Respond to a motion for contempt

Why did I get contempt papers?

If you received a Motion or Petition for Contempt for not obeying a court order, it’s because the person who filed it believes that you’re purposely not following the court’s order. They’re asking a judge to find you “in contempt” of the order. 

A party can file a Motion for Contempt in the same court and case number as the order they want to enforce. The Prosecuting Attorney can start a new case with a Petition for Contempt to enforce a child support order for the Division of Child Support. The process to respond is the same. We’ll use the word “motion” here to refer to a petition or motion for contempt. 

Do I have to respond to a motion for contempt? 

Yes. Don’t ignore these papers. If you don’t respond on time, the other party will probably get what they’re asking for.

Find out your deadline! Every county's motion response deadline is different. It could be anywhere from 1 week to 1 day before the hearing. It may not be listed on the papers you received. Contact the Superior Court Clerk's office or Courthouse Facilitator to ask what the deadline to respond is. Tell the clerk what type of motion you received and when the court hearing will be.

If you think you need more time to respond, you should still get ready for the hearing as best you can. Also contact the other party to see if they’ll agree to reschedule (to continue) the hearing to a later date. 

If you can’t respond in time, you can file a Notice of Appearance and ask the judge to reschedule your hearing to a later date. If the judge doesn’t reschedule, you must go to the hearing as scheduled and be as ready as possible. If you don’t go to the hearing, the judge might issue a bench warrant for your arrest. 

Do I have a right to a free lawyer? 

Sometimes the judge can send you to jail for contempt. If you receive contempt papers asking for jail time and you have a low income, you may have a “right to counsel” – a lawyer that you don’t have to pay. 

To find out if you qualify for a public defender or court-appointed attorney, contact your local public defender office. If there’s no local public defender, ask your family law facilitator, if your county has one, or your court clerk for a referral. If this doesn’t work, ask for a court- appointed lawyer in your response and at the start of your hearing.

The public defender will probably represent you only for the contempt hearing. The public defender won’t help you file your own motion or other action, such as a petition to modify child support order.

Even if you don’t qualify for a public defender, you should still try to talk to a lawyer.  A lawyer can advise you about important legal rights. Example: You might want to file your own motion for contempt or ask for a change in the order the other party claims you’ve violated.  A lawyer can advise you what to do.