View source for Contumacy

{{short description|Stubborn refusal to obey authority}}
{{wikt | contumacy}}
'''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 language |Latin]] word {{lang | la | contumacia}}, meaning "firmness" or "stubbornness".{{sfn|Chisholm|1911}}

In [[Canon law (Anglican Communion) |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 | [[Writ De Excommunicato Capiendo Act 1562| de excommunicato capiendo]]}} in 1813, by an act of [[George III of the United Kingdom|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 [[Supreme Court of the United States | U.S. Supreme Court]] 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."
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== See also ==

* [[Court-martial]]
* [[Dishonesty]]
* [[Insubordination]]
* [[Failure to obey a police order]]
* [[Mutiny]]
* [[Rebellion]]
* [[Whistle blower]]

== External Links ==
* [https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/contumacy Contumacy] at Wiktionary

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

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

[[Category:Canon law of the Anglican Communion]]


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