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Stubborn refusal to obey authority
Look up
contumacy
in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.
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
). The term is derived by etymologists from the
Latin
word
contumacia
, meaning "firmness" or "stubbornness".
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
).
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 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
]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
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:
Further reading
[
edit
]