N.Y. JUD Law § 751 — New York Code / Act JUD / Article 19 / Section 751
Punishment for criminal contempts
Status: in_force

§ 751. Punishment for criminal contempts. 1. Except as provided in\nsubdivisions (2), (3) and (4), punishment for a contempt, specified in\nsection seven hundred fifty, may be by fine, not exceeding one thousand\ndollars, or by imprisonment, not exceeding thirty days, in the jail of\nthe county where the court is sitting, or both, in the discretion of the\ncourt. Where the punishment for contempt is based on a violation of an\norder of protection issued under section 530.12 or 530.13 of the\ncriminal procedure law, imprisonment may be for a term not exceeding\nthree months. Where a person is committed to jail, for the nonpayment of\na fine, imposed under this section, he must be discharged at the\nexpiration of thirty days; but where he is also committed for a definite\ntime, the thirty days must be computed from the expiration of the\ndefinite time.\n  Such a contempt, committed in the immediate view and presence of the\ncourt, may be punished summarily; when not so committed, the party\ncharged must be notified of the accusation, and have a reasonable time\nto make a defense.\n  2. (a) Where an employee organization, as defined in section two\nhundred one of the civil service law, wilfully disobeys a lawful mandate\nof a court of record, or wilfully offers resistance to such lawful\nmandate, in a case involving or growing out of a strike in violation of\nsubdivision one of section two hundred ten of the civil service law, the\npunishment for each day that such contempt persists may be by a fine\nfixed in the discretion of the court. In the case of a government exempt\nfrom certain provisions of article fourteen of the civil service law,\npursuant to section two hundred twelve of such law, the court may, as an\nadditional punishment for such contempt, order forfeiture of the rights\ngranted pursuant to the provisions of paragraph (b) of subdivision one,\nand subdivision three of section two hundred eight of such law, for such\nspecified period of time, as the court shall determine or, in the\ndiscretion of the court, for an indefinite period of time subject to\nrestoration upon application, with notice to all interested parties,\nsupported by proof of good faith compliance with the requirements of\nsubdivision one of section two hundred ten of the civil service law\nsince the date of such violation, such proof to include, for example,\nthe successful negotiation, without a violation of subdivision one of\nsection two hundred ten of the civil service law, of a contract covering\nthe employees in the unit affected by such violation; provided, however,\nthat where a fine imposed pursuant to this subdivision remains wholly or\npartly unpaid, after the exhaustion of the cash and securities of the\nemployee organization, such forfeiture shall be suspended to the extent\nnecessary for the unpaid portion of such fine to be accumulated by the\npublic employer and transmitted to the court. In fixing the amount of\nthe fine and/or duration of the forfeiture, the court shall consider all\nthe facts and circumstances directly related to the contempt, including,\nbut not limited to: (i) the extent of the wilful defiance of or a\nresistance to the court's mandate (ii) the impact of the strike on the\npublic health, safety, and welfare of the community and (iii) the\nability of the employee organization to pay the fine imposed; and the\ncourt may consider (i) the refusal of the employee organization or the\nappropriate public employer, as defined in section two hundred one of\nthe civil service law, or the representatives thereof, to submit to the\nmediation and fact-finding procedures provided in section two hundred\nnine of the civil service law and (ii) whether, if so alleged by the\nemployee organization, the appropriate public employer or its\nrepresentatives engaged in such acts of extreme provocation as to\ndetract from the responsibility of the employee organization for the\nstrike. In determining the ability of the employee organization to pay\nthe fine imposed, the court shall consider both the income and the\nassets of such employee organization.\n  (b) In the event membership dues and sums equivalent to dues are\ncollected by the public employer as provided respectively in paragraph\n(b) of subdivision one and subdivision three of section two hundred\neight of the civil service law, the books and records of such public\nemployer shall be prima facie evidence of the amount so collected.\n  (c) (i) An employee organization appealing an adjudication and fine\nfor criminal contempt imposed pursuant to subdivision two of this\nsection, shall not be required to pay such fine until such appeal is\nfinally determined.\n  (ii) The court to which such an appeal is taken shall, on motion of\nany party thereto, grant a preference in the hearing thereof.\n  3. (a) Where a union or hospital wilfully disobeys a lawful mandate of\na court of record, or wilfully offers resistance to such lawful mandate,\nin a case involving or growing out of a violation of section seven\nhundred thirteen of the labor law, the punishment for each day that such\ncontempt persists may be by a fine fixed in the discretion of the court.\nIn fixing the amount of such fine, the court shall consider all the\nfacts and circumstances directly related to the contempt, including, but\nnot limited to: (i) the extent of the wilful defiance of, or resistance\nto, the court's mandate (ii) the impact of the strike or lockout on the\npublic health, safety and welfare of the community and (iii) the ability\nof the union or hospital to pay the fine imposed; and the court may\nconsider (i) the refusal of the union or hospital, or the\nrepresentatives thereof, to submit to or comply with, the fact-finding\nand arbitration procedures provided in section seven hundred sixteen of\nthe labor law. In determining the ability of the union or hospital to\npay the fine imposed, the court shall consider both the income and the\nassets of such union or hospital.\n  (b) A union or hospital appealing an adjudication and fine for\ncriminal contempt imposed pursuant to this subdivision, shall not be\nrequired to pay such fine until such appeal is finally determined. The\ncourt to which such an appeal is taken shall, on motion of any party\nthereto, grant a preference in the hearing thereof.\n  (c) As used in this subdivision, "union" shall mean any labor\norganization or company union as defined in section seven hundred one of\nthe labor law, and "hospital" shall mean any non-profit-making hospital\nor residential care center as defined in that section.\n  4. Where any person wilfully disobeys a lawful mandate of the supreme\ncourt issued pursuant to subdivision twelve of section sixty-three of\nthe executive law, the punishment for each day that such contempt\npersists may be by a fine fixed in the discretion of the court, but not\nto exceed five thousand dollars per day. In fixing the amount of the\nfine, the court shall consider all the facts and circumstances directly\nrelated to the contempt, including, but not limited to: (i) the extent\nof the wilful defiance of or resistance to the court's mandate, (ii) the\namount of gain obtained by the wilful disobedience of the mandate, and\n(iii) the effect upon the public of the wilful disobedience.\n  5. Where any member of the news media as defined in subdivision two of\nsection two hundred eighteen of this chapter, willfully disobeys a\nlawful mandate of a court issued pursuant to such section, the\npunishment for each day that such contempt persists may be by a fine\nfixed in the discretion of the court, but not to exceed five thousand\ndollars per day or imprisonment, not exceeding thirty days, in the jail\nof the county where the court is sitting or both, in the discretion of\nthe court. In fixing the amount of the fine, the court shall consider\nall the facts and circumstances directly related to the contempt,\nincluding, but not limited to: (i) the extent of the willful defiance of\nor resistance to the court's mandate, (ii) the amount of gain obtained\nby the willful disobedience of the mandate, and (iii) the effect upon\nthe public and the parties to the proceeding of the willful\ndisobedience.\n