Senate committee amendment raises magistrate-court contempt fines to $1,000 for repeat offenses

Senators adopted a Judiciary committee amendment that raises penalties for contempt in magistrate court and adjusts sentencing options.

Explaining the amendment, the Junior Senator from the 15th said, "This bill raises the penalties for contempt of magistrate court. The first offense will be a fine of up to $200, the second offense a fine of up to $500, and the third offense a fine of $1,000." He added that alternative sentences, including work-release programs, "may be imposed for third or subsequent offenses," and that the striking-insert raises the maximum fine a court can levy for contempt without a jury trial to $1,000, a maximum he said "has not been raised for over 100 years." The amendment was adopted by voice vote and the bill advanced to third reading.

The transcript does not include a detailed fiscal note or estimates of how many cases will be affected; senators framed the change as updating long-unchanged statutory language and allowing courts additional sentencing flexibility.