CONTEMPT

Attorney General, as head of Department head of Legal Affairs Department and Chief Immigration Officer, as division head of Immigration Office, are responsible for ensuring that subordinates comply with Court’s order.

A department head’s, or division head’s, failure to provide full and accurate instructions to subordinates regarding a Court order, where such Court order has direct consequences on the jobs performed by such subordinates, constitutes inexcusable neglect. Vaela’a v. Sunia, 1 A.S.R.3d 131 (1997).

In certain circumstances, inexcusable neglect may constitute willful and contemptuous conduct and be punished as contempt of Court. Where Attorney General and Acting Chief Immigration Officer gave imprecise instructions, resulting in subordinate issuing verifications of immigration status in violation of Court’s injunction, the failure to give specific instructions constituted inexcusable neglect and could be punished as contempt. Vaela’a v. Sunia, 1 A.S.R.3d 131 (1997).