Court Opinion

ID: 9689951
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-24 18:50:15.881283+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T18:18:52.849952
License: Public Domain

MYSE, J.
(concurring). I write separately because I believe my brethren have reached conclusions on issues not raised by the facts of the case and have put forth a proposition of law so general that it creates more problems than it purports to resolve.
This case involved the prosecution of a violation of a court order. The criminal complaint and the preliminary hearing all revolved around the alleged violation of a court order requiring the defendant to pay child support in the amount of 25% of his gross income. While in some abstract sense it may be true that an individual who fails to make support payments even without a court order may be prosecuted under this section, such a fact situation is not before us, and we *662need not address it. To address it here is both unwise and unnecessary.
The evidence disclosed that the defendant had some nominal income during the period in question from doing odd jobs, running a tavern, and painting for a friend. This is sufficient evidence to demonstrate that he violated the court order since it was uncontested that no payment of any amount was received during this period of time. That is all that is required for the state to proceed with a felony prosecution. The defense of inability to pay may be raised by the defendant since he contends that the earnings from these activities were insufficient to allow him to make the required payments.
The trial court read the statute to require that the court order be violated each month for 120 consecutive days and that such a violation could only occur if he had 120 days of employment. I agree with the majority that the court erred in its construction of the statute. The statute should be interpreted to provide that a violation of a court order, even if it involves only one month of nonpayment, which persists for 120 days, is sufficient for the nonpayment to be charged as a felony.