Eastern Associated Coal Corp. v. Doe

Neely, Justice:

The Court granted this appeal to clarify the law of contempt in light of recent United States Supreme Court cases. This appeal presents three substantial questions with regard to the law of contempt which have not been squarely addressed by this Court for many years. The first is the extent to which the alleged invalidity of a temporary injunction may be asserted as a defense in a contempt proceeding for violation of the injunction; the second is the distinction in this jurisdiction between civil and criminal contempt and the procedural requirements necessary for the successful…