Civil contempt allows for indeterminate imprisonment

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Teacher Enoch Burke could get out of jail today if he chose to.

All he needs to do is say he will follow a court order to stay away from the school where he worked until being suspended

The suspension came after a dispute over Mr Burke’s refusal to call a trans student by their preferred pronouns.

In cases of civil contempt there is no clear mechanism for bringing to an end the situation without Mr Burke backing down.

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But given his stated intentions, it seems unlikely Mr Burke, whose family has a history of involvement in legal disputes, will do that.

So how will the situation ever get resolved?

Jennifer O’Connell and Mary Carolan talk to Conor Pope.