SUSPENDED JUDGMENT COMMITTING RESPONDENT TO JAIL FOR FAILURE TO MAKE CHILD SUPPORT PAYMENTS SHOULD NOT HAVE BEEN REVOKED WITHOUT A HEARING (THIRD DEPT).
The Third Department, reversing Family Court, determined a suspended judgment should not have been revoked without a hearing:
… [R]espondent consented to an order confirming the Support Magistrate’s finding that he willfully violated his child support obligation. Family Court suspended judgment on the condition that respondent make certain minimum payments. After respondent failed to make the requisite payments, petitioner, in November 2015, filed a violation petition against him. Following an appearance in April 2016, it was revealed that respondent had been recently employed and the child support payments had been made. As a consequence, Family Court continued to suspend judgment and the matter was adjourned. At a November 2016 appearance, petitioner advised Family Court that, although it had been receiving payments directly from respondent’s employer, such payments had ceased in early October 2016. Inasmuch as respondent failed to personally appear in November 2016, a warrant was issued for his arrest. At an appearance on January 4, 2017, respondent’s counsel requested a hearing to call respondent’s employer as a witness to determine why payments were not being made to petitioner. Respondent’s counsel inquired whether he should subpoena the employer and, although Family Court did not explicitly respond to this inquiry, the court noted that a hearing “could at least start.” At the January 17, 2017 appearance, Family Court refused to let respondent call the subpoenaed witness. Family Court noted that a hearing was unnecessary because respondent did not dispute that payments had not been made and, therefore, good cause existed to revoke the suspended judgment. Family Court sentenced respondent to a 90-day jail term and imposed a purge amount of $3,507.50. …
Family Court erred in revoking the suspended judgment without first conducting an evidentiary hearing … . Given respondent’s liberty interest at stake … , he was entitled to present witnesses on the issue of whether good cause existed to revoke the suspended judgment … . Matter of Madison County Support Collection Unit v Campbell, 2018 NY Slip Op 04049, Third Dept 6-7-18
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