Supreme Court to address right to an attorney in support cases

This month, the Supreme Court heard both sides of the argument in a case that could have an important impact on Wisconsin child support cases. The case centers on the issue of whether poor parents should be provided an attorney in child support enforcement cases. Proponents of providing parents with attorneys in these cases note that jail time is a real possibility in these hearings, and while attorneys are provided by the state in criminal cases, they are not provided in child support enforcement cases.

During a hearing on the issue, the Justices of the Supreme Court appeared to be wary of creating a bright-line rule that would require states to provide attorneys in child support enforcement cases. Nearly every possible ruling seemed to have practical or procedural problems. Justice Anthony M. Kennedy indicated that he believes is no absolute right to provide parents with lawyers during their child support cases.

Kennedy said that it is difficult to issue a blanket ruling since there are so many child support hearings around the U.S. that all have different circumstances. However, he argued that in some situations it might be necessary.

The current case involves a South Carolina man who was jailed for not making child support payments. The man was also held in civil contempt multiple times as a result of his failure to pay child support.

While civil contempt is used as a measure of coercion and not punishment, the man said that since he was too poor to pay what he owed in child support, his incarceration was turned into pure punishment. He believes that if he had been provided with legal representation during the support cases that he could have avoided jail time.

Some justices expressed concern over the tremendous impact that this ruling could have, as it might also affect alimony cases.

Currently federal laws allow legal representation to be provided only for poor individuals involved in criminal proceedings. However, a majority of states do provide lawyers to individuals in child support cases.

The ultimate question that the Supreme Court will need to address is whether the courts should provide legal representation as a part of due process protections of the U.S. Constitution. A formal decision is expected in June.

Source: The New York Times, “Justices Grapple With Issue of Right to Lawyers in Child Support Cases,” Adam Liptak, 3/23/2011