A federal judge found probable cause that the Trump administration acted with contempt of court in violating his order to immediately halt deportations of Venezuelans suspected of being gang members.
US District Judge James Boasberg issued an order Wednesday saying that officials acted in “willful disregard” of his verbal order on March 15 to turn around planes carrying Venezuelans now held in a notorious prison in El Salvador. Boasberg said at a court hearing on April 3 that “the government acted in bad faith throughout that day.”
Could the court, at the next hearing on this matter, jail the DOJ lawyer representing the government for contempt?
Unlikely, since the attorneys did not disregard the order. Their client(s) did. Their client(s) would be the ones subject to the contempt charge, when they are identified.
The thing where the judge orders summary jail time is reserved for contempt “a facie curiae”, meaning “in the face of the court”. That’s for blatant disrespect or disruption in the courtroom in front of the judge.
So far, Drew Ensign has managed to refrain from anything as directed as that. So he hasn’t been jailed.