Child support is a legal obligation imposed on noncustodial parents by court order. This means that failure to obey a lawful child support order can land you in serious trouble. Among other remedies, the Maryland Child Support Enforcement Administration (MCSEA) can ask a judge to hold a non-paying parent in criminal contempt. If the parent cannot adequately explain their failure to pay, the judge can send them to prison.

Court of Special Appeals: Failure to Submit Job Applications Only a “Technical” Violation of Father’s Probation

A recent decision from the Maryland Court of Special Appeals, Miller v. State, illustrates just how serious criminal contempt proceedings are taken. In this case, a father pleaded guilty to one count of constructive criminal contempt arising from his failure to pay child support. A Wicomico County judge sentenced the father to five years in prison for this contempt, but suspended all but one year. After his release, the father was still required to spend three years on probation.

One condition of probation was that the father had to make monthly child support payments of $233, plus an additional $50 per month to make up for previously missed payments. If the father missed any of his monthly payments due to lack of employment, he had to submit copies of at least 10 different verifiable job applications per week until he found work.

Approximately two years after his original sentencing, the father found himself back before a judge. Prosecutors alleged the father had failed to make any of the $50 payments for back child submit. More notably, he also had failed to submit the required job applications.

The father argued that failing to submit the job applications was only a “technical” violation of his probation. Under Maryland law, a first-time technical violation only carries a maximum jail term of 15 days. If the violation was non-technical, as alleged by the prosecution, the father could be forced to spend the remaining four years of his original suspended sentence in prison.

Ultimately, the Court of Special Appeals agreed with the father. Reversing a lower court’s order sending him back to prison, the appellate court said the prosecution incorrectly treated the father’s failure to file the job applications as akin to missing regular meetings with a parole officer. Yet the probation order never even required the father to check-in with a parole officer. This was not, the Court said, a case where the father was deliberately trying to evade the supervision of the state.

Other Remedies the State May Take to Collect Back Child Support

It should be noted that missing a child support payment does not automatically mean you will be held in criminal contempt and sent to jail. The MCESA and the courts have a wide variety of legal tools at their disposal to force compliance with a child support order. For instance, the state can seize your tax refunds or suspend your driver’s license as a penalty for nonpayment.

So if you are involved in a legal dispute over nonpayment of child support, as either the payor or the recipient, and you need legal representation from a qualified Waldorf family law attorney, contact the Law Office of Robert R. Castro today.

This article has been provided by Law office of Robert Castro. For more information or questions contact our office to speak to an experienced lawyer at (301)870-1200. 

Source:

https://www.courts.state.md.us/data/opinions/cosa/2021/2097s19.pdf