Rule for Contempt of Court.
When someone violates a court order — unpaid child support, denied visitation, ignored injunction, unpaid alimony — you can ask the court to enforce compliance through fine, jail, or both. This is called a Rule for Contempt.
What contempt is (and isn't)
Constructive contempt under La. C.C.P. art. 224(2) is willful disobedience of a court order that happens outside the court's immediate presence. Common examples:
- Failing to pay court-ordered child support
- Denying visitation without lawful excuse
- Removing a child from the parish without permission
- Violating a protective order or injunction
- Failing to turn over property ordered to be delivered
What contempt is NOT:
- General dislike of the other party's behavior
- Violations of informal agreements not put into a court order
- Non-payment when the person genuinely cannot pay (contempt requires willfulness)
The step-by-step process
Get a certified copy of the order
You cannot enforce an order you cannot prove exists. Go to the parish Clerk of Court and request a certified copy of the specific judgment or order you claim was violated. This attaches to the Rule as Exhibit A.
Document the violation precisely
You must show specifically what was violated and when. Gather:
- For child support: payment history from state disbursement unit, bank records, missed payment amounts and dates
- For visitation: text messages, emails, contemporaneous logs of denied exchanges, witnesses
- For injunctions: photos, videos, communications, police reports, witness statements
Generalized allegations ("she always denies visitation") will not survive a well-defended contempt. Be specific.
Download the Rule and Order
Fill in specific violations
The Rule has blanks for you to list the violations. Do not write generalities. Write:
- "Respondent was ordered to pay $500 per month child support beginning January 1, 2024. Respondent paid $500 in January 2024 and has paid nothing since. As of today, arrearages total $6,000."
- "Respondent was ordered to deliver the minor child every other weekend from Friday 5pm to Sunday 5pm. On the following dates, Respondent failed to deliver the child or refused the exchange: [list dates]."
File at the same court
File the Rule and the proposed Order at the court where the underlying order was entered. Filing fee is typically $75–$150.
Personal service required
Contempt must be served by personal service only. Domiciliary service (leaving with a household member) is not enough because jail is a possible outcome, and due process requires the respondent be personally notified. The sheriff serves.
Attend the hearing
Bring:
- The certified copy of the underlying order (Exhibit A)
- All evidence of the violations (organized chronologically)
- Witnesses if applicable
- Payment records from the state disbursement unit (for child support cases)
- Photo ID
Understand the possible outcomes
If the court finds contempt, it can:
- Order jail (up to six months for civil contempt, subject to purge conditions)
- Impose fines
- Order arrearages reduced to a judgment
- Order make-up visitation
- Award your reasonable attorney fees and costs (La. R.S. 9:375)
- Set purge conditions (e.g., "pay $2,000 within 30 days or serve 30 days in parish jail")
If jail is on the table, the respondent has a constitutional right to counsel — and if they cannot afford one, the court must appoint one. This can delay the hearing. Do not seek jail unless you are prepared to prove willful violation.
Contempt requires willful disobedience. If the respondent lost their job, was hospitalized, or is otherwise financially unable to comply, contempt will fail — and you may be ordered to pay their attorney fees. Use a Rule to Modify instead.
If child support arrearages are piling up because circumstances changed, the paying parent should file a Rule to Modify. If you are the receiving parent and know circumstances have genuinely changed, offer to consent to a modification — a modified order that gets paid is more valuable than an unmodified order that does not.