Indigent Contemnors Beware: In Florida, You May Be Incarcerated without Being Appointed Counsel

Authors

Neal G. Bourda

First Page

767

Document Type

Comment

Abstract

The proposition espoused in this comment is applicable to any civil contempt action where the contemnor is indigent. However, this comment principally focuses on Florida's laws regarding an indigent parent's right to court-appointed counsel for failure to pay child support. While Florida has a court procedure allowing the indigent parent to explain why he is in contempt, the proceeding does not include the right to counsel if he is indigent, although the possibility of incarceration is ever present. In this context, Florida should adopt a policy that abolishes the civil/criminal contempt distinction. Furthermore, Florida should adopt a bold policy of allowing court-appointed counsel to represent the indigent contemnor in a civil contempt hearing for failure to comply with a child support order. In the alternative, the possibility of incarceration should be banished.

Recommended Citation

Neal G. Bourda, Indigent Contemnors Beware: In Florida, You May Be Incarcerated without Being Appointed Counsel, 9 St. Thomas L. Rev. 767 (1997).
Available at: https://scholarship.stu.edu/stlr/vol9/iss3/12