No Admonishment, No Contempt/Sanction

January 11, 2022

A contempt/sanction order entered in a dispute about a divorce degree was vacated by In the Interest of E.W.M., No. 05-19-01589-CV (Jan. 7, 2022) (mem. op.): “Here, the record shows the enforcement proceedings could have resulted in Marc’s incarceration. Thus, the trial court was required to inform Marc that he had a right to counsel. See [Tex. Family Code ] § 157.163 (a), (b). But instead of informing Marc of that right, the trial court affirmatively misrepresented that, because Sarah did not seek more than six months of jail time, he had no right to counsel. This was clear error, and we are not persuaded by Sarah’s arguments to the contrary.”