Dad with two conflicting court orders can’t be found in contempt
The father of this Warren County, Tennessee case was sentenced by Judge Ryan J. Moore to jail for contempt after denying the grandmother of the child visitation. The father had obtained an Illinois court order of protection against the grandmother based on allegations of sexual misconduct. The father’s grandmother was originally the joint custodian of the child, but their relationship soured. He obtained an order of protection after hearing the child say that the grandmother touched her inappropriately. The Illinois order stated the grandmother’s visitation was “suspended” until further order by the court.
The grandmother brought a motion of contempt to the Tennessee Court after hearing from the child that the grandmother had touched her inappropriately. The court said that it was “reluctant”, given the Illinois order, to find the father guilty of contempt. The father was also fined $500.
The trial court noted that the Department of Children’s Services had found the accusations unfounded and reminded the father to seek an order from the Tennessee court before violating court orders. The father was fined $500.
The court noted that the Department of Children’s Services found the accusations to be unfounded and reminded him to seek an order before violating court orders. The father was sentenced to 380-days, but the court noted that he could request early release in the future. The father appealed the decision to the Tennessee Court of Appeals. The appeals court rejected the father’s arguments and instead focused on the issue of willfulness. The appeals court pointed out that the father had to deal with two court orders which were in conflict. It pointed out that the two orders were diametrically opposed, and that compliance with both would have been impossible.
The mother argued that the father had set up this impossibility by obtaining the Illinois court order. The appeals court did see some merit in this argument but
it also pointed out that there was no evidence to support that the lower court found that the father acted in bad-faith in pursuing the Illinois order.
Although the Tennessee court found that the allegations were unfounded, it was not proven that the father fabricated them.
For all these reasons, the Court of Appeals concluded that the evidence does not support a finding of willfulness. The Court of Appeals reversed the order that found the father guilty of criminal contempt. M2023-00784-COA-T10B-JV (Tenn. Ct. App. See original opinion for exact wording. Legal citations have been omitted.
For more information, please see the Tennessee Grandparent Visitation Rights Law.
