State v. T.A.W.
State v. T.A.W.
Opinion of the Court
¶1 A juvenile found to have violated the terms of a temporary civil antiharassment protection order issued under the authority of chapter 10.14 RCW is subject to the sanction contained in RCW 7.21.030(4). That sanction is purely punitive and thus criminal in nature, despite its being included in a section of the revised code that is labeled as remedial. Hence, we affirm.
¶2 A temporary antiharassment protection order prohibited T.A.W., a juvenile, from having any contact with J.F.
ANALYSIS
¶3 It is contempt to willfully disobey a lawful court order.
¶4 The protection order granted to J.F. was authorized under chapter 10.14 RCW. The penalties for violating such an order are set forth in RCW 10.14.120, which provides:
Any willful disobedience by a respondent age eighteen years or over of any temporary antiharassment protection order or civil antiharassment protection order issued under this chapter subjects the respondent to criminal penalties under this chapter. Any respondent age eighteen years or over who willfully disobeys the terms of any order issued under this chapter may also, in the court’s discretion, be found in contempt of court and subject to penalties under chapter 7.21 RCW. Any respondent under the age of eighteen years who willfully disobeys the terms of an order issued under this chapter may, in the court’s discretion, be found in contempt of court and subject to the sanction specified in RCW 7.21.030(4)[6]
RCW 7.21.030(4), in turn, provides:
If the court finds that a person under the age of eighteen years has willfully disobeyed the terms of an order issued under chapter 10.14 RCW, the court may find the person in contempt of court and may, as a sole sanction for such contempt, commit the person to juvenile detention for a period of time not to exceed seven days.
¶5 T.A.W. contends the court lacked authority to hold T.A.W. criminally liable because the legislature provided only for civil sanctions under RCW 7.21.030(4) for minors in contempt. We agree with T.A.W. that this provision provides the exclusive sanction a court is authorized to impose on a minor found in contempt of an antiharassment order issued under chapter 10.14 RCW. We disagree, however, that a sanction imposed under RCW 7.21.030(4) is necessarily remedial in nature and thus a civil sanction rather than a criminal sanction.
¶7 Rather than look to the caption or label, we look to the actual text of the statute to interpret its meaning and the nature of the sanction the legislature intended for minors who violate antiharassment orders.
¶8 While contempt that involves imprisonment remains remedial so long as the contemnor has the power to purge the contempt, here, there was no such purge provision in
¶9 The trial court is affirmed.
It is unclear from the record whether J.F. is a minor and thus out of caution we have elected to use her initials.
RCW 7.21.010(1)(b).
In the Interest of M.B., 101 Wn. App. 425, 438, 3 P.3d 780 (2000); see also RCW 7.21.030, .040.
M.B., 101 Wn. App. at 438.
In re Pers. Restraint of King, 110 Wn.2d 793, 801, 756 P.2d 1303 (1988).
6 (Emphasis added.)
State v. Arndt, 87 Wn.2d 374, 379, 553 P.2d 1328 (1976); RCW 44.20.050; see also State v. Roby, 67 Wn. App. 741, 745, 840 P.2d 218 (1992).
State v. Cooley, 53 Wn. App. 163, 166-67, 765 P.2d 1327 (1989).
See State v. Chhom, 162 Wn.2d 451, 173 P.3d 234 (2007); RCW 44.20.050.
101 Wn. App. 309, 315-17, 2 P.3d 501 (2000).
See M.B., 101 Wn. App. at 445.
Laws of 2001, ch. 260, § 4.
King, 110 Wn.2d at 800-01; see also M.B., 101 Wn. App. at 441.
In re Dependency of A.K, 162 Wn.2d 632, 645-46, 174 P.3d 11 (2007) (citing Int’l Union, United Mine Workers of Am. v. Bagwell, 512 U.S. 821, 828, 114 S. Ct. 2552, 129 L. Ed. 2d 642 (1994)).
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.