Document ID: ./input/supremecourt_opinions/opinions/10pdf/10-10.pdf
Page Number: 31.0

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

11 

THOMAS, J., dissenting 

Mothers  and  Fathers  7;  see  also  Dept.  of  Health  and 
Human Services, Office of Child Support Enforcement, FY 
2008 Annual Report to Congress, App. III, Table 71 (show-
ing  national  child  support  arrears  of  $105.5  billion  in 
2008).  In  South  Carolina  alone,  more  than  139,000  non-
custodial  parents  defaulted  on  their  child  support  obliga-
tions  during  2008,  and  at  year  end  parents  owed  $1.17
billion in total arrears.  Id., App. III, Tables 73 and 71. 

That some fathers subject to a child support agreement
report little or no income “does not mean they do not have
the ability to pay any child support.”  Dept. of Health and
Human  Services,  H.  Sorensen,  L.  Sousa,  &  S.  Schaner, 
Assessing Child Support Arrears in Nine Large States and
the  Nation  22  (2007)  (prepared  by  The  Urban  Institute) 
(hereinafter  Assessing Arrears).    Rather,  many  “deadbeat 
dads”5  “opt  to  work  in  the  underground  economy”  to
“shield  their  earnings  from  child  support  enforcement
efforts.”  Mich.  Sup. Ct.,  Task  Force  Report:  The  Under-
ground  Economy  10  (2010)  (hereinafter  Underground
Economy).  To  avoid  attempts  to  garnish  their  wages  or
otherwise enforce the support obligation, “deadbeats” quit
their  jobs,  jump  from  job  to  job,  become  self-employed,
work  under  the  table,  or  engage  in  illegal  activity.6   See 
Waller & Plotnick, Effective Child Support Policy for Low-
Income Families: Evidence from Street Level Research, 20 
J.  Pol’y  Analysis  &  Mgmt.  89,  104  (2001);  Assessing  Ar-
rears 22–23. 

Because of the difficulties in collecting payment through 

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5 See Deadbeat Parents Punishment Act of 1998, 112 Stat. 618 (refer-
ring  to  parents  who  “willfully  fai[l]  to  pay  a  support  obligation”  as
“[d]eadbeat [p]arents”). 

6 In  this  case,  Turner  switched  between  eight  different  jobs  in  three 
years, which made wage withholding difficult.  App. 12a, 18a, 24a, 47a, 
53a,  136a–139a.    Most  recently,  Turner  sold  drugs  in  2009  and  2010 
but paid not a penny in child support during those years.  Id., at 105a– 
111a; App. to Brief for Respondents 16a, 21a–24a, 29a–32a, 37a–54a.