Legal expert informs public on contempt of court charges

Putting you first, KMVT spoke with the Twin Falls County Prosecuting Attorney Grant Loebs to shed some light on what a contempt of court charge could mean for a Lori Vallow and the case of the two missing Idaho kids.

On Jan. 30, mother Lori Vallow failed to meet a court-ordered deadline to bring the missing children Tylee Ryan and Joshua "J.J." Vallow to authorities in Idaho. Clearing the way for a judge to potentially hold Vallow in contempt of court.

A commenter on the KMVT Facebook page says "There is something terribly wrong with this whole situation. Why is it taking so long with everything. So unbelievable."

"It's not a charge that you file in order to punish someone, so much as a charge to get them to comply with an order," Loebs said. "It's an interim kind of charge, rather then an ultimate charge. The contempt of court charge is a method by which the judge enforces his order and gets compliant with court orders."

A judge can put a person charged with contempt of court in jail for a potentially as long it takes for that person to comply with the order.