Enforcing a Marchman Act Order: Civil Contempt
A Marchman Act order is an enforceable order of the circuit court, not a suggestion. If your loved one refuses to comply with it, you can ask the court to enforce it, and this firm represents you through that process.
Contempt is built to secure compliance, not to punish
If a respondent refuses to comply with an Order for Assessment and Stabilization, or with a later Order for Treatment Services, the court has authority to enforce its own order through civil contempt. The purpose is not punishment. A civil contempt order almost always carries a purge provision: a condition the respondent can satisfy simply by doing what the court already ordered. The respondent holds the keys.
Many families assume a missed treatment date means immediate arrest. It does not. Procedural safeguards come first, and you, as the petitioner, decide whether to ask the court to act at all.
Contempt requires an order that already exists
There is nothing to enforce without an order. If no Marchman Act order has been entered, or if the petition was denied, contempt is not the route: the first step is a petition. An attorney should review the paperwork with you.
How the process usually runs
- A Motion for Civil Contempt is filed with the court.
- A hearing is scheduled, and the respondent is served with notice of it.
- The respondent is given an opportunity to explain the failure to comply.
- The court decides whether the noncompliance was willful.
- If it was, the court may enter a contempt order with a purge provision and, should the respondent still refuse, a writ of bodily attachment directing that the respondent be taken into custody until the purge conditions are met.
Counties handle enforcement differently, and no attorney can predict what a court will do. If you want the law itself explained in depth, chapter 397 and the terminology around it, that is what marchmanactinfo.com is for.
What contempt representation costs
Contempt is a separate matter from the original petition and carries its own flat fee, paid in full at engagement.
- Tier 1 and new clients$2,995 total ($2,945 flat fee plus the $50 cost advance)
- Existing Tier 2 clients$1,995 total ($1,945 flat fee plus the $50 cost advance)
Costs and expenses. The $50 non-refundable cost advance is included in each total above and covers case operating costs, including court filing fees. Private process server fees are the one exception. Nothing above the advance is incurred without your authorization. The firm does not offer instalments or payment plans, and the 15-minute intake call is free.
If someone is in immediate danger, call 911. The firm is not an emergency service, and the office phone is answered by an answering service outside business hours.
We take enforcement matters in all 67 Florida counties, with same-day review of completed intakes. Tell us what the order says and what has happened since.