AJ 010 Lecture Notes - Lecture 2: Moe Williams

• School: Pasadena City College
• Department: Administration of Justice
• Course: AJ 010
• Professor: Gallon

Document Summary

There is a difference between an attack on the dignity or reputation of a judicial officer in his private capacity, and an attack on his dignity or reputation in his official capacity. Only the latter conduct, being a public injury and not just a private injury, can amount to contempt of court. The rationale of the crime is not to vindicate the dignity of the individual judicial officer but to protect the administration of justice. If the dignity and authority of a court or judicial officer are undermined, the public"s respect for the administration of justice and, thus, for the whole legal order, suffers. The courts" very existence and functioning are, after all, in the interests of the whole community. Furthermore, courts of law must be able to come to a proper decision without improper or extraneous influences. Classification of different types of conduct constituting contempt. The crime can be committed in many ways.