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Second Circuit talks through federal crime of failure to pay child support

By Douglas A. Berman

As some experts in federal criminal law may know, it is a federal crime to willfully fail to pay child support.  Though I suspect that this crime is frequently committed, I also suspect that it is only rarely prosecuted in federal court.  Whatever the prosecutorial particulars, one such federal prosecution has produced an interesting ruling today from the Second Circuit in US v. Kerley, No. 08-1818 (2d Cir. Sept. 25, 2008) (available here). Here is the first paragraph from the Kerley opinion:This appeal arises from a conviction of two counts of willful failure to pay a child support obligation in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 228(a)(3). A jury found defendantappellant Clifford Kerley guilty of failing to make support payments for his twin daughters in accordance with a court order...continue to full post

Full post as published by Sentencing Law and Policy on September 25, 2008 (boomark / email).