Fourth Department – Child support order: Onondaga County v. Taylor

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New York State Supreme Court, Appellate Division, Fourth Judicial Department

Child support order — Right to a fair trial

Onondaga County v. Taylor

CAF 23-00518

Appealed from Family Court, Onondaga County

Background: The respondent appealed from an order that confirmed a support magistrate’s finding of willful violation of a prior order of child support and sentenced him to six months of incarceration.

Ruling: The Appellate Division reversed. The court held that the family court did not afford the respondent a fair hearing. The family court denied the respondent’s assigned counsel an adjournment to allow her time to prepare for the hearing for which she had no prior notice and prohibited her from conferring with respondent before the court attempted to swear in the respondent for testimony. The Appellate Division also noted that the record demonstrates that the court had a predetermined outcome for the hearing. The Family Court sua sponte transformed a scheduled appearance into a hearing over the respondent’s assigned counsel’s objection noting that “if the respondent wants to be cheeky with me, we’ll be cheeky” and advised the parties that the hearing was only going to take ten minutes. The Family Court judge questioned the respondent regarding whether cleanliness of his underwear implying that the respondent was going to go directly to jail after the hearing.

Veronica Reed for the respondent-appellant; Sujata Lal, of Lal, Gingold & Franklin, for the petitioner-respondent.

Submitted