PRINTER'S NO. 4550
No. 2830 Session of 2008
INTRODUCED BY MOUL, BEYER, BIANCUCCI, GIBBONS, GINGRICH,
HARHART, HARPER, HARRIS, KAUFFMAN, MURT, NICKOL, PICKETT,
ROCK, SAYLOR, SIPTROTH, VULAKOVICH, GEIST, MYERS, J. WHITE
AND SONNEY, OCTOBER 15, 2008
REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON JUDICIARY, OCTOBER 15, 2008
AN ACT
1 Amending Title 23 (Domestic Relations) of the Pennsylvania
2 Consolidated Statutes, providing for indirect criminal
3 contempt for violation of support order.
4 The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
5 hereby enacts as follows:
6 Section 1. Title 23 of the Pennsylvania Consolidated
7 Statutes is amended by adding a section to read:
8 § 4345.1. Indirect criminal contempt for violation of support
9 order.
10 (a) Filing of charge.--The domestic relations section or the
11 district attorney may file and prosecute charges of indirect
12 criminal contempt alleging that an obligor has willfully
13 violated a support order.
14 (b) Determination.--Where a court finds that an obligor has
15 willfully violated a support order or another order of court
16 related to the support order, the court may hold the obligor in
17 indirect criminal contempt and punish the obligor in accordance
1 with this section.
2 (c) Trial and punishment.--A sentence for indirect criminal
3 contempt shall be punishable by any one or more of the
4 following:
5 (1) A fine not to exceed $1,000.
6 (2) Imprisonment for a period not to exceed six months.
7 (3) Probation for a period not to exceed one year.
8 (4) An order for other relief.
9 (d) Obligor.--The obligor shall not have a right to jury
10 trial on a charge of indirect criminal contempt. However, the
11 obligor shall be entitled to counsel.
12 (e) Multiple remedies.--Disposition of a charge of indirect
13 criminal contempt shall not preclude the prosecution of other
14 criminal charges associated with the incident giving rise to the
15 contempt, nor shall disposition of other criminal charges
16 preclude prosecution of indirect criminal contempt associated
17 with the conduct giving rise to the charges.
18 Section 2. This act shall take effect in 60 days.
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