Appeal against sentence of two months imprisonment for contempt of court. The court emphasised the need to ensure a fair process in such cases. The court was critical of the judge who sentenced a contemnor without hearing mitigation and without going into open court to do so. The order was set aside.
Judges:
LLoyd LJ, Laws LJ
Citations:
[2007] EWCA Civ 465, [2007] 2 FLR 133
Links:
Jurisdiction:
England and Wales
Citing:
See Also – Hammerton v Hammerton CA 23-Mar-2007
The husband appealed against his committal for contempt of a court order in family proceedings. The court had heard the wife’s application for his committal at the same time as his application for contact with the children.
Held: The appeal . .
Cited by:
Cited – Slade v Slade CA 17-Jul-2009
Contempt sentence to reflect existing punishment
The wife appealed against a sentence of imprisonment imposed for a second contempt of court. She said that the behaviour complained of had already been dealt with in criminal proceedings.
Held: The sentence was reduced. The second court should . .
Cited – Doncaster Metropolitan Borough Council v Watson (No 2) FD 1-Sep-2011
The defendant applied to be allowed to purge her contempt of court.
Held: The court first pointed out that the defendant had not been sentenced in secret, but in open court. The contempt had been serious leading to the identity of the child . .
See Also – Hammerton v The United Kingdom ECHR 29-Mar-2012
Statement of Facts – Contempt of Court – failure to provide representation on committal . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.
Contempt of Court
Updated: 11 July 2022; Ref: scu.253252
