First, my heart goes out to all Londoners today and especially to those injured, killed and their families and loved ones. But this diary concerns the jailing of Judith Miller. As we all know, she was determined to be in civil contempt of court yesterday and is now incarcerated. The civil contempt provision allows the Special Prosecutor to attempt to force compliance by Ms. Miller with valid court orders for a period of time not to exceed the sitting of the GJ, which has been reported as up to 120 days.
In addition to civil contempt, however, there is also the option of pursuing a criminal contempt sanction within the discretion of Patrick Fitzgerald and subject to judicial review. This would enable a prosecution to be brought against Ms. Miller - for continued non-compliance with the valid court orders - which could result in far more onerous sanctions, including incarceration for a period of years, not months.
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