2022 New York Laws
JUD - Judiciary
Article 19 - Contempts
751 - Punishment for Criminal Contempts.

§  751.  Punishment  for  criminal contempts. 1. Except as provided in
subdivisions (2), (3) and (4), punishment for a contempt,  specified  in
section  seven hundred fifty, may be by fine, not exceeding one thousand
dollars, or by imprisonment, not exceeding thirty days, in the  jail  of
the county where the court is sitting, or both, in the discretion of the
court.  Where  the punishment for contempt is based on a violation of an
order of protection  issued  under  section  530.12  or  530.13  of  the
criminal  procedure  law,  imprisonment  may be for a term not exceeding
three months. Where a person is committed to jail, for the nonpayment of
a fine, imposed under  this  section,  he  must  be  discharged  at  the
expiration of thirty days; but where he is also committed for a definite
time,  the  thirty  days  must  be  computed  from the expiration of the
definite time.
  Such a contempt, committed in the immediate view and presence  of  the
court,  may  be  punished  summarily;  when  not so committed, the party
charged must be notified of the accusation, and have a  reasonable  time
to make a defense.
  2.  (a)  Where  an  employee  organization,  as defined in section two
hundred one of the civil service law, wilfully disobeys a lawful mandate
of a court of record, or  wilfully  offers  resistance  to  such  lawful
mandate,  in a case involving or growing out of a strike in violation of
subdivision one of section two hundred ten of the civil service law, the
punishment for each day that such contempt persists may  be  by  a  fine
fixed in the discretion of the court. In the case of a government exempt
from  certain  provisions  of article fourteen of the civil service law,
pursuant to section two hundred twelve of such law, the court may, as an
additional punishment for such contempt, order forfeiture of the  rights
granted  pursuant to the provisions of paragraph (b) of subdivision one,
and subdivision three of section two hundred eight of such law, for such
specified period of time, as  the  court  shall  determine  or,  in  the
discretion  of  the  court,  for an indefinite period of time subject to
restoration upon application, with notice  to  all  interested  parties,
supported  by  proof  of  good faith compliance with the requirements of
subdivision one of section two hundred ten  of  the  civil  service  law
since  the  date  of such violation, such proof to include, for example,
the successful negotiation, without a violation of  subdivision  one  of
section two hundred ten of the civil service law, of a contract covering
the employees in the unit affected by such violation; provided, however,
that where a fine imposed pursuant to this subdivision remains wholly or
partly  unpaid,  after  the exhaustion of the cash and securities of the
employee organization, such forfeiture shall be suspended to the  extent
necessary  for  the unpaid portion of such fine to be accumulated by the
public employer and transmitted to the court. In fixing  the  amount  of
the fine and/or duration of the forfeiture, the court shall consider all
the facts and circumstances directly related to the contempt, including,
but  not  limited  to:  (i)  the  extent  of the wilful defiance of or a
resistance to the court's mandate (ii) the impact of the strike  on  the
public  health,  safety,  and  welfare  of  the  community and (iii) the
ability of the employee organization to pay the fine  imposed;  and  the
court  may  consider (i) the refusal of the employee organization or the
appropriate public employer, as defined in section two  hundred  one  of
the  civil service law, or the representatives thereof, to submit to the
mediation and fact-finding procedures provided in  section  two  hundred
nine  of  the  civil  service law and (ii) whether, if so alleged by the
employee  organization,  the  appropriate   public   employer   or   its
representatives  engaged  in  such  acts  of  extreme  provocation as to
detract from the responsibility of the  employee  organization  for  the
strike.  In  determining the ability of the employee organization to pay

the fine imposed, the court shall  consider  both  the  income  and  the
assets of such employee organization.
  (b)  In  the  event  membership  dues  and sums equivalent to dues are
collected by the public employer as provided respectively  in  paragraph
(b)  of  subdivision  one  and  subdivision three of section two hundred
eight of the civil service law, the books and  records  of  such  public
employer shall be prima facie evidence of the amount so collected.
  (c)  (i)  An  employee organization appealing an adjudication and fine
for criminal contempt  imposed  pursuant  to  subdivision  two  of  this
section,  shall  not  be  required to pay such fine until such appeal is
finally determined.
  (ii) The court to which such an appeal is taken shall,  on  motion  of
any party thereto, grant a preference in the hearing thereof.
  3. (a) Where a union or hospital wilfully disobeys a lawful mandate of
a court of record, or wilfully offers resistance to such lawful mandate,
in  a  case  involving  or  growing  out of a violation of section seven
hundred thirteen of the labor law, the punishment for each day that such
contempt persists may be by a fine fixed in the discretion of the court.
In fixing the amount of such fine, the  court  shall  consider  all  the
facts and circumstances directly related to the contempt, including, but
not  limited to: (i) the extent of the wilful defiance of, or resistance
to, the court's mandate (ii) the impact of the strike or lockout on  the
public health, safety and welfare of the community and (iii) the ability
of  the  union  or  hospital  to pay the fine imposed; and the court may
consider  (i)  the  refusal  of  the   union   or   hospital,   or   the
representatives  thereof,  to submit to or comply with, the fact-finding
and arbitration procedures provided in section seven hundred sixteen  of
the  labor  law.  In determining the ability of the union or hospital to
pay the fine imposed, the court shall consider both the income  and  the
assets of such union or hospital.
  (b)  A  union  or  hospital  appealing  an  adjudication  and fine for
criminal contempt imposed pursuant to this  subdivision,  shall  not  be
required  to  pay such fine until such appeal is finally determined. The
court to which such an appeal is taken shall, on  motion  of  any  party
thereto, grant a preference in the hearing thereof.
  (c)  As  used  in  this  subdivision,  "union"  shall  mean  any labor
organization or company union as defined in section seven hundred one of
the labor law, and "hospital" shall mean any non-profit-making  hospital
or residential care center as defined in that section.
  4.  Where any person wilfully disobeys a lawful mandate of the supreme
court issued pursuant to subdivision twelve of  section  sixty-three  of
the  executive  law,  the  punishment  for  each  day that such contempt
persists may be by a fine fixed in the discretion of the court, but  not
to  exceed  five  thousand  dollars per day. In fixing the amount of the
fine, the court shall consider all the facts and circumstances  directly
related  to  the contempt, including, but not limited to: (i) the extent
of the wilful defiance of or resistance to the court's mandate, (ii) the
amount of gain obtained by the wilful disobedience of the  mandate,  and
(iii) the effect upon the public of the wilful disobedience.
  5. Where any member of the news media as defined in subdivision two of
section  two  hundred  eighteen  of  this  chapter, willfully disobeys a
lawful  mandate  of  a  court  issued  pursuant  to  such  section,  the
punishment  for  each  day  that such contempt persists may be by a fine
fixed in the discretion of the court, but not to  exceed  five  thousand
dollars  per day or imprisonment, not exceeding thirty days, in the jail
of the county where the court is sitting or both, in the  discretion  of
the  court.  In  fixing the amount of the fine, the court shall consider
all the facts  and  circumstances  directly  related  to  the  contempt,

including, but not limited to: (i) the extent of the willful defiance of
or  resistance  to the court's mandate, (ii) the amount of gain obtained
by the willful disobedience of the mandate, and (iii)  the  effect  upon
the   public   and   the  parties  to  the  proceeding  of  the  willful
disobedience.