Ky. Rev. Stat. » Chapter 421
Kentucky Revised Statutes

Ky. Rev. Stat. § 421.140 (2026)

Refusal of witness to testify -- Imprisonment

✓ current as of May 2026
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If a witness refuses to testify, or to be sworn, or to give a deposition, he shall be imprisoned so long as he refuses, or until he testifies before an officer who is authorized to take his testimony. The final disposition of the case in which he so refuses shall discharge him from imprisonment. Effective: January 2, 1978 History: Amended 1976 (1st Extra. Sess.) Ky. Acts ch. 14, sec. 423, effective January 2, 1978. -- Transferred 1952 Ky. Acts ch. 84, sec. 1, effective July 1, 1953, from C.C. sec. 538.

Notes of Decisions
Cited in 9 cases, 1959–2001 · leading case: Hardin v. Summitt, 627 S.W.2d 580 (Ky. 1982).
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Hardin v. Summitt, 627 S.W.2d 580 (Ky. 1982). · cites it 11× “Movant Curtis Anthony Hardin filed a petition for a Writ of Habeas Corpus in the Oldham Circuit Court on January 27, 1981 challenging the propriety of his imprisonment for contempt under the authority of KRS 421.140. Hardin was subpoenaed to appear as a witness on behalf of the…”
Arnett v. Meade, 462 S.W.2d 940 (Ky. Ct. App. 1971). · cites it 5× “The judge further ruled that KRS 421.140 and 432.260 are “unconstitutional in infringing upon the inherent authority of this Court to govern its own proceedings,” and he imposed upon Arnett a jail sentence of 30 days and a fine of $500.”
Norton v. Commonwealth, 37 S.W.3d 750 (Ky. 2001). “2d 363, 365 (1986), this Court revisited the issue and found an amended version of the same statute to likewise be unconstitutional.”
Woods v. Commonwealth, 712 S.W.2d 363 (Ky. Ct. App. 1986). · cites it 3× “Appellant asserts that his refusals were protected by the 5th Amendment to the United States Constitution; that the two sentences of five months and 29 days imposed upon him were in violation of KRS 421.140; that the sentences he received were deemed to run consecutively to any…”
Taylor v. Hayes, 494 S.W.2d 737 (Ky. Ct. App. 1973). · cites it 3× “A similar section, KRS 421.140, fixes the maximum punishment of a witness charged with contempt at a fine not exceeding $30 and imprisonment not exceeding 24 hours.”
Miller v. Vettiner, 481 S.W.2d 32 (Ky. Ct. App. 1972). · cites it 2× “This factual conclusion was the basis for the order punishing Mrs.”
Young v. Knight, 329 S.W.2d 195 (Ky. Ct. App. 1959). “Judge Knight has suspended his order adjudging the petitioner in contempt and ordering her committed to jail (KRS 421.140, 432.230) until the present action is decided.”
Otis v. Meade, 483 S.W.2d 161 (Ky. Ct. App. 1972). · cites it 2× “2d 940 (1971), we had occasion to look at KRS 421.140, a statute similar to KRS 432.”
Levisa Stone Corp. v. Hays, 429 S.W.2d 413 (Ky. Ct. App. 1968). “There are other statutes which authorize injunctions to enforce particular laws and prescribe the nature of the punishment which may be imposed for violations thereof.”
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.