Chapter 8.03
CONTEMPT OF COURT
Sections:
8.03.020 Violation of Othello municipal court orders.
8.03.030 Violation of other court orders.
8.03.040 Violation of order—Penalties.
8.03.050 Nonliability of peace officer.
8.03.010 Definitions.
“Contempt of court” means willful:
(1) Disorderly, contemptuous, or insolent behavior toward the judge while holding the court, tending to impair its authority, or to interrupt the due course of a trial or other judicial proceedings;
(2) Disobedience of any lawful judgment, decree, order, or process of the court;
(3) Refusal as a witness to appear, be sworn, or, without lawful authority, to answer a question; or
(4) Refusal, without lawful authority, to produce a record, document, or other object.
“Foreign protection order” means an injunction or other order related to domestic violence or family violence, harassment, sexual abuse, or stalking, for the purpose of preventing violent or threatening acts or harassment against, or contact or communication with, or physical proximity to, another person, issued by a court of another state, territory, or possession of the United States, the commonwealth of Puerto Rico, or the District of Columbia, or any United States military tribunal, or tribal court, in a civil or criminal action as defined in RCW 26.52.010(3).
“Person entitled to protection” means a person, regardless of whether the person was the moving party in the foreign jurisdiction, who is benefited by the foreign protection order as defined in RCW 26.52.010(6).
“Person under restraint” means a person, regardless of whether the person was the responding party in the foreign jurisdiction, whose ability to contact or communicate with another person, or to be physically close to another person, is restricted by the foreign protection order. (Ord. 1593 § 1, 2023).
8.03.020 Violation of Othello municipal court orders.
Any person willfully failing to comply with any provision, condition or process of any order of the judge of the Othello municipal court shall be guilty of a crime. Unless otherwise shown, a failure to comply shall be presumed to be willful. A violation of this section shall be a gross misdemeanor; however, the penalty imposed under this section shall not exceed the maximum penalty for the original crime charged or, if there has been no charge, the offense for which the person was arrested. (Ord. 1593 § 1, 2023).
8.03.030 Violation of other court orders.
Any person violating, within the city of Othello, a court order issued by any court of competent jurisdiction, when the violation of such court order is a criminal misdemeanor or gross misdemeanor under:
(a) Chapter 7.105 or 9A.46 RCW (criminal no-contact order); or
(b) Chapter 7.105 RCW or the former Chapter 10.14 RCW (antiharassment order); or
(c) Chapter 7.105 or 10.99 RCW (criminal no-contact order); or
(d) Chapter 7.105 RCW (restraining order issued on behalf of an abused child or adult dependent person); or
(e) Chapter 7.105 or 26.09 RCW (dissolution action order); or
(f) Chapter 7.105 RCW or the former Chapter 26.26 RCW (parentage action order); or
(g) Chapter 7.105 RCW or the former Chapter 26.50 RCW (domestic violence protection order); or
(h) Chapter 7.105 or 26.52 RCW (foreign protection order); or
(i) Chapter 7.105 or 74.34 RCW (order for protection of a vulnerable adult);
is subject to prosecution for such violation in the Othello municipal court the same as any other criminal violation of this title. (Ord. 1593 § 1, 2023).
8.03.040 Violation of order—Penalties.
(a) Whenever an order is granted by the Othello municipal court or under any of the RCWs listed in Section 8.03.030, and the defendant, respondent, or person to be restrained knows of the order, a violation of the restraint provisions or of a provision excluding the person from a residence, workplace, school, or day care, or prohibiting the person from knowingly coming within, or knowingly remaining within, a specified distance of a location, or of a provision of a foreign protection order specifically indicating that a violation will be a crime, for which an arrest is required under RCW 10.31.100(2)(a) or (2)(b), is a gross misdemeanor except as provided in subsections (d) and (e) of this section.
(b) A peace officer shall arrest without a warrant and take into custody a person whom the peace officer has probable cause to believe has violated an order issued by the Othello municipal court or an order issued pursuant to Chapter 7.105, 10.99, 26.09, 26.10, 26.52, or 74.34 RCW, that restrains the person or excludes the person from a residence, workplace, school or day care, or prohibits the person from knowingly coming within, or knowingly remaining within, a specified distance of a location, if the person restrained knows of the order. Presence of the order in the law enforcement computer-based criminal intelligence information system is not the only means of establishing knowledge of the order.
(c) A violation of an order issued in Othello municipal court, or under Chapter 7.105, 10.99, 26.09, 26.10, 26.52, or 74.34 RCW, or the former Chapter 26.26 or 26.50 RCW, shall also constitute contempt of court, and is subject to the penalties prescribed by law.
(d) Any assault that is a violation of an order issued by Othello municipal court, or under Chapter 7.105, 10.99, 26.09, 26.10, 26.52, or 74.34 RCW, or the former Chapter 26.26 or 26.50 RCW, that does not amount to assault in the first or second degree under RCW 9A.36.011 or 9A.36.021, is a Class C felony, and any conduct in violation of such an order that is reckless and creates a substantial risk of death or serious physical injury to another person is a Class C felony.
(e) A violation of a court order issued by Othello municipal court, or under Chapter 7.105, 10.99, 26.09, 26.10, 26.52, or 74.34 RCW or the former Chapter 26.26 or 26.50 RCW, is a Class C felony if the offender has at least two previous convictions for violating the provisions of an order issued under Chapter 7.105, 10.99, 26.09, 26.10, 26.52, or 74.34 RCW, or the former Chapter 26.26 or 26.50 RCW. The previous convictions may involve the same victim or other victims specifically protected by the orders the offender violated.
(f) Upon the filing of an affidavit by the petitioner or any peace officer alleging that the defendant, respondent, or person under restraint has violated an order granted under the Othello Municipal Code, or under Chapter 7.105, 10.99, 26.09, 26.10, 26.52, or 74.34 RCW, or the former Chapter 26.26 or 26.50 RCW, the court may issue an order to the defendant, respondent, or person under restraint, requiring that person to appear and show cause within fourteen days why he or she should not be found in contempt of court and punished accordingly. The hearing may be held in the court of any county or municipality in which the petitioner or respondent temporarily or permanently resides at the time of the alleged violation. (Ord. 1593 § 1, 2023).
8.03.050 Nonliability of peace officer.
A peace officer shall not be held liable in any civil action for an arrest based on probable cause, enforcement in good faith of a court order, or any other action or omission in good faith under this chapter arising from an allegation brought by any party to the incident. (Ord. 1593 § 1, 2023).