A judge in the suburbs in Cleveland, Ohio has apparently gotten so tired of hearing the same excuse from parents who are behind on child support that he has taken matters into in his own hands. Judge James Walther of Lorain County, Ohio has heard countless times from delinquent parents that they can’t find work and thus can’t pay child support. Knowing that the excuse is coming, Judge Walther has taken it upon himself to compile a PowerPoint that outlines all the job opportunities in the area. Judge Walther now plays the PowerPoint at child support hearings to show defendants that there are job opportunities available to them.
About Judge Walther’s PowerPoint Presentation
Judge Walther put together the PowerPoint by photographing any signs he sees indicating anything along the lines of “Help Wanted” or “Come Join Our Team.” Judge Walther has even enlisted the help of his wife, who also takes photos around town of postings for open positions. The point of Judge Walther’s PowerPoint is clear to defendants in his courtroom—to show them that there are open positions to apply for.
As Judge Walther put it, “[t]hey can’t come up here and tell me some story that they can’t find a job. Some of [the parents] really do want to get jobs. Some of them don’t. Knowledge is power and I have the knowledge now that there are plenty of jobs out there.”
About North Carolina’s “Seek Work Orders”
In North Carolina child support cases, a judge must find that a parent has willfully violated a Child Support Order in order to hold that parent in contempt of the Order. As a defense, parents sometimes point to their inability to pay due to not having a job or being underemployed. In such cases, North Carolina judges will often order a parent to seek employment with a certain amount of employers and then report back to the Court on their efforts to find a job. These Orders are commonly known as “Seek Work Orders” and are enforceable by the Court if a parent decides to not search for a job as ordered.
If you have any questions about child support in your family law case, don’t hesitate to contact a Charlotte child support attorney at our office: (704) 810-1400.