Opinion ID: 2627657
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 5

Heading: Inherent Contempt Authority

Text: ¶ 9 A court's authority to impose sanctions for contempt is a question of law, which we review de novo. As a division of the superior courts, juvenile courts have inherent authority to impose contempt sanctions on youth. Juvenile court commissioners possess the same inherent power as a superior court judge. A.K., 162 Wash.2d at 645-46, 174 P.3d 11. ¶ 10 Because contempt of court is disruptive of court proceedings and/or undermines the court's authority, courts are vested with `an inherent contempt authority, as a power necessary to the exercise of all others.' A.K., 162 Wash.2d at 645, 174 P.3d 11 (internal quotation marks omitted) (quoting Int'l Union, United Mine Workers of Am. v. Bagwell, 512 U.S. 821, 831, 114 S.Ct. 2552, 129 L.Ed.2d 642 (1994)). Inherent contempt power is separate from statutorily granted contempt power. The inherent contempt power is lodged permanently with the court, and the legislature may not, by its enactments, deprive the court of that power. The legislature may regulate that power, so long as such regulation does not render the court's contempt power ineffectual. ¶ 11 As A.K. makes clear, a juvenile court's use of its inherent contempt power is not unrestricted: its use is appropriate only in limited situations. 162 Wash.2d at 647, 174 P.3d 11. Moreover, the Constitution circumscribes the exercise of inherent authority by requiring courts to provide appropriate due process protections to contemnors. Due process protections are determined by whether the sanction is remedial or punitive. See A.K., 162 Wash.2d at 645-46, 174 P.3d 11.