Legal Definitions - contumax

Definition: Contumax is a historical term that refers to two different situations:

1. A person who has been found to be in contempt of court. This means that they have disobeyed a court order or shown disrespect to the court, and as a result, they may be punished with fines or even imprisonment.
2. A person who has been accused of a crime but refuses to appear in court and answer the charges against them. This is also known as being a fugitive from justice.

Examples:

• John was held in contumax by the judge after he repeatedly interrupted the court proceedings and refused to follow the judge's instructions.
• Mary was declared a contumax after she failed to show up for her court hearing on charges of theft.

These examples illustrate how contumax was used in historical legal contexts to describe individuals who were either in contempt of court or evading justice. It is important to note that this term is not commonly used in modern legal systems.