5.11Misconduct Regarding Witnesses and Interference With or Resistance to Process or Proceedings
“The supreme court, circuit court, and all other courts of record, have power to punish by fine or imprisonment,[1] or both, persons guilty of any neglect or violation of duty or misconduct in all of the following cases:
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(h) All persons for assuming to be and acting as officers, attorneys, or counselors of any court without authority; for rescuing any property or persons that are in the custody of an officer by virtue of process issued from that court; for unlawfully detaining any witness or party to an action while he or she is going to, remaining at, or returning from the court where the action is pending for trial, or for any other unlawful interference with or resistance to the process or proceedings in any action.” MCL 600.1701(h).
“The intimidation of witnesses is naturally a criminal matter,—one in which the damages are to the public and the courts as well as to litigants.” Russell v Wayne Circuit Judge, 136 Mich 624, 625 (1904).
Threatening a complaining witness in a criminal case may be punished as contempt of court. See In re Contempt of Nathan, 99 Mich App 492, 493 (1980). A person may be found in contempt of court for attempting to prevent the attendance of a person not yet subpoenaed as a witness. Montgomery v Palmer, 100 Mich 436, 441 (1894) (citing Howell’s Annotated Statutes § 72572).
“To bribe or to attempt to bribe a witness in a pending case is a most serious contempt of court, and one which should be promptly dealt with.” Nichols v Judge of Superior Court, 130 Mich 187, 197 (1902) (noting that the court’s jurisdiction to investigate and punish the bribe as contempt was not affected by the fact that the attempt to bribe the juror involved a criminal charge).
A trial court has jurisdiction to punish contumacious misconduct even though no prejudice resulted to either party. Langdon v Judges of Wayne Circuit Court, 76 Mich 358, 371 (1889). Where the contemnor interfered while a suit was pending and tried to bring about disagreement among jurors by bribery, the court had jurisdiction to punish the contemnor because the act was calculated to defeat, impair, impede, or prejudice the rights or remedy of a party. Id. at 371-372.
1 “The court shall not sentence a person to a term of incarceration for nonpayment unless the court has complied with the provisions of MCR 6.425(D)(3). Proceedings to which the Child Support and Parenting Time Enforcement Act, MCL 552.602 et seq., applies are subject to the requirements of that act.” MCR 3.606(F).
2 The text of How Ann Stat § 7257 is similar to current MCL 600.1701, and How Ann Stat § 7257 is a prior law related to MCL 600.1701; however, it was not re-enacted and was superseded when the Judicature Act of 1915 (Act 314 of 1915) was enacted. The Revised Judicature Act, MCL 600.101 et seq. (Act 236 of 1961) repealed the Judicature Act of 1915.