§ 16-10-108 — Contempt

Arkansas § 16-10-108

• Jurisdiction: Arkansas
• Title: 16

Text

(a) Every court of record shall have power to punish, as for criminal contempt, persons guilty of the following acts and no others: (1) Disorderly, contemptuous, or insolent behavior committed during the court's sitting, in its immediate view and presence, and directly tending to interrupt its proceedings or to impair the respect due to its authority; (2) Any breach of the peace, noise, or disturbance directly tending to interrupt its proceedings; (3) Willful disobedience of any process or order lawfully issued or made by it; (4) Resistance willfully offered by any person to the lawful order or process of the court; and (5) The contumacious and unlawful refusal of any person to be sworn as a witness and when so sworn a similar refusal to answer any legal and proper interrogatory. (b) (1) Punishment for contempt is a Class C misdemeanor. (2) A court shall always have power to imprison until its adjournment. (3) When any person is committed to prison for the nonpayment of any such fine, he or she shall be discharged at the expiration of thirty (30) days. (c) Contempts committed in the immediate view and presence of the court may be punished summarily. In other cases, the party charged shall be notified of the accusation and shall have a reasonable time to make his or her defense. (d) (1) Whenever any person is committed for a contempt under the provisions of this section, the substance of his or her offense shall be set forth in the order or warrant of commitment. (2) Nothing in subdivision (d)(1) of this section shall be construed to extend to any proceedings against parties or officers, as for contempt, for the purpose of enforcing any civil right or remedy. (e) A person punished for contempt under subsections (a)-(d) of this section shall, notwithstanding, be liable to an indictment for the contempt if the contempt is an indictable offense, but the court before which a conviction may be had on such an indictment shall, in forming its sentence, take into consideration the punishment previously inflicted.

Legislative History

Rev. Stat., ch. 43, §§ 37-42; C. & M. Dig., §§ 1484-1489; Pope's Dig., §§ 1784-1789; A.S.A. 1947, §§ 34-901 -- 34-906; Acts 2005, No. 1994, § 410.