Q: Spouse has been in jail for over a month for a court date he was never notified of.
Apparently in 2017 my husband had a court date for missing a couple child support payments. He never received any type of notification. As a result judge sentenced him to 179 days in jail or pay $696 because he didnt appear. He didn't even get a chance to defend himself and let the judge know that our son had died and he took a few weeks off work. I was told that the judge could not sentence him like that that it was in violation of his 14th Amendment Right to Due Process. That he was not properly served notice to appear in court. He should have been notified either by certified letter or process server. Is this true? Child Support Enforcement vacated the writ as of Nov 26 2019. So why does he still have to stay in jail? He is currently being held in county we live in because we dont want him sent 200 miles away. Other county judge refuses to let our county do his arraignment and he wont let him appear in front of him via phone. Do I have any options?
A:
This sounds like a contempt issue where the child support purge was set to allow him to "purge" himself of the contempt by paying $696. There are definitely options such as setting a hearing on the purge, filing a motion to set aside the original contempt order, or simply paying the purge amount. Unfortunately, an attorney may be needed for all but making the payment.
Good luck.
Justia Ask a Lawyer is a forum for consumers to get answers to basic legal questions. Any information sent through Justia Ask a Lawyer is not secure and is done so on a non-confidential basis only.
The use of this website to ask questions or receive answers does not create an attorney–client relationship between you and Justia, or between you and any attorney who receives your information or responds to your questions, nor is it intended to create such a relationship. Additionally, no responses on this forum constitute legal advice, which must be tailored to the specific circumstances of each case. You should not act upon information provided in Justia Ask a Lawyer without seeking professional counsel from an attorney admitted or authorized to practice in your jurisdiction. Justia assumes no responsibility to any person who relies on information contained on or received through this site and disclaims all liability in respect to such information.
Justia cannot guarantee that the information on this website (including any legal information provided by an attorney through this service) is accurate, complete, or up-to-date. While we intend to make every attempt to keep the information on this site current, the owners of and contributors to this site make no claims, promises or guarantees about the accuracy, completeness or adequacy of the information contained in or linked to from this site.
