Court Imprisons Father For Refusing To Obey Court Orders

By Iblal IqbalPublished 17 November 2019Updated 18 August 20266 mins read5 sections

Part of: Child Custody Specialists

Court Imprisons Father For Refusing To Obey Court Orders: A Case of Contempt of Court

What is the consequence of failing to obey court orders? Following a divorce or separation of parents the parents or the courts usually make decisions on which parent will have custody of the child and when the children will see the other parent which is also known as child arrangements. Many parents fail to understand that if they breach court orders then this could have serious repercussions. If one parent continuously fails to obey court orders then the other parent can refer the matter to the court.

Options available to the court where a parent fails to obey court orders: Criminal and Civil Contempt

Courts take the failure to obey court orders very seriously and the court has a range of options at its disposal when determining and considering such issues, including contempt, which can be classified as civil or criminal, and those options are:

• An enforcement order or a suspended enforcement order
• Variation of the child arrangement order
• Referring parents to a separated parents information programme (SPIP)
• Order for compensation or financial loss
• Committal to prison, or
• A fine

These powers may be used to compel compliance with a court order, whether through civil contempt or criminal contempt.

We will consider the case of Richards v Martins (2017) in which the father was failing to obey court orders and the consequences of such actions. The case also illustrates that children should not be used in a dispute over their arrangements.

The case concerned a father who had separated from the mother. The parents had four children who were aged 13, 11, 10 and 9. Following the separation of the parents all four children remained with the father who provided contact arrangements for the mother.

The eldest child however later left the father and decided to live with the mother. The father requested contact for the child which left however this did not take place as the child expressed her views that she did not wish to see her father.

Father retaliates to not having contact with one of the four children

In retaliation to the eldest child’s wishes of not seeing the father he responded in two ways:

• Denying the mother contact with the three other children whom the mother had been seeing once every fortnight. The father failed to take the children to the collection point for the contact with the mother on nine occasions. The fathers reason for refusing to obey the existing court was that the children did not want to go and see their mother and that he could not force them to go. A refusal to follow an existing order without a reasonable excuse can amount to contempt, and this repeated conduct was central to the court’s concern.
• Surprisingly the father also claimed that the children were at risk of sexual abuse during contact with their mother.

Court considers the fathers claims about failed contact

The court considered the fathers reasons for failing to obey the court orders in place, while assessing the father’s conduct during the proceedings. The judge noted when hearing the evidence that children greatly enjoyed seeing their mother and had even told her over the telephone, they miss her and “Daddy won’t let us see you”. The mother had frequently asked the children ‘Why don’t you ask Daddy if you can come’ and the children replied, ‘Daddy won’t let us’.

The judge did not believe the father’s evidence and noted “from his stance on previous occasions and his stance today I know that it is not true that the children do not want to come. The fact is this father is very angry with this mother”.

The court also considered the fathers allegations that the children were at a risk of sexual abuse during contact. The father stated he had some text messages and telephone messages which showed evidence of sexual abuse. The judge requested the father to bring the telephone to court as evidence of the allegations of sexual abuse. However, there were no such messages. Therefore, the judge concluded there is no evidence whatsoever of the alleged sexual abuse. False or unsupported allegations in court proceedings can prejudice the due course of justice.

Judge believes father deliberately failed to obey court orders

The judge concluded that the father’s breaches of an existing court order were too serious and had continued for too long, so the family court could decide what enforcement steps were appropriate in the circumstances within its jurisdiction. The father had been given chance after chance and several opportunities to comply with the Orders. The father had simply not adhered to the Orders at all, and in these extreme contempt cases the court can also consider contempt of court and impose a sanction to enforce obedience to its orders. In broad terms, civil contempt is usually coercive, while criminal contempt is punitive and can amount to a criminal offence that may result in a criminal record. In serious contempt proceedings, the correct procedure must be followed and procedural safeguards must be provided, including legal representation and proof to the criminal standard beyond reasonable doubt where imprisonment is possible, reflecting principles that can overlap with criminal law and, in some instances, a criminal case.

The judge also interestingly noted that when the father was going to be remanded in custody, he said “he loved the children, but he loved himself more and the mother can have the kids if I would release him”. By the father’s comments the Court were of the view that there were no problems between the children and the mother, and the father just simply blocked the contact. Depending on the contempt and the court’s jurisdiction, the maximum penalty can be two years imprisonment.

The case is an example of the father believing he was treated unfairly by not being able to see his eldest child, and as a result of this he used the children in a way to try and get revenge and made false sexual allegations which affected his case even more. The father could have quite simply made an application to the court for contact with his eldest child.

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