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Kansas Statutes Annotated

K.S.A. § 20-1205 (2026)

Contempt of court; appeal; stay of judgment

✓ current as of May 2026
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20-1205. Contempt of court; appeal; stay of judgment. The testimony taken on the trial of any accusation of contempt shall be preserved. An appeal may be taken from any judgment of conviction therefor in the same manner as is provided by law in civil cases. Upon the filing and service of a notice of appeal, execution of the judgment shall be stayed upon the giving of such bond as may be required by the court or a judge thereof, or by any justice or judge of an appellate court.

History: L. 1897, ch. 106, § 5; R.S. 1923, 20-1205; L. 1979, ch. 83, § 1; July 1.

CASE ANNOTATIONS

1. Stay of proceedings permits attorney to practice until appeal decided. Bird v. Gilbert, 40 Kan. 469, 19 P. 924.

2. Supreme court has inherent power to punish for contempt. The State v. Ross, 74 Kan. 260, 85 P. 803.

3. District judge presumed to act within jurisdiction. The State v. Walker, 78 Kan. 680, 97 P. 862.

4. Cited in affirming suspension for contempt. In re Hanson, 134 Kan. 165, 169, 5 P.2d 1088.

5. Contempt proceeding for violation of liquor nuisance injunction is criminal proceeding. State, ex rel., v. Miller, 147 Kan. 242, 244, 75 P.2d 239.

6. Section cited in upholding judgment and sentence for indirect contempt. State v. Martin, 155 Kan. 801, 806, 130 P.2d 601.

7. Testimony not preserved; application for writ of habeas corpus proper. In re Gambrell, 160 Kan. 620, 623, 164 P.2d 122. Rehearing denied: 161 Kan. 4, 165 P.2d 760.

8. Record of trial courts proceedings sufficient to uphold contempt citations. In re Ferris, 175 Kan. 704, 715, 267 P.2d 190. Reversed: Courtney v. Schroeder, 348 U.S. 933, 75 S. Ct. 355, 99 L. Ed. 732.

9. Discussed; appeal lies from finding of not guilty in civil contempt proceeding. Hendrix v. Consolidated Van Lines, Inc., 176 Kan. 101, 111, 269 P.2d 435.

10. Contempt of child custody order held indirect civil contempt; sentence erroneous. Goetz v. Goetz, 181 Kan. 128, 130, 132, 309 P.2d 655.

11. Divorce; contempt proceeding; denial of motion to quash service not appealable. Cheney v. Cheney, 186 Kan. 743, 744, 352 P.2d 959.

12. Indirect contempt not reviewable as specification of error in criminal action. State v. Eldridge, 197 Kan. 694, 703, 421 P.2d 170.

13. Cited in reversing conviction of county attorney for criminal contempt. In re Sanborn, 208 Kan. 4, 14, 490 P.2d 598.

14. Violation of assurance of discontinuance filed and approved by court pursuant to K.S.A. 50-610 not punishable for contempt. State v. McPherson, 208 Kan. 511, 518, 493 P.2d 228.

15. Cited in affirming direct contempt conviction. State v. Pondexter, 225 Kan. 425, 429, 590 P.2d 1074.

16. Order of indirect contempt void where court conducts trial on accusation without preserving testimony. Johnson v. Johnson, 11 Kan. App. 2d 317, 320, 721 P.2d 290 (1986).

17. Cited; contempt of court for disposing of subject matter of lawsuit while litigation pending examined. Edmiston v. First Nat'l Bank of Holcomb, 242 Kan. 13, 19, 744 P.2d 829 (1987).

18. Cited; whether discretion abused by allowing depositions of third parties in a debt execution proceeding examined. City of Arkansas City v. Anderson, 19 Kan. App. 2d 344, 345, 869 P.2d 244 (1994).


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Notes of Decisions
Cited in 11 cases (1 in the last 5 years), 1942–2022 · leading case: State v. Gonzalez, 234 P.3d 1 (Kan. 2010).
Sort: Relevance Newest Treatment
State v. Gonzalez, 234 P.3d 1 (Kan. 2010). · cites it 2× “20-1205 provides the right to appeal from a contempt judgment and specifically states that such an appeal is to be taken “in the same manner as is provided by law in civil cases.”
State v. Jenkins, 950 P.2d 1338 (Kan. 1997). · cites it 2× “K.S.A. 20-1205 provides for appeals of judgments of conviction of contempt and requires that “testimony taken on the trial of any accusation of contempt shall be preserved.”
Johnson v. Johnson, 721 P.2d 290 (Kan. Ct. App. 1986). · cites it 3× “Morris’ second issue is whether an order of indirect contempt of court is void where the district court conducts the trial on the accusation of indirect contempt without preserving the testimony as required by K.S.A. 20-1205. A review of the cases and K.”
State v. Shively, 999 P.2d 952 (Kan. 2000). · cites it 2× “” A trial court’s judgment of contempt is reviewable under K.S.A. 20-1205, which provides that an appeal may be taken from any judgment of conviction for contempt in the same manner as is provided by law in civil cases.”
State v. Pondexter, 590 P.2d 1074 (Kan. 1979). · cites it 2× “He argues that the alleged basis for the contempt consisted of returning to and sitting in the courtroom, and any disruption of court proceedings was precipitated by and must be charged to the officers, not to him.”
Am. Trust Administrators, Inc. v. Sebelius, 981 P.2d 248 (Kan. 1999). · cites it 2× “; K.S.A. 20-1205, which governs appeals, provides: "The testimony taken on the trial of any accusation of contempt shall be preserved.”
Edmiston v. First Nat'l Bank of Holcomb, 744 P.2d 829 (Kan. 1987). “The $100 per day fine is to be computed from the date of the contempt order to the date the original appeal was filed, August 22, 1985— August 26, 1985, and commence to run again from the date of the mandate of this proceeding, pursuant to K.S.A. 20-1205. We also grant…”
In Re the Conservatorship of McRoy, 861 P.2d 1378 (Kan. Ct. App. 1993). “2d at 320-21 , this court observed: “[T]he taking of testimony and the preservation of the sanie is mandatory and a requisite for jurisdiction [in contempt proceedings].”
City of Arkansas City v. Anderson, 869 P.2d 244 (Kan. Ct. App. 1994). “60-2419 and K.S.A. 20-1205, and ordered incarcerated until he purged himself of the contempt.”
State ex rel. Kansas State Bd. of Med. Reg. & Examination v. Martin, 130 P.2d 601 (Kan. 1942). · cites it 2× “The instant proceeding was properly brought under section 20-1204, which prescribes procedure, in cases of indirect contempt, and review is provided for under section 20-1205. We find no need here to discuss further any procedural question not brought in issue.”
Mid-Kansas Wound Specialists, P.A. v. Martin (Kan. Ct. App. 2022). · cites it 2× “See K.S.A. 20-1205 (party adjudicated in contempt may appeal ruling); see also In re J.”
Annotations are extracted automatically from the opinions in the Syfert caselaw corpus and ranked by authority, recency, and treatment. Dots show Syfertize treatment of the citing case itself.