Editing Contempt of court (section)

====Criminal contempt====
The [[Crown Court]] is a [[superior court]] according to the [[Senior Courts Act 1981]], and Crown Courts have the power to punish contempt. The [[Divisional Court (England and Wales)|Divisional Court]] as part of the [[High Court of England and Wales|High Court]] has ruled that this power can apply in these three circumstances:

# Contempt "in the face of the court" (not to be taken literally; the judge does not need to see it, provided it took place within the court precincts or relates to a case currently before that court);
# Disobedience of a court order; and
# Breaches of undertakings to the court.

Where it is necessary to act quickly, a judge may act to impose committal (to prison) for contempt.

Where it is not necessary to be so urgent, or where indirect contempt has taken place the [[Attorney General for England and Wales|Attorney General]] can intervene and the [[Crown Prosecution Service]] will institute criminal proceedings on his behalf before a Divisional Court of the [[King's Bench Division]] of the [[High Court of Justice of England and Wales]]. For example, in January 2012, Theodora Dallas, a [[jury|juror]] who had researched information on the internet was jailed for contempt of court. Initially [[internet search|searching]] for the meaning of the term "[[grievous bodily harm]]", she added search criteria which localised her search and brought to light another charge against the defendant. Because she then shared this information with the other jurors, the judge stated that she had compromised the defendant's right to a fair trial and the prosecution was abandoned.<ref>Bowcott, O., [https://www.theguardian.com/law/2012/jan/23/juror-contempt-court-online-research Juror jailed over online research], ''The Guardian'', published 23 January 2012, accessed 21 November 2023</ref>

[[Magistrates' court (England and Wales)|Magistrates' court]]s also have powers under the 1981 Act to order to detain any person who "insults the court" or otherwise disrupts its proceedings until the end of the sitting. Upon contempt being admitted or proved the (invariably) [[Judiciary of England and Wales#District judges|District Judge]] (sitting as a [[Magistrate (England and Wales)|magistrate]]) may order committal to prison for a maximum of one month, impose a fine of up to £2,500, or both.

It will be contempt to bring an audio recording device or picture-taking device of any sort into an English court without the consent of the court.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.cps.gov.uk/legal-guidance/contempt-court-reporting-restrictions-and-restrictions-public-access-hearings|title=Contempt of Court, Reporting Restrictions and Restrictions on Public Access to Hearings|website=www.cps.gov.uk|date=2018-05-11|access-date=2019-07-08}}</ref>

It will not be contempt according to section 10 of the Act for a [[journalist]] to refuse to disclose his sources, unless the court has considered the evidence available and determined that the information is "necessary in the interests of justice or national security or for the prevention of disorder or crime".