Judge of the Day? Only if you really hate deadbeat dads who aren't dads.

Speaking about whether or not judges should be empathetic, try this one on for size. A homeless man in Georgia has been jailed for over a year for failure to pay child support for a kid. He is not the biological parent and the judge knew he wasn’t the biological parent at the time he sent the man to jail.
Excuse me, I need to quickly sign my papers demanding support from Tavis Smiley.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports:

In the 1980s, Hatley had a relationship with Essie Lee Morrison, who became pregnant, had a baby boy and told [homeless man Frank Hatley] the child was his, according to court records. The couple never married and split up shortly after Travon was born in 1987….
But in 2000, DNA samples from Hatley and Travon showed the two were not related, according to a court records.
With the help of a Georgia Legal Services lawyer, Hatley went to court and was relieved of his responsibility to pay future child support. But he still had to deal with being a deadbeat dad when it was assumed that he was really the dad.

Notwithstanding the fact that he was not the biological father, Hatley paid child support for years. More details after the jump.


Even though Frank Hatley knew he wasn’t the father, he still paid child support –right up until he lost his job and became homeless:

Even after learning he was not the father, Hatley paid thousands of dollars the state said he owed for support. After losing his job and becoming homeless, he still made payments out of his unemployment benefits.
Hatley’s lawyer, Sarah Geraghty of the Southern Center for Human Rights in Atlanta, said two independent DNA tests — one nine years ago and one just a few days ago — prove he is not the biological father.
“This is a case of excessive zeal to recover money trumping common sense,” she said. “What possible legitimate reason can the state have to pursue Mr. Hatley for child support when he does not have any children?”

Sure, it’s easy to feel sorry for the homeless man who doesn’t have any children. But we can’t just relieve deadbeat, non-dads of their responsibility to support children that are not their own. It takes a village, you know.
Court knew man jailed for a year for non-support was not child’s father [Atlanta Journal-Constitution]
Judge Sent Homeless Man to Jail for Failing to Support Boy Who Wasn’t His [ABA Journal]

Sponsored