Body Attachments In An Illinois Divorce Court

Divorce law is funny in Illinois. We say “dissolution of marriage” instead of “divorce,” we say “maintenance” instead of “alimony,” and we say “body attachment” instead of “an order for arrest.” A body attachment is a big deal! A body attachment is an Illinois court saying, “if you don’t follow our rules, we will lock you up until you do.” “A body attachment order has long been held an appropriate vehicle to effectuate an order of commitment after a person has been adjudged in civil contempt.” In re Marriage of Harnack, 2022 IL App (1st) 210143 The court does not have an absolute power to lock people up, however. There are strict rules that an Illinois divorce court must follow if it wishes to put someone in jail.  What Leads Up To A Body Attachment In An Illinois Divorce? Before a body attachment can be issued by an Illinois court, there must be a finding of contempt. There are four kinds of contempt in Illinois: direct criminal contempt, indirect criminal contempt, direct civil contempt, and indirect civil contempt. Direct criminal contempt is a person doing something outrageous in front of a judge so that the judge “directly” sees the contemnor and immediately imprisons him for his bad behavior. No need to issue a body attachment as the contemnor is right there in front of the court. The officer (a bailiff in other states) is there at the court’s disposal for the exact purpose of restoring order by placing the unruly into immediate custody. Indirect criminal contempt is where the court hears about a contemnor doing something outrageous outside of the courtroom. It is criminal contempt to diminish the “dignity and authority of the court” Peo. ex Rel. Chi. Bar Assoc. v. Barasch, 21 Ill. 2d 407, 173 N.E.2d 417 (Ill. 1961).  But, if the judge did not see the bad behavior, it happened “indirectly.” Then the judge has to conduct a hearing to make sure the contemptuous behavior actually happened. “The respondent in a…criminal contempt proceeding is entitled to information on the nature of the charge, an opportunity to answer, the privilege against self-incrimination, the presumption of innocence, and the requirement of proof of guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.” In re Marriage of Betts, 200 Ill. App. 3d 26, 558 N.E.2d 404 (Ill. App. Ct. 1990) In order to conduct this hearing, the court can issue a body attachment […]

from Russell D. Knight | Family Lawyer Chicago https://rdklegal.com/body-attachments-in-an-illinois-divorce-court/