Q: Why am I not allowed to explain why I can't pay child support to the judge if I don't have a lawyer present?
I live in Florida a received a summons for non payment of child support. I flew to Puerto Rico to attend court and they would not allow me to speak because I did not have a lawyer. I was immediately arrested, thrown in jail, and told I would stay there until all the child support had been paid. Is this even legal? I am being held in another state, my children are with a babysitter in Florida, and I cannot leave unless I come up with child support. I am the mother of 3 children, two who live with me, and one that lives with their father. The father filed a contempt of court charge against me. Now I am stranded in a Puerto Rico jail while my kids are in Florida. And the judge will not even let me speak because I cannot afford a lawyer and I cannot be appointed a public defender because I am not a resident of Puerto Rico. Something seems very wrong with this system here. Again, is this legal?
A: Hello and thank you for using JUSTIA. Judges in Puerto Rico do not allow a party to speak in court hearing since you have a constitutional right to not incriminate yourself. Anything you say will be used against you. The law states that failing to comply with a child support court order is contempt of court punishable by jail time upto six months maximum. Thus you either comply with the court order or stay in jail for upto six months. The jail sentence is not for failing to pay child support; it is because you did not comply with the court order to pay child support. You need to hire an Attorney in Puerto Rico so that he can represent you before the Judge and attempt to get you out of jail so that you can return to your children in Florida. One way to do this is to file for bankruptcy protection which will put a stay on the child support debt. Once a stay is granted you will br released from jail and then you and your Attorney can request a hearing to establish a payment plan, review the child support amount to be paid monthly and other factors of the child support case. Attorney's are not that expensive here and most will work on payment plans. You must hire an Attorney no matter what if you wish to eliminate this dilema that you are in.
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