7D2

There are no known instances of a court sentencing a reporter to a fixed sentence for criminal contempt in failing to comply with a court order to provide information. Such a remedy is highly unusual and unlikely. Nevertheless, conviction for criminal contempt is provided for in West Virginia Code § 61-5-26(d), that allows a court to sentence and/or fine an individual for disobedience to an order of the court. The putative contemnor is permitted a jury trial, but there is no statutory limitation on the amount of the potential fine or the period of incarceration.

Alaska appellate courts have not had occasion to squarely address the existence or scope of a reporter's privilege. Various trial courts have recognized and applied the qualified constitutional privilege in a number of cases, and in none of these has testimony or production of documents been compelled.

There is no statutory or case law addressing this issue. The author is unaware of any instance in which a criminal contempt conviction against a reporter has been pursued after a civil contempt finding was dissolved.

No New Mexico law specifically addresses this issue with respect to an unsuccessful assertion of the reporter's privilege. In general, however, disobedience of a court order can be punished as a criminal contempt, and a fine or a jail sentence can be imposed.

There are no known cases where a reporter has been charged with criminal contempt in Wyoming.

There is no Alabama statutory or reported case law addressing this issue.

No reported decisions.

NRS 50.205 provides that "in case of failure of a witness to attend, the court or officer issuing the subpoena, upon proof of the service thereof and of the failure of the witness, may issue a warrant to the sheriff of the county to arrest the witness and bring him before the court or officer where his attendance was required."

The purpose of criminal contempt is to preserve the power of the court and vindicate its dignity, and punish a person for disobeying a court order. See Johnson v. Johnson, 343 Ark. 186, 33 S.W.3d 492 (2000). The criminal contempt statute, Ark. Code Ann. § 16-10-108, states that the punishments for a criminal contempt citation "may be by fine or imprisonment in the jail of the county where the court may be sitting, or both, in the discretion of the court.