Is 'Purge' Hearing In Child Support Contempt Action a Criminal Proceeding for Which Debtor Is Entitled to a Lawyer?
Where Finding of Failure to Purge Contempt Will Result in Imposition of Jail Time
Michael Liming v. Denday Damos (fka Liming), Case nos. 2011-1170 and 2011-1985
Fourth District Court of Appeals (Athens County)
ISSUES:
When a child support debtor has been cited for contempt and received a suspended jail sentence for failure to make court-ordered support payments, is a purge hearing to determine whether some or all of the suspended jail sentence should be actually imposed a civil or criminal proceeding?
Does an indigent person who faces incarceration for failure to purge contempt in a child support action have a due process right to representation by a court-appointed attorney at the purge hearing?