Opinion ID: 2225574
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 10

Heading: A Court Has Inherent Power to Remedy Violations of Its Orders

Text: Before we decided Kasparek, we had held that  25-1072 cannot limit a district court's inherent power to punish for contempt of its orders: [T]he power to punish for contempt of court is a power inherent in all courts of general jurisdiction,... independent of any special or express grant of statute. [31] In State ex rel. Beck v. Frontier Airlines , [32] the contemnor argued that the district court lacked authority to impose a fine above the $200 specified in  25-1072. We rejected that argument and affirmed the court's $1,000 fine for each day of a specified period that the defendant violated the court's injunction. We have stated that a court that has jurisdiction to issue an order also has the power to enforce it. [33] A court can issue orders that are necessary to carry its judgment or decree into effect. [34] Nebraska courts, through their inherent judicial power, have the authority to do all things reasonably necessary for the proper administration of justice. [35] And this authority exists apart from any statutory grant of authority. We have recently explained that the power to punish for contempt is incident to every judicial tribune. It is derived from a court's constitutional power, without any expressed statutory aid, and is inherent in all courts of record. [36] Similarly, federal courts and other state courts hold that courts of general jurisdiction have broad remedial power to enforce their orders, judgments, or decrees. [37] The measure of the court's power in civil contempt proceedings is determined by the requirements of full remedial relief. [38] So, we hold that compensatory relief that is limited to a complainant's actual losses sustained because of a contemnor's willful contempt is remedial and is not prohibited in a civil contempt proceeding. Accordingly, we overrule Kasparek v. May [39] to the extent that it prohibits compensatory relief in a contempt proceeding.