Opinion ID: 746461
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Gerald Black

Text: 2 Gerald Black (Black) and Elaine Black were divorced in 1985 in Lake County, Indiana Circuit Court. Black was originally given custody of the couple's three children, Ernest, Eric, and Elizabeth. However, in 1986, the custody decree was modified, wherein Elaine Black was given custody and Black was ordered to pay seventy-five dollars per week in child support. Black kept the family home in Hammond, Indiana. Elaine Black moved to Illinois, where she received welfare in 1986 and 1987. She assigned her support rights to the State of Illinois. Elaine Black then moved back to Indiana in 1988. 3 On August 27, 1990, the Lake County Circuit Court ordered Black to pay $150 per week in child support. On August 27, 1991, the court entered an order showing that Black was $5,787.50 in arrears in his child support payments. Black made no payments towards that arrearage. He also never sought a modification of the court's earlier support order. On January 10, 1992, Black sold his Hammond home for $58,000. He quit his job of twenty-three years on May 9, 1992. He stopped making child support payments altogether in June 1992. 4 In February 1993, Black moved back to his hometown in Michigan and bought a farm. Some time later he married Pamela Black. Ernest Black moved out of Elaine Black's home in August 1993. Eric Black joined the Air Force in January 1995 and moved out in August of that same year. 5 On December 21, 1994, the United States Attorney for the Northern District of Indiana filed an information charging that Black, residing in a state different from his children, willfully and unlawfully failed to pay a due support obligation; that Black failed to pay this obligation for over one year; and that Black's obligation exceeded $5,000, all in violation of the Child Support Recovery Act, 28 U.S.C. § 228. On November 22, 1995, the U.S. Attorney's Office filed a superseding indictment, indicating that the amount Black owed was at least $17,274. On November 27, 1995, Black filed a motion to dismiss the information, contending that the CSRA exceeded Congress' powers under the Commerce Clause and was a violation of the Tenth Amendment. That motion was denied. 6 On March 5, 1996, after a bench trial before a magistrate judge, Black was found guilty and sentenced to six months' imprisonment. The court suspended the sentence and put Black on probation for eighteen months. Black was ordered to pay the U.S. Attorney's Office $16,565 in restitution by September 5, 1996, and $500 per month thereafter until the total amount he owed was fully satisfied. Black appealed and the district court affirmed. Black now appeals the district court's judgment.