Contumacy is a stubborn refusal to obey authority or, particularly in law, the willful contempt of the order or summons of a court (see contempt of court). Etymologists derive the term from the Latin word contumacia, meaning "firmness" or "stubbornness".[1]
In English ecclesiastical law, contumacy was contempt of the authority of an ecclesiastical court and was dealt with by the issue of a writ from the Court of Chancery at the instance of the judge of the ecclesiastical court. This writ took the place of the de excommunicato capiendo in 1813, by an act of George III (see excommunication).[1]
In the U.S., while contumacy was not expressly mentioned in the U.S. Constitution, the courts have long asserted an inherent power of judges to punish such refusal, which in this context is known as contempt of court.[citation needed] The U.S. Supreme Court, in obiter dicta, recognized federal courts' inherent power to imprison a person for contumacy in 1812 in United States v. Hudson & Goodwin without a reference to a definition of contumacy in common or statutory law.[2]
See also
edit- Court-martial
- Dishonesty
- Insubordination
- Failure to obey a police order
- Mutiny
- Rebellion
- Trial in absentia
- Whistle blower
References
edit- ^ a b Chisholm 1911.
- ^ United States v. Hudson & Goodwin, 11 U.S. (7 Cranch) 32 - "The courts of the United States [...] have the power to fine for contempts, to imprison for contumacy, and to enforce the observance of their orders."
Attribution:
- This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Contumacy". Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 7 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 45.
External links
edit
- Contumacy at Wiktionary
Further reading
edit- Driscoll, James H. (1908). . In Herbermann, Charles (ed.). Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 4. New York: Robert Appleton Company.
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