Hoyt v. Pierce

Appeal from an order of the Family Court, Broome County, entered May 2, 1968, which adjudged the appellant in contempt of court, ordered that the suspension of sentence in a prior contempt order be withdrawn, and imposed a jail sentence. The sole issue presented by appellant is whether it ■ is “ constitutionally permissible for the Family Court to imprison a person for failure to make support payments as required by the Family Court Act”; appellant contending that he “has been denied his constitutional rights in that he has been sentenced to jail for failure to pay a civil debt.” The record discloses, however, that punishment was imposed solely for willful disobedience of the court’s mandate. (See Fuller v. Fuller, 31 A D 2d 587.) Order affirmed, with costs. Gibson, P. J., Herlihy, Reynolds, Aulisi and Staley, Jr., JJ., concur in memorandum by Staley, Jr., J.