Fed-up judge finds state agency in contempt

You have to work at it to be cited for contempt of court in Minnesota. It’s a rare sanction for individuals and essentially, unheard of for government agencies—until now.

A party has to act in bad faith or display disrespect for the judicial process in order for a judge to issue a contempt of court citation. That’s according to the assistant attorney general who recently had the unenviable task of defending the Minnesota Board of Teaching against a contempt of court motion in St. Paul.

It’s a high bar, but one the teaching board more than met, according to Ramsey County District Court Judge Shawn Bartsh. Besides that black eye, the state agency was slapped with a court-ordered fine, attorneys’ fees and court costs.

You can check out the board’s latest run-in with the courts in my latest news alert.