Rule 35.1 Definition

Contempt of court means you deliberately broke a court order or acted in a way that interfered with how the court does its job. This can happen in two main ways.

The first way is by ignoring or disobeying something the court officially told you to do or not do. For example, if a judge orders you to appear in court and you skip it on purpose, that counts as contempt.

The second way is by behaving badly enough that it gets in the way of the court's ability to function or makes the court look like it has no authority. This covers situations that might not involve a specific order but still seriously disrupt the court process.