Legal Question in Criminal Law in Mississippi
Part of a court order against me stated I would have items that were seized from my home returned to me within 30 days of the order. It has been 58 days since the order was issued. Does this mean the police are in contempt of court? If so, is it possible that the court could press charges against the officer(s) involved? What should I do about getting my items returned?
1 Answer from Attorneys
Yes, technically someone is probably in "contempt" in that there was a violation of the court order. However, "Contempt" carries with it an element of "wilfullness" and I doubt you will be able to prove anyone was "willfully" in violation of the Order, particularly when everyone is probably going to claim that they thought someone else would take care of returning your property. Further, Law Enforcement personnel also have "sovereign immunity" from prosecution thus it probably will be a wasted effort to try to force them to be "In Contempt"
However, a "Motion to Require Specific Performance of Order" would appear appropriate where someone files a Motion with the Court seeking an ORDER requiring a specific Law Enforcement person or agency to return your property (and I would suggest you specifically list each and every item in a detailed description to the greatest extent possible so there is no excuse for partial delivery of property once the Order is entered.
If you do not have an attorney it is suggested you retain on for this process as it is unlikely you would be able to do it without proper legal papers in proper legal format
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