You Do Not Want to Be Held in Contempt of Court in Texas

We've all heard it before on our favorite criminal detective show: An outburst in the courtroom from the defendant causes the big surly judge to bang his gavel, shouting that he's holding them in contempt of court.

You may be surprised to learn that there's more to it than just being rowdy in the courtroom, especially in Texas' judicial system. So, let's get into it!

Texas Contempt of Court Procedure

In Texas, contempt of court means that someone in the courtroom was defying, disrespecting, and/or insulting the authority of the court. There are actually two different kinds of contempt of court: criminal and civil.

Criminal contempt of court is the really bad one. Charges for this are considered punitive, which means you will accept the punishment even if you behave from that point on and/or you've been found not guilty.

Other examples for this include when the judge learns that an attorney or juror disobeyed the rules and discussed key issues in the case outside of the courtroom (Indirect. Otherwise, direct contempt of court appears within the courtroom itself).

Civil contempt of court is a little lighter, but important nonetheless. This is when a person fails to comply with a court order, and a judge may use these sanctions as leverage against them.

Texas Courts: Direct v. Indirect Contempt

Some scenarios of direct v. indirect criminal contempt of court include the following:

• Direct
  • Not standing when the judge enters the courtroom
  • Lying or cursing in the courtroom
  • Lawyers shouting over each other
  • Showing up to court legally intoxicated
• Indirect
  • Violating a court order
  • Withholding evidence
  • Attempting to bribe a member of the jury or an attorney
  • Failing to appear for a hearing or trial

Texas-Sized Consequences for Contempt of Court

Say you had a bad day and you swore at the judge, causing him to angrily hold you in direct contempt of court. What happens now?

In Texas, punishments for criminal contempt of court can reach a $500 fine and/or up to six months in county jail. However, if someone is held in contempt multiple times in one stretch of the same matter, they can only be held in jail for a maximum of 18 months, no more.