Opinion ID: 2164704
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Chase v. Chase

Text: On April 11, 1977, the Circuit Court for Montgomery County, in a divorce decree, ordered the petitioner John H. Chase to pay $75.00 per week for the support of his minor children. In October 1977, Chase's former wife, represented by the State's Attorney for Montgomery County, filed a petition to hold Chase in contempt, alleging that he had failed to make regular child support payments and was $390.02 in arrears. After a hearing on November 29, 1977, the circuit court on December 12, 1977, adjudged Chase in contempt, found that he was in arrears in the amount of $2,003.62 plus court costs, and ordered that the Defendant shall serve sixty days in the Montgomery County Detention Center, the execution of said sentence to be stayed until December 16, 1977. The order further directed Chase to pay $200.00 of the arrearage by December 15, 1977, and, commencing December 16, to pay $75.00 per week child support plus $5.00 per week on the arrearage until it was paid in full. This order had no language suspending the execution of the sentence or expressly providing for Chase to purge himself, although perhaps it might be inferred that the payment of $200.00 would keep him out of jail. The record before us contains no transcript of the November 29, 1977, hearing, and does not indicate whether Chase was represented by counsel. Subsequent petitions to hold Chase in contempt were filed by the State's Attorney for Montgomery County, representing Chase's former wife, on February 10, 1978, May 4, 1978, and July 28, 1978. Chase was not served with the February petition, and he did not appear in response to the show cause order issued on the May petition, later claiming that he did not receive the petition or order. The July 28, 1978, petition commenced the instant contempt proceedings. There were three circuit court hearings following the July 28 contempt petition, held on October 3, 1978, on December 1, 1978, and on June 18, 1979. At the October and December 1978 hearings Chase was represented by counsel, although no testimony was taken at either of these hearings. His attorney, at the October hearing, merely asked that the matter be continued until December 1, to afford myself an opportunity to meet with my client and prepare for a hearing on the merits, and the attorney represented that Chase would pay $75.00 per week during the period of the continuance. The court granted the postponement and ordered Chase to pay $75.00 per week in the interim. At the December 1, 1978, hearing, the Assistant State's Attorney representing Chase's former wife stated that the arrearage had reached $5,453.62 and that we have agreed that Chase be adjudged in contempt and sentenced to 90 days in jail, with the sentence to be suspended as long as he continued to pay $50.00 per week current child support, $15.00 per week on the arrearage, and $1.50 per week toward the court costs due, for a total of $66.50 weekly. There was no exploration at this hearing of Chase's ability to pay, although his attorney made reference to the sporadic nature of Chase's work in the construction trades and his having filed applications for new jobs which would provide  a more stable type of income over the year long period. The court accepted the stipulation and warned Chase not to fail to make the $66.50 payment every week or he would spend at least the ninety days in jail. The next hearing in the case, and the hearing leading to the order from which this appeal was taken, occurred on June 18, 1979. Mr. Chase was not represented by counsel at this hearing, although his former wife continued to be represented by the State's Attorney's office. Furthermore, no inquiry was made concerning his lack of counsel, and he was not advised that he had any right to representation by counsel. The hearing began by the court asking Chase why he had made no payments after the order of December 1, 1978. Chase stated that, in 1978 (apparently after the December 1st hearing), he was involved in an accident and his foot was cut off. As a result, he was unemployed until about two months ago, and [t]he reason I didn't start making the payments yet, I was just getting myself back together. The circuit judge then reviewed the history of the judicial proceedings, pointed out that the original order was on April 11, 1977, and asked Chase why he had not made more support payments at an earlier stage. The defendant replied that he was in jail for six months in 1977. The Assistant State's Attorney asked about Chase's present employment, and Chase replied that he was working for a landscaping firm in Gaithersburg, Maryland. Thereupon the circuit court concluded the hearing as follows: THE COURT: All right. The Court affixes the arrearages as of June 8th in the amount of $6,228.62, and that is the total of arrearages, and it includes any amount entered by Judge Frosh on 12/1/78. So the record is clear, that is the total amount as of June 8th, including all prior, $6,228.62. The condition of the suspension of contempt was he make payments in the amount of $50.00 per week. No payments have been received. Accordingly, the original sentence of ninety days in the Montgomery County Detention Center is hereby imposed. He is remanded to custody of the Sheriff for execution of that sentence. He may purge himself of that contempt by the payment, under the condition of Judge Frosh's order, which at that time was, it appears to be $4,789.00, and it is now $6,228.00. He may purge himself of the contempt by payment of $1,500.00, and thereafter making payments as ordered. Afterwards, an Assistant Public Defender entered an appearance as Chase's attorney and filed an order of appeal to the Court of Special Appeals.