libertyWatch

H. Beatty Chadwick is still being held in a Delaware County Pennsylvania prison for committing “contempt of court” and chances are he will remain there until he dies. Chadwick was a prominent Philadelphia based corporate attorney until his fifteen year marriage to Barbara Jean Crowther came to an end. During the long divorce proceedings, investigators for Ms Crowther established to the divorce court’s satisfaction, that Mr. Chadwick had hidden slightly over 2.5 million dollars eligible for settlement, from the court. In 1995 the presiding divorce judge ordered Chadwick imprisoned until he told the court where the money was located. That was ten years ago and the last time H. Beatty Chadwick had a breath of freedom.
For the past ten years both Ms. Crowther’s people and two teams of accounts assigned by the court, have been searching high and low for the money. Although the investigators claim they have evidence the money was deposited in banks located in Panama and Switzerland, it is at that point they loose track of the money. Now, after so long a time has passed since this all began, banking officials in both nations claim they no longer possess any records that would be of any use to the court.
Meanwhile, Mr. Chadwick continues to state that the money was lost years ago in an investment gone bad. At a hearing earlier this month, the court appointed special master in the case; A. Leo Sereni, answered “yes” to the question posed by the presiding judge “Is it fair to say you have not made one iota of progress in chasing those funds?” Special Master Sereni also informed the court; “The coercive intent of the contempt charge was clearly not working.” This is a considerable understatement in light of the duration of this travesty, but the statement may indicate a hint of light at the end of the judicial tunnel Mr. Chadwick has found himself lost within.
Ten years is much too long for a court to hold a citizen on a contempt charge. Such abuse is tantamount to a never ending sort of debtor’s prison and should be considered a direct and blatant violation of an American’s right to a speedy and public trial under the Sixth Amendment to the Constitution. Certainly courts need to have the tool of a contempt charge to elicit cooperation and respect within the confines of the courtroom, but no such tool should be indefinite and the term “reasonable” must be applied to any such authorized imprisonment. If Mr. Chadwick has or had committed a crime, he should have been charged and prosecuted to the full extent of the law.
This case has been appealed to courts across the land (even Judge Alito has ruled against Chadwick), and although at least two of the courts have found this imprisonment to be punitive (or nearly so), instead of coercive, Mr. Chadwick still rots in jail. The original judge in the case could have and should have set a time limit for the opposing side to find this alleged money, but did not. The other judges in this case could have and should have set such a time limit for the special master as well, but did not. Now its time for the Congress to put a stop to this judicial arrogance by rewriting the statues which allows judges this authority to ignore the dictates and intent of the U. S. Constitution. Obviously, judges themselves are unable or unwilling to exercise appropriate restraint. Their actions in this care are almost contemptible.