Barnett v. Barnett

First, we must define in greater detail the issue presented here — or, more precisely, we must state what is not the specific issue presented. The question is not whether the automatic stay provision of Section 362, Title 11, U.S. Code, would thwart a state court’s inherent or *49statutory contempt power, where the exercise of such power is utilized to uphold the dignity of the court. Where the state court is exercising its contempt powers in order to so maintain the dignity of the court and its process, rather than being a step to collect on a judgment, the cases have rather uniformly held that…