are between the original parties, and are instituted and tried as a part of the main cause.
It is the purpose of the punishment, rather than the character of the act punished, which determines whether the proceeding is for civil or criminal contempt.
the contempt charged and adjudicated was not criminal, but civil; reparation to an obstructed creditor, not vindication of the public justice, was the purpose of the fine, and of the fine in all its parts.
a contempt is considered civil when the punishment is wholly remedial, serves only the purposes of the complainant, and is not intended as a deterrent to offenses against the public.
A contempt is considered civil when the punishment is wholly remedial, serves only the purpose of the complainant, and is not intended as a deterrent to offenses against the public.
Where a fine or imprisonment imposed on the contemnor is 'intended to be remedial by coercing the defendant to do what he had refused to do'... the remedy is one for civil contempt... Then 'the punishment is wholly remedial, serves only the purposes of the complainant, and is not intended as a deterrent to offenses against the public.' One who is fined, unless by a day certain he produces the books, has it in his power to avoid any penalty. And those who are imprisoned until they obey the order, 'carry the keys of their prison in their own pockets.
Civil as distinguished from criminal contempt is a sanction to enforce compliance with an order of the court or to compensate for losses or damages sustained by reason of noncompliance.