Violating a Court Order (Penal Code 166)

Penal Code 166 covers criminal contempt of court, and the subdivision that matters most in practice is wilful disobedience of a lawful court order. The most common real-world version is a breached protective order — and it is the situation where a court is most likely to look hard at whether to release someone, and on what terms.

Why this one is different from other misdemeanours

Most misdemeanours default to release on a notice to appear under Penal Code 853.6. A protective order violation frequently does not behave that way, for a straightforward reason: the order exists because a court already decided someone needed protection, and releasing a person straight back into the same situation is precisely what the order was meant to prevent.

Where the underlying case is domestic violence, Penal Code 1270.1 requires a hearing before release in specified serious cases rather than automatic release on the schedule amount. See protective orders and EPOs and when bail can be denied.

The overlap that confuses people

The same contact can be looked at under more than one of these, which is why the charge at booking may not be the charge ultimately filed.

The trap: contact initiated by the protected person

A protective order binds the restrained person. If the protected person initiates contact, that does not authorise the restrained person to respond — the order still applies, and responding can itself be a violation. Only the issuing court can change the order. This is the single most common way people breach an order without intending to.

What it does to an existing bond

A new arrest while on bail for another matter creates a second case with its own bail amount, and Penal Code 1269b(g) means posting bail on one does nothing about the other. It can also put the existing bond at risk — see after posting bail, bond surrender, and probation violation where the person was already supervised.

Working out the amount, and what can change it

The figure comes from the countywide schedule that Penal Code 1269b requires each county’s judges to adopt and revise annually — which is why Orange and Los Angeles County can attach different numbers to identical conduct. A judge may raise bail under Penal Code 1269c, a hearing may be required before release in serious cases under 1270.1, and under In re Humphrey (2021) 11 Cal.5th 135 a court must consider ability to pay before setting money bail that results in detention.

The process around it

Where they are, and where the case is heard

Which facility is holding the person decides how much time you actually have — a Temporary Holding facility must move someone within 24 hours, while a Type I city jail may hold an adult up to 96 hours excluding holidays. See what the classifications mean, then our Orange County and Los Angeles County jail guides, and find an inmate.

Neither county’s Superior Court publishes a public city-by-city table assigning criminal cases to courthouses. The release paperwork names the courthouse, date and time, and it governs — see understanding your release paperwork and all courthouses.

Local guides: Anaheim, Brea, La Habra, Fullerton, Buena Park, Yorba Linda and Tustin.

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Please note: American Freedom Bail Bonds is a licensed bail bond agency, not a law firm. Nothing on this page is legal advice, and we cannot predict how any case will be charged or resolved. Charging decisions are made by the prosecutor, not by the arresting agency, and bail schedules are revised annually. Always confirm current details with the facility, the court, or a criminal defence lawyer. California bail license 1841014.