Contumacy

{{short description|Stubborn refusal to obey authority}} '''Contumacy''' is a stubborn refusal to obey authority or, particularly in law, the willful contempt of the order or summons of a court (see contempt of court). Etymologists derive the term from the Latin word {{lang | la | contumacia}}, meaning "firmness" or "stubbornness".{{sfn|Chisholm|1911}}

In English ecclesiastical law, contumacy was contempt of the authority of an ecclesiastical court and was dealt with by the issue of a writ from the Court of Chancery at the instance of the judge of the ecclesiastical court. This writ took the place of the {{lang | la | de excommunicato capiendo}} in 1813, by an act of George III (see excommunication).{{sfn|Chisholm|1911}}

In the U.S., while contumacy was not expressly mentioned in the U.S. Constitution, the courts have long asserted an inherent power of judges to punish such refusal, which in this context is known as ''contempt of court''.{{Citation needed|date=April 2011}} The U.S. Supreme Court, in ''obiter dicta'', recognized federal courts' inherent power to imprison a person for contumacy in 1812 in ''United States v. Hudson & Goodwin'' without a reference to a definition of contumacy in common or statutory law.<ref>[http://supreme.justia.com/us/11/32/case.html United States v. Hudson & Goodwin], 11 U.S. (7 Cranch) 32 - "The courts of the United States [...] have the power to fine for contempts, to imprison for contumacy, and to enforce the observance of their orders." </ref>

==References== {{reflist}} '''Attribution:''' *{{EB1911|wstitle=Contumacy|volume=7|page=45}}

== External links == {{wiktionary | contumacy}} * [https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/contumacy Contumacy] at Wiktionary

==Further reading== *{{Cite Catholic Encyclopedia|last=Driscoll |first=James H. |wstitle=Contumacy (in Canon Law) |volume=4}}

Category:Canon law of the Anglican Communion