Nonfather is told to pay - Page 2

Mr. Laz · 02-14-2007, 10:18 AM

Posted on Wed, Feb. 14, 2007

MISSOURI CHILD-SUPPORT RULING | Case prompts call for changes

Nonfather is told to pay

Mother agrees that the man is not the biological parent, but state laws are cited in appeals ruling.

By JOE LAMBE
The Kansas City Star

Once again, Missouri judges have ordered a man to pay thousands of dollars in child support for a child he didn’t father.

This time, even the child’s mother agrees that the man is not the father. Yet a state agency says he is, because he was married to the woman when she gave birth.

The state wants David Salazar thrown in jail, and an appeals court on Tuesday agreed.

His lawyer, though, hopes that a higher court will rescue the Buchanan County man and others like him caught in a national issue that pits fairness for men against what is considered best for children.

Many men nationwide get trapped into paying child support because they do not contest paternity before state-set deadlines.

Several states have recently changed laws or are considering changes that would allow men to introduce DNA evidence after the deadlines have passed. A bill pending in the Missouri Senate would allow that here.

Sen. Chris Koster, a Republican from Harrisonville, said he thinks Missouri lawmakers will pass the bill this year.

“There’s an increasing awareness that Missouri law is out of sync with the tools science has provided to determine parentage,” Koster said.

In the case decided Tuesday, David Salazar and his wife agreed that they separated 14 months before she had a baby girl by another man in November 2001.

But they were too poor to pay for a divorce, his attorney said. A hospital clerk ordered the mother to list Salazar as the father on the birth certificate. The Missouri Division of Child Support Enforcement named Salazar the father without DNA testing.

Salazar did not attend a hearing to contest the paternity finding. A Buchanan County judge later found him guilty of not paying $278 a month in child support and sentenced him to 28 days in jail.

Salazar appealed, but lost Tuesday in a 6-5 ruling by the appeals court in Kansas City.

He could not be reached for comment.

In most states, a reputed father has a short time to contest findings that he is a parent. In Missouri and Kansas, that period is one year. Child support usually must be paid until children turn at least 18.

Laura Donaldson, assistant Buchanan County prosecutor, said judges followed a clear legal process designed to financially provide for children.

“When you fail to contest an issue,” she said, “we assume you’re not serious about contesting it.”

Even though the mother, Shannon McClure, told officials that Salazar was not the father, she could have been lying because he threatened her — there was no way of knowing, Donaldson said.

Assistant public defender Merle Turner said she would appeal to the Missouri Supreme Court. Her client never finished high school, could not afford a lawyer or a divorce and could not understand or deal with the administrators, she said.

Chief Judge Victor Howard, writing for the appeals court majority, noted that Salazar did not attend paternity hearings. At trial before a judge in 2004, Salazar admitted he had not paid child support. He was not allowed to give a DNA sample at that point, because by then he was considered the father by law.

Judge Ronald Holliger wrote the dissent.

“David Salazar is now held to be the father of A.S. (the child) for all purposes and all time,” he wrote, “despite both mother and father’s statements to the contrary and without any determination of that relationship by a court of law.”

If convicted again for nonpayment, Holliger noted, Salazar could be guilty of a felony punishable by four years in prison. And by now, Salazar owes more than $13,000 in child support.

Yet only the child support division — never a judge or evidence — named him the father, Holliger noted.

The administrative order should not settle the paternity issue, Holliger contended, and its finding that Salazar must pay child support should not be enough to send him to jail for nonsupport.

Many cases of nonfathers paying child support do not become public because the files are sealed. In 2005, The Kansas City Star reported on two such court battles.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
To reach Joe Lambe, call (816) 234-4314 or send e-mail to [email protected].

Frazod · 02-14-2007, 11:56 AM

God, this is frightening. The ex and I were seperated for years before we got divorced (for a long time I had no idea where she was) and God only knows how many guys she screwed. She could have got knocked up by some idiot and under this stupid law I would have been liable and never even known about it until warrants were issued.

To get stuck paying child support on somebody else's kid because your wife is a whore - man, that just raised the bar on injustice to new heights.

Unbelievable.

Luke · 02-14-2007, 12:23 PM

I raised both my kids. My ex-wife was up to 25k in back child support, Jackson County court is a joke, very biased in my opinion. My lawyer told me that if I were that far behind I would have been jailed and drivers liscense revoked. My ex however was allowed to keep nursing licsense, driving licsense and freedom. Such is life I supposed, but still sucks.

As karma dictates, she remarried a real loser.

kcfanXIII · 02-14-2007, 12:32 PM

i'm suprised you got custody n00b. MO is a child bearing state, and almost always gives custody to the whore, i mean mother. i remember growing up, a neighberhoodfriend's parentsgotdivorced due to themother's alcholism. it wasthe reason forthe divorce, and she was a raging drunk, not just a mild case. court still gave custody to the bitch.

**Bowser** · 02-14-2007, 12:44 PM

The father getting full custody in Missouri is damned near impossible. She would have to show up to court with a needle hanging out of her arm and waving a gun around. And probably then it would still be joint custody with the father as the custodial parent.

Braincase · 02-14-2007, 12:55 PM

I'd be suin' the real father.

PinkFloyd · 02-14-2007, 08:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Braincase

I'd be suin' the real father.

I'm sure she knows who the real father is... She's probably a junior high teacher !!!!

Ebolapox · 02-14-2007, 08:29 PM

jesus titty fucking christ

KCChiefsMan · 02-14-2007, 09:36 PM

this country sucks.....sorry but it does. I got some neg reps from Lzen for saying that so feel free to do it again, the justice system is a joke and so are the majority of the people.

**Tribal Warfare** · 02-14-2007, 09:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by KCChiefsMan

this country sucks.....sorry but it does. I got some neg reps from Lzen for saying that so feel free to do it again, the justice system is a joke and so are the majority of the people.

It has flaws, but it's still the best Judicial system ou their

**Rausch** · 02-14-2007, 10:49 PM

Happens more than you think.

The government decides they'd prefer you to pay than them...

**007** · 02-14-2007, 10:58 PM

Our legal system stinks. This is nothing new.

Chief Roundup · 02-14-2007, 11:03 PM

Typical...The goverment is willing to stick it to anyone as long as it doesn't affect the budget. Don't want the kids to be on medicare or medicaid whatever. So they will just pick the closest male that they can and say that one will do. Lets see if he has the finances to fight this or will he just roll over and take it like most of the other human beings. Man this is wrong. And people wonder why some other people go on shooting sprees!

Halfcan · 02-14-2007, 11:23 PM

Yep I will never get married again and invite the court system into my relationship.

02-14-2007, 10:18 AM
Mr. Laz Don't Tease Me Join Date: Dec 2000 Location: KS Casino cash: $11047037	Nonfather is told to pay Posted on Wed, Feb. 14, 2007 MISSOURI CHILD-SUPPORT RULING \| Case prompts call for changes Nonfather is told to pay Mother agrees that the man is not the biological parent, but state laws are cited in appeals ruling. By JOE LAMBE The Kansas City Star Once again, Missouri judges have ordered a man to pay thousands of dollars in child support for a child he didn’t father. This time, even the child’s mother agrees that the man is not the father. Yet a state agency says he is, because he was married to the woman when she gave birth. The state wants David Salazar thrown in jail, and an appeals court on Tuesday agreed. His lawyer, though, hopes that a higher court will rescue the Buchanan County man and others like him caught in a national issue that pits fairness for men against what is considered best for children. Many men nationwide get trapped into paying child support because they do not contest paternity before state-set deadlines. Several states have recently changed laws or are considering changes that would allow men to introduce DNA evidence after the deadlines have passed. A bill pending in the Missouri Senate would allow that here. Sen. Chris Koster, a Republican from Harrisonville, said he thinks Missouri lawmakers will pass the bill this year. “There’s an increasing awareness that Missouri law is out of sync with the tools science has provided to determine parentage,” Koster said. In the case decided Tuesday, David Salazar and his wife agreed that they separated 14 months before she had a baby girl by another man in November 2001. But they were too poor to pay for a divorce, his attorney said. A hospital clerk ordered the mother to list Salazar as the father on the birth certificate. The Missouri Division of Child Support Enforcement named Salazar the father without DNA testing. Salazar did not attend a hearing to contest the paternity finding. A Buchanan County judge later found him guilty of not paying $278 a month in child support and sentenced him to 28 days in jail. Salazar appealed, but lost Tuesday in a 6-5 ruling by the appeals court in Kansas City. He could not be reached for comment. In most states, a reputed father has a short time to contest findings that he is a parent. In Missouri and Kansas, that period is one year. Child support usually must be paid until children turn at least 18. Laura Donaldson, assistant Buchanan County prosecutor, said judges followed a clear legal process designed to financially provide for children. “When you fail to contest an issue,” she said, “we assume you’re not serious about contesting it.” Even though the mother, Shannon McClure, told officials that Salazar was not the father, she could have been lying because he threatened her — there was no way of knowing, Donaldson said. Assistant public defender Merle Turner said she would appeal to the Missouri Supreme Court. Her client never finished high school, could not afford a lawyer or a divorce and could not understand or deal with the administrators, she said. Chief Judge Victor Howard, writing for the appeals court majority, noted that Salazar did not attend paternity hearings. At trial before a judge in 2004, Salazar admitted he had not paid child support. He was not allowed to give a DNA sample at that point, because by then he was considered the father by law. Judge Ronald Holliger wrote the dissent. “David Salazar is now held to be the father of A.S. (the child) for all purposes and all time,” he wrote, “despite both mother and father’s statements to the contrary and without any determination of that relationship by a court of law.” If convicted again for nonpayment, Holliger noted, Salazar could be guilty of a felony punishable by four years in prison. And by now, Salazar owes more than $13,000 in child support. Yet only the child support division — never a judge or evidence — named him the father, Holliger noted. The administrative order should not settle the paternity issue, Holliger contended, and its finding that Salazar must pay child support should not be enough to send him to jail for nonsupport. Many cases of nonfathers paying child support do not become public because the files are sealed. In 2005, The Kansas City Star reported on two such court battles. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- To reach Joe Lambe, call (816) 234-4314 or send e-mail to [email protected].
Posts: 95,626

02-14-2007, 11:56 AM	#16
Frazod Did you hear what I said? Join Date: Aug 2000 Casino cash: $-776615	God, this is frightening. The ex and I were seperated for years before we got divorced (for a long time I had no idea where she was) and God only knows how many guys she screwed. She could have got knocked up by some idiot and under this stupid law I would have been liable and never even known about it until warrants were issued. To get stuck paying child support on somebody else's kid because your wife is a whore - man, that just raised the bar on injustice to new heights. Unbelievable.
Posts: 121,774

02-14-2007, 12:23 PM	#17
Luke Starter Join Date: Dec 2001 Location: Earth Casino cash: $10004900	Typical for State of Missouri I raised both my kids. My ex-wife was up to 25k in back child support, Jackson County court is a joke, very biased in my opinion. My lawyer told me that if I were that far behind I would have been jailed and drivers liscense revoked. My ex however was allowed to keep nursing licsense, driving licsense and freedom. Such is life I supposed, but still sucks. As karma dictates, she remarried a real loser.
Posts: 345

02-14-2007, 12:32 PM	#18
kcfanXIII Ride on! Join Date: Oct 2005 Location: Galaxy far far away Casino cash: $10013172	i'm suprised you got custody n00b. MO is a child bearing state, and almost always gives custody to the whore, i mean mother. i remember growing up, a neighberhoodfriend's parentsgotdivorced due to themother's alcholism. it wasthe reason forthe divorce, and she was a raging drunk, not just a mild case. court still gave custody to the bitch. __________________ Faster, faster, until the thrill of speed, overcomes the fear of death.
Posts: 5,470

02-14-2007, 12:44 PM	#19
Bowser sorta mod-ish Join Date: Jan 2004 Location: KC North Casino cash: $-198384	The father getting full custody in Missouri is damned near impossible. She would have to show up to court with a needle hanging out of her arm and waving a gun around. And probably then it would still be joint custody with the father as the custodial parent.
Posts: 106,867

02-14-2007, 12:55 PM	#20
Braincase Banned Join Date: Aug 2001 Location: Pond> Me <Barn Casino cash: $11298284	I'd be suin' the real father. __________________ BrainCase
Posts: 15,429

02-14-2007, 08:29 PM	#22
Ebolapox remember, remember Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: como Casino cash: $-1770097	jesus titty fucking christ
Posts: 26,523

02-14-2007, 09:36 PM	#23
KCChiefsMan AIC Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: West Roxbury, MA Casino cash: $10004900	this country sucks.....sorry but it does. I got some neg reps from Lzen for saying that so feel free to do it again, the justice system is a joke and so are the majority of the people.
Posts: 11,478

02-14-2007, 10:58 PM	#26
007 Shaken. Not stirred. Join Date: Sep 2002 Location: London Casino cash: $12150126 VARSITY	Our legal system stinks. This is nothing new. __________________ My dear girl, there are some things that just aren’t done. Such as, drinking Dom Perignon ’53 above the temperature of 38 degrees Fahrenheit. That’s just as bad as listening to the Beatles without earmuffs.
Posts: 65,736

02-14-2007, 11:03 PM	#27
Chief Roundup Admitted Planet Junky Join Date: Oct 2000 Casino cash: $-1578373	Typical...The goverment is willing to stick it to anyone as long as it doesn't affect the budget. Don't want the kids to be on medicare or medicaid whatever. So they will just pick the closest male that they can and say that one will do. Lets see if he has the finances to fight this or will he just roll over and take it like most of the other human beings. Man this is wrong. And people wonder why some other people go on shooting sprees! __________________ Fanaticism is nowhere. There is no tenderness or humanity in fanaticism.
Posts: 19,565

02-14-2007, 11:23 PM	#28
Halfcan In Search of a Life Join Date: Aug 2005 Casino cash: $7327995	Yep I will never get married again and invite the court system into my relationship.
Posts: 43,200