Washington Motion To Set Show Cause Hearing — Contempt is a type of court order in which a party is ordered to appear before a judge to answer why they should not be held in contempt. This type of motion is used in Washington State when a party has failed to comply with a court order or has otherwise acted in a manner that is in contempt of court. It is typically used to compel a party to perform a certain action or to stop from performing an action. There are two types of Washington Motion To Set Show Cause Hearing — Contempt: civil contempt and criminal contempt. Civil contempt is when the party has failed to comply with a court order, while criminal contempt is when the party has intentionally disobeyed the court or has acted in a manner that is disrespectful to the court.