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contemnor

contemnor

9.9
A person who disobeys a court order or shows disrespect to the court
  • noun
  • /kənˈtɛm.nɔr/
  • Formal
: desobediente
  • The judge declared him a contemnor after he repeatedly failed to appear for court hearings.
  • contemnor's ability
  • contemnor's ability to pay
  • contemnor's financial

Examples

  • When the court distinguished between civil and criminal contempt, it emphasized that in civil cases, the contemnor "carries the keys of his prison in his own pockets."

    Academic text (2017)
  • As the Court emphasized, a contemnor's "ability to pay" his child support marks the "dividing line between civil and criminal contempt."

    Academic text (2017)
  • At the other extreme, the contemnor may admit that he has been working for two years and paid nothing.

    Academic text (2017)
  • Most of the interviewed judges thought that the contemnor had the ability to pay if he could borrow money to do so.

    Academic text (2017)
  • In fact, most judges acknowledged that the contemnor was often relying on his family or girlfriend for the money.

    Academic text (2017)
  • The court might allow the contemnor to meet with the public defender for roughly ten minutes before resuming the case.

    Academic text (2017)
  • The court found that the trial-level procedures afforded the contemnor notice and an opportunity to be heard.

    Academic text (2017)
  • The safeguards revolved around helping the judge determine a contemnor's ability to pay child support.

    Academic text (2017)
  • If a court wrongly orders incarceration and the contemnor cannot purge, he will leave jail with reduced earning capacity and "the cycle begins again."

    Academic text (2017)
  • Nevertheless, the Court's suggested safeguards, including the "use of a form" to elicit a contemnor's "ability to pay," do not adequately offset the risk of wrongful incarceration.

    Academic text (2017)

Synonyms

transgressor
vscontemnor
3 7.7

A person who breaks a law or important rule

is narrower and applies only when someone is found guilty of disobeying a court

Surface Forms

contemnor singular
contemnors plural

Morphology

contemnor = contemn (semi-transparent) = contemn + or

Formed from the rare verb 'contemn' + agentive suffix '-or'; the morphological relation is clear but the verb is uncommon and the usage is specialized to legal contexts.

Etymology

Contemnor comes from the old Latin verb contemnere, which means 'to despise'. So a contemnor is someone who shows 'contempt' or clear disrespect to a court, which is why courts can punish them.