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Despite Pasqua v. Council and AOC Directives the Courts in New Jersey have ignored the "Right to Counsel" and continue to incarcerate parents for "Willful Non Support". I have witnessed the practice in Passaic County and have been told it is much the same in all of the counties in NJ. Judges and Enforcement Hearing Officers DO NOT advise litigants that they have a Right to Counsel or that they have a right to a Court Appointed attorney if they can not afford an attorney. Enforcement hearings are business as usual and a litigant is required to pay 10% of arrears or face jail. This is called a Cash Hold. Parents are left in jail for two weeks and then brought before a Judge where the custom is to cut the Cash Hold in half. If the parent fails to pay then it is another two weeks before they see a Judge and again the Cash Hold is cut in half. Depending on the amount the Judge will eventually order the release which could be up to eight weeks in prision. What To Do If You Are Jailed For Child Support Although this is almost impossible once you are thrown in jail if you have someone you can contact they can try to secure your release. The Appeals Court can order your release or order you back before the Judge and require that an attorney be appointed. Since there are no attorneys to appoint the Judge must release the parent. Contacting the Appeals Court The Appeals Court has an Emergent Relief process. Each week a Judge is on call to hear applications for Emergent requests. The list is published on the Judicary website and changes monthly. The main web page for the Appeals Court is http://www.judiciary.state.nj.us/appdiv/index.htm. Burried on that page is a link entitled Recent Emergent Appellate Applications. This document lists the Judge on call for each County with the dates they are on call. Once you have the name of the Judge check this link http://www.judiciary.state.nj.us/directory/judgtara.pdf which is the Directory of the Judges Chambers. Here you will find the address and phone number of the Judge. Now that you have the Judge's number you need to complete the Fact Sheet on Application for Emergent Relief. Fax this form to the Judge and hope for the best. Quite frankly I have filed this form only to realize the Judge on call has no idea what they are doing and have filed the same form the next week and been immediately released from jail. Don't get discouraged if the Judge's office gives you a hard time. If it does not work just file again the next week with the next Judge. |
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