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unusual facts about contempt of court



Ed Ziemba

An outspoken and controversial politician, Ziemba spent six days in Toronto's Don Jail in 1977 for contempt of court when he refused to reveal his informant for allegations that the principals of Abko Laboratories were defrauding the Ontario Health Insurance Plan.

Elizabeth Morgan Act

Her mother, plastic surgeon Elizabeth Morgan, spent 25 months in detention from 1987 to 1989 for contempt of court in Washington, D.C., for refusing to reveal Hilary’s whereabouts.

James Cook University Singapore

The university cited the pending contempt of court case against Tan for wearing a T-shirt of a kangaroo in judge's clothing at the defamation trial of SDP secretary-general Chee Soon Juan.

Joji Kotobalavu

Justice Nazhat Shameem ruled Kotobalavu's comments to be in contempt of court and ordered him to apologise and to refrain from making any further statements until after the trial.

Lynching of Ed Johnson

Following the murder, Sheriff Joseph Shipp, who had arrested Johnson, was found guilty of contempt of court in United States v. Shipp, the only criminal trial ever held by the United States Supreme Court.

Passmore Williamson

Williamson, the secretary of the Pennsylvania Abolition Society and a well-known public figure, was later convicted of contempt of court by Pennsylvania District Court judge John K. Kane and served a sentence between July 27 and November 3, 1855, in Moyamensing Prison.

Sarah Tisdall

Although The Guardian successfully argued that it was protected by section 10 of the Contempt of Court Act 1981 from providing the information, the judgement by Justice Scott was almost immediately overturned.

Thomas J. Cuddy

Cuddy, who by February 1889 was operating a saloon, was sentenced to six months in jail by U.S. Circuit Judge E.M. Ross, who found him guilty of contempt of court for having spoken to a juror about a tax case pending in Ross's court; Cuddy had asked that the juror favor the defendant.


see also

Ahmed Ghappour

In 2009, Ghappour along with Reprieve founder Clive Stafford Smith faced the possibility of being found in contempt of court because of a letter they sent to President Barack Obama explaining allegations of torture by US agents of their mutual client Binyam Mohamed.

Cobell v. Salazar

His opinions condemned the government and found Interior secretaries Gale Norton and Bruce Babbitt in contempt of court for their handling of the case.

Ken Courchene

Justice Paul Rouleau of the Federal Court of Canada found Courchene and the other councillors in contempt of court for their decision, remarking that he had seldom seen such brazen contempt for authority.

R v McManus and Harvey

Meanwhile, the McManus-Harvey contempt matter continued and on June 25, 2007 McManus was found guilty of five counts of contempt of court and Harvey was found guilty of four counts.

Sione Sangster Saulala

In 2003, he was one of five people prosecuted for contempt of court for a television broadcast discussion the government's suppression of the Times of Tonga newspaper.