Brower v. Brower

PHILLIPS, Judge.

Defendant’s appeal is from an order of civil contempt confining him to prison until past due child support payments amount ing to $10,590 are paid. The order is without legal sanction, in our opinion, and must be vacated.

The difference between civil contempt and criminal contempt has been noted in several decisions of our Supreme Court. In essence, criminal contempt is administered as punishment for acts already committed that have impeded the administration of justice in some way. Mauney v. Mauney, 268 N.C. 254, 150 S.E. 2d 391 (1966). And as is the case with all offenses of…