Art. 225.Same; Procedure For Punishing

Article 225 supplies the due-process counterpart to Article 223’s streamlined direct-contempt procedure. Because constructive contempt happens outside the judge’s immediate view, the person accused of it is entitled to a trial of the charge before being found guilty or punished — not an on-the-spot ruling.

Paragraph A describes how that trial gets started. A rule to show cause, issued either on the court’s own motion or on a party’s motion, must state the facts alleged to constitute the contempt. In most courts, a certified copy of the motion and rule must be served on the accused the same way a subpoena is served, at least forty-eight hours before the rule is set for trial. Before a court of appeal, the process differs in form: the accused receives notice to show cause by brief, with at least forty-eight hours to respond, sent by registered or certified mail or served by the sheriff, and the accused may still demand an oral hearing by making a written request to the clerk within forty-eight hours of receiving the notice.

Paragraph B mirrors Article 223’s requirement for direct contempt: if the person is found guilty, the court must render an order reciting the facts constituting the contempt, adjudging the person guilty, and specifying the punishment imposed. Courts have held that this recitation requirement is satisfied even if it appears in the judge’s statements in open court rather than in the written order itself, so long as the factual basis for the contempt finding is somewhere in the record.