Is there a limit to contempt of court?

[Frylock]

@Elendil's Heir

Acsenray has it mostly right. Magistrates under Ohio law are appointed by the court which they serve; all Ohio judges are elected by the public. “Magistrate judges” are found only in the Federal court system (before that, they were simply called magistrates, and even before that, U.S. commissioners) and serve 8-year terms if fulltime, and 4-year terms if part-time. Magistrates in Ohio municipal courts, like me, are appointed by the court as a whole, not by any individual judge, and hold office during good behavior. Only a majority of our judges could fire me (and I don’t intend to ever give them a reason to - it’s a good gig!). Other courts handle it differently. Magistrates in Ohio juvenile courts, for instance, are appointed by individual judges and lose office whenever the judge does, whether due to death, resignation, retirement, or defeat at the polls.

I do everything the judges of my court do, except conduct criminal jury trials and weddings, which are exclusively entrusted to judges. I can (and have) conducted civil jury trials if both sides consent. All of my decisions are subject to the review and approval, disapproval or re-referral by our judges, although 99% of the time they just sign off on what I’ve done.

Were you a lawyer first?

-FrL-

[Elendil_s_Heir]

Yes. You have to be a lawyer currently admitted to practice in Ohio to be appointed as a magistrate. I was a lawyer in various jobs for nine years before taking the bench.

[Don_t_Call_Me_Shirley]

@silenus

Suppose I was called in for jury duty, and when the bailiff says “Do you swear/affirm to answer all questions truthfully?” I say “No.” If the judge throws me in the slammer for being a smart-ass, will I rot there forever if I don’t change my tune? I know all I have to do is comply with the court’s wishes to be freed, but what if I refuse on moral grounds? Can contempt be a life sentence, or is there some statutory limit to how long the Sheriff can keep me canned?

It would seem like they could keep you in for as long as they wanted, provided you kept committing contempt. For example, say just hypothetically, the maximum a judge could throw you in jail for contempt was 30 days. You refuse to testify, the judge gives you 30 days. After 30 days, the judge brings you back to court, and you refuse again. That is another contempt charge with another 30 days. This could conceivably go on forever.