The Tennessee Petition for citation for contempt of court: Violation of probation in custody of defendant is a court filing used in the state of Tennessee when a probationer has failed to comply with the terms of their probation. The petition seeks an order from the court to bring the defendant into custody for violating probation. The petition is usually filed by the probation officer or district attorney. There are two types of Tennessee Petition for citation for contempt of court: Violation of probation in custody of defendant: the criminal contempt petition and the civil contempt petition. The criminal contempt petition seeks to punish the defendant for criminal contempt of court and the civil contempt petition seeks to compel the defendant to comply with the terms of their probation.