When a contempt of court consists of the omission to perform an act which is yet in the power of the person charged with contempt to perform, he may be imprisoned until he performs it, and in such a case this shall be specified in the court's order.
Art. 226.Same; Imprisonment Until Performance
Title I. Courts · Chapter 4. Power and Authority · Amendment history unavailable · Last verified July 30, 2026
In one sentenceArticle 226 allows a Louisiana court, when a contempt consists of failing to perform an act still within the person’s power to perform, to imprison that person until the act is done, provided the court’s order specifies that the imprisonment continues until performance.
Full Text of Art. 226
Plain-English Summary
Article 226 addresses a particular kind of contempt: an omission rather than an affirmative act, where the omitted act remains within the contemnor’s power to perform. Think of a person ordered to turn over a document, sign a required paper, or comply with some other order that they remain capable of satisfying — the contempt lies in not doing something they still could do.
For that category, the court may order imprisonment that lasts until the person performs the act, rather than a fixed term. That structure is coercive rather than purely punitive: the person holds the key to their own release, because compliance ends the imprisonment. This is the mechanism sometimes called civil contempt in ordinary usage, aimed at obtaining compliance rather than punishing past defiance alone.
Article 226 requires the court to specify in its order that imprisonment continues until performance. That specification matters because it distinguishes an open-ended coercive sentence from a fixed punishment, and it gives the person a clear, concrete way to secure release: perform the act the order requires.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can someone be imprisoned indefinitely for contempt in Louisiana?
Only in the sense that Article 226 allows imprisonment to continue until the person performs an act still within their power to perform. The person can end the imprisonment at any time by complying.
What kind of contempt does Article 226 apply to?
It applies to a contempt that consists of an omission — a failure to perform an act — where performing the act remains within the person’s power.
Does the court have to say the imprisonment lasts until performance?
Yes. Article 226 requires the court’s order to specify that the imprisonment continues until the person performs the required act.
Is this different from a fixed jail sentence for contempt?
Yes. An imprisonment under Article 226 is tied to performance of the omitted act rather than to a set term, giving the person control over when it ends.
Source & verification. Article text is reproduced verbatim from
the vLex (Louisiana Code of Civil Procedure, 2026 Edition). Enacted by the Louisiana Legislature.
Last verified July 30, 2026.
· Official source
Also known as: imprisonment until performance louisiana contemptarticle 226 code of civil procedurecivil contempt jail until compliancecoercive imprisonment for contempt louisiana