Document ID: ./input/supremecourt_opinions/opinions/10pdf/10-10.pdf
Page Number: 7

Cite as:  564 U. S. ____ (2011) 

3 

Opinion of the Court 

after  spending  two  or  three  days  in  custody).    The  fifth 
time he did not pay but completed a 6-month sentence. 

After  his  release  in  2006  Turner  remained  in  arrears. 
On  March  27,  2006,  the  clerk  issued  a  new  “show  cause” 
order.  And after an initial postponement due to Turner’s
failure  to  appear,  Turner’s  civil  contempt  hearing  took
place  on  January  3,  2008.    Turner  and  Rogers  were  pre-
sent, each without representation by counsel. 

The hearing was brief.  The court clerk said that Turner 
was  $5,728.76  behind  in  his  payments.  The  judge  asked 
Turner  if  there  was  “anything  you  want  to  say.”    Turner 
replied, 

“Well, when I first got out, I got back on dope.  I done 
meth,  smoked  pot  and  everything  else,  and  I  paid  a
little bit here and there.  And, when I finally did get to 
working, I broke my back, back in September.  I filed 
for disability and SSI.  And, I didn’t get straightened 
out off the dope until I broke my back and laid up for 
two  months.  And,  now  I’m  off  the  dope  and  every-
thing.  I just hope that you give me a chance.  I don’t 
know what else to say.  I mean, I know I done wrong,
and  I  should  have  been  paying  and  helping  her,  and 
I’m  sorry.  I  mean,  dope  had  a  hold  to  me.”  App.  to
Pet. for Cert. 17a. 

The judge then said, “[o]kay,” and asked Rogers if she had 
anything  to  say.    Ibid.   After  a  brief  discussion  of  federal 
benefits, the judge stated, 

“If  there’s  nothing  else,  this  will  be  the  Order  of 
the  Court.  I  find  the  Defendant  in  willful  contempt. 
I’m  [going  to]  sentence  him  to  twelve  months  in  the
Oconee County Detention Center.  He may purge him-
self of the contempt and avoid the sentence by having
a  zero  balance  on  or  before  his  release.    I’ve  also 
placed  a  lien  on  any  SSI  or  other  benefits.”    Id.,  at 
18a.