§3691. Jury trial of criminal contempts

Whenever a contempt charged shall consist in willful disobedience of any lawful writ, process, order, rule, decree, or command of any district court of the United States by doing or omitting any act or thing in violation thereof, and the act or thing done or omitted also constitutes a criminal offense under any Act of Congress, or under the laws of any state in which it was done or omitted, the accused, upon demand therefor, shall be entitled to trial by a jury, which shall conform as near as may be to the practice in other criminal cases.

This section shall not apply to contempts committed in the presence of the court, or so near thereto as to obstruct the administration of justice, nor to contempts committed in disobedience of any lawful writ, process, order, rule, decree, or command entered in any suit or action brought or prosecuted in the name of, or on behalf of, the United States.

(June 25, 1948, ch. 645, 62 Stat. 844 .)

Historical and Revision Notes

Based on sections 386, 389 of title 28, U.S.C., 1940 ed., Judicial Code and Judiciary (Oct. 15, 1914, ch. 323, §§21, 24, 38 Stat. 738 , 739).

The first paragraph of this section is completely rewritten from section 386 of title 28, U.S.C., 1940 ed., Judicial Code and Judiciary, omitting everything covered and superseded by rules 23 and 42 of the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure.

The second paragraph of this section is derived from section 389 of title 28, U.S.C., 1940 ed., Judicial Code and Judiciary, omitting directions as to the trial of other contempts which are now covered by rule 42 of the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure.

Minor changes were made in phraseology.