Monday, December 29, 2008
According to the article City of Immigrants Fills Jail Cells With Its Own, "as the number of detainees in Donald W. Wyatt Detention Facility, increased, so did revenue from surcharges on their collect calls to relatives, under a contract with Global Tel Link. The arrangement that gave Wyatt a cut of about $564,000 a year had survived a state ban on phone surcharges at prisons, thanks to lobbying that gave Wyatt a loophole. "
In a similar vein, the Dorchester County Sheriff's Office apparently continues to assess a surcharge against inmates housed in the Dorchester County Jail on the collect calls to relatives. Many of these inmates have not been convicted of anything. And many of the collect calls are made to appointed counsel who sometimes receive little or no compensation for their services.* And while it strikes us as unconscionable to pass these exorbitant charges on to either the families or the appointed counsel of the detainees, we think that, at the very least, the Dorchester County Sheriff should both account to County Counsel for the money he is receiving from this venture and he should follow through on his repeated promise to appoint an independent citizens committee to oversee the expenditures of these funds.
*Check out Lawyers could go unpaid.
Labels: Sixth Amendment
Friday, December 26, 2008
When compared to California’s fine, South Carolina’s reported fine of $49 Million (or whatever) may seem insignificant. Still, one has to wonder why the South Carolina Legislature has taken another $1.2 Million from DSS and "awarded" it to Heritage Community Services and the South Carolina Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy. The Department of Social Services needs all the money it can get to do its job, avoid federal fines, and secure federal matching funds for various programs. Moreover, instead of shuffling DSS Chiefs who fail to make any progress in reducing the $1.2 Billion arrearage to other high-paying State jobs, the Legislature should give them their permanent walking papers.
Labels: Child Support Collection, Family Court Reform, Government Reform
Tuesday, December 23, 2008
Our readers may recall "Joe the Plumber"--the man made famous in the presidential election for his comments about the economy and proposed tax policy. This past week the Director of Ohio Jobs and Family Services Department Helen Jones-Kelley, resigned and the Deputy Director of Child Support Enforcement were fired over improper use of state computer systems for attempting to 'dig dirt' on Joe. And now a County Prosecutor is asking questions. And although Jones-Kelley resigned Wednesday as director of the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services, she still could face criminal charges for authorizing the improper search of computer databases.
Labels: Institutional Mismanagement
Friday, December 19, 2008
An appeals court turned down a request for a new trial from a former District of Columbia judge who sued his dry cleaner for $54 million over a lost pair of pants. The District of Columbia Court of Appeals rejected the request from the former judge, Roy L. Pearson, above, to overturn a 2007 ruling that denied him damages. Mr. Pearson had argued that the cleaners failed to live up to its promise of “Satisfaction Guaranteed.” Three judges said Mr. Pearson failed to show fraud and said his argument defied logic.
Labels: Wasting Court Time
Tuesday, December 16, 2008
TO AMEND THE CODE OF LAWS OF SOUTH CAROLINA, 1976, BY ADDINGSECTION 63-17-495 SO AS TO PROVIDE THAT IF A PERSON IS INCARCERATED FOR NONPAYMENT OF CHILD SUPPORT DURING THE TIME THE PERSON IS INCARCERATED AND FOR THREE MONTHS AFTER RELEASE, THE PERSON'S OBLIGATION TO PAY CHILD SUPPORT IS SUSPENDED, ARREARAGES DO NOT ACCRUE, AND EXISTING ARREARAGES ARE HELD IN ABEYANCE.
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of South Carolina:
SECTION 1. Article 3, Chapter 17, Title 63 of the 1976 Code is amended by adding:
"Section 63-17-495. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, if a person is incarcerated for nonpayment of child support in violation of a court order, from the date of arrest until three months after the date the person is released from incarceration, the person's obligation to pay child support pursuant to that order:
(1) is suspended;
(2) arrearages do not accrue; and
(3) prior arrearages are held in abeyance."
SECTION 2. This act takes effect three months after approval by the Governor.
----XX----
*Click here to download in Microsoft Word format.
Labels: Child Support
Sunday, December 07, 2008
The Associated Press reports Man forced to support someone else's child. According to the article, the man was jailed for nonsupport even though the child was living with her similarly-named biological father and the "real father" claimed that he had always supported the child. Additionally, it was reported that "Petitions [the man] filed for DNA testing were opposed by the court's domestic relations officials and denied by the judge."
Labels: Child Support Collection, Civil Contempt, DNA
