Guideline 8:02A
A violation of a compensation order does not appear enforceable under G.L. c. 258E, § 8, but may be enforced through contempt proceedings.
Criminal contempt is usually charged in the court that issued the order, regardless of where the alleged violation occurred. Criminal contempt can be alleged and prosecuted even when the alleged violation occurred in another state.
In many circumstances, civil rather than criminal contempt proceedings are preferred for orders that can only be enforced by contempt proceedings. The basic distinction lies, not in the contemnor’s actions, but in the court’s goal:
- if the court’s purpose is solely coercive or remedial, the contempt is civil;
- if the court has any punitive purpose (to punish the affront to the law or to deter others), the contempt must be treated as criminal.
Commentary
Violations of orders for no abuse, no harassment, no-contact, to stay-away from a residence, or workplace, or to surrender firearms and firearms licenses can be prosecuted under c. 258E. See Commonwealth v. Finase, 435 Mass. 310, 313-314 (2001). Violations of any other types of harassment protection orders (e.g., compensation) are only subject to prosecution as criminal or civil contempt. See id. at 314 n. 2.
There is no statute prescribing the venue for criminal prosecutions for contempt. A complaint for criminal contempt for violating a court order should ordinarily be brought and tried in the court that issued the order. See Commonwealth v. Brogan, 415 Mass. 169, 173 (1993).
General Laws c. 258E, § 7 provides that “any protection order issued by another jurisdiction as defined in section one, shall be given full faith and credit throughout the commonwealth and enforced as if it were issued in the commonwealth for as long as the order is in effect in the issuing jurisdiction.” See Guideline 10:00 Filing and Enforcement of Protective Orders Issued by Other Jurisdictions. This may include enforcement through criminal or civil contempt proceedings.
Conduct that constitutes criminal contempt may be referred to the police or district attorney, or the victim can apply for a civilian complaint. Suggested charging language to be set forth on a complaint charging criminal contempt is as follows:
Did commit an act of criminal contempt, to wit, [describe the act constituting the contempt], in violation of an order issued by this court pursuant to G.L. c. 258E on [date of issuance of order].
Prosecution of a violation of a c. 258E order as a contempt case may preclude prosecution of the same conduct under c. 258E, § 8, and may preclude prosecution of any underlying crimes. See Mahoney v. Commonwealth, 415 Mass. 278, 283-287 (1993), and cases cited therein. A criminal contempt proceeding is punitive in nature and “the defendant is entitled to the protections normally accorded to criminal defendants under the law of the Commonwealth”, including an opportunity to receive notice of the charges, to defend against them, to have counsel and to have the case tried before a jury, at which the defendant is presumed to be innocent and the case must be proved beyond a reasonable doubt. Furtado v. Furtado, 380 Mass. 137, 142 (1980). Prosecution of the criminal contempt case should proceed as any other criminal case. See Mass. R. Crim. P. 44. A judgment of civil contempt presents no double jeopardy bar to a later prosecution for criminal contempt. Vizcaino v. Commonwealth, 462 Mass. 266, 268 n.1 (2012).
For an extensive analysis of contempt procedure, see A Guide to Contempt Procedures in the District Court (2021), available on Courtyard.
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| Last updated: | October 20, 2025 |
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