Injustice by Default - Reason Magazine

BolshevikMuppet · 2010-11-14T10:17:49+00:00

"I said, 'What do I need to do? I'm not the father,'" he remembers. "And they were like, 'OK, well this is what you do: You just call in every day, and then we'll understand that you're not it, because if you're it, you're not gonna call us every day.'"

It would startle me if that was actually what he was told, and he isn't misremembering
Even before I started in law, I would have known not to take that kind of thing as the truth "just keep calling, that'll settle it" shouldn't sound right.

who he says never once told him the clock was ticking

Because he was already informed, on the summons, of the 30 day deadline to either answer or settle.

Here's how it works: When an accused "obligor" fails, for whatever reason, to send his response on time, the court automatically issues a "default judgment" declaring him the legal father.

That's what happens in any suit. If I sue you, trollking, and you don't respond to it (talking to people about it doesn't count, even talking to my lawyer doesn't count) within the time period prescribed (only 14 days if given personal service), I get a default against you.

It does not matter if he was on vacation, was confused, or (as often happens) didn't even receive the summons

1/3. There can be a notice issue, since the federal notice requirements dictate that the notice must be reasonably calculated to reach the person. The issue with "on vacation" is that the Court assumes that a person is still keeping track of their property, so notice pinned to the door works. Aside from that, it has to be given to someone who can inform the defendant.

Talk to a god-damned lawyer, it's why we exist.

he simply treated the complaint's deadlines with the same lack of urgency people routinely exhibit toward jury duty summonses

Treat jury summons more urgently.
If you can't tell the difference between "jury summons" and "oh fuck, it's a big deal, summons", go talk to a lawyer. Go to a law clinic. Go to a law school. Ask your friends if they know anyone who can look at the paper and tell you what it is. Fucking google it.

"They only are obligated to send it to the last known address."

That's true of any summons. Remember, reasonable calculation. It's why you should submit change of address forms to the government.

with low evidentiary thresholds for issuing paternity complaints, no proof of service required

There's a low threshold for any complaint. It's how our notice pleading system works.

There is a requirement for proof of service, just not proof of the receipt of service. Like I said, if they have a reasonable belief that you should have gotten it, it's up to you to respond.

Besides having 30 days to respond to a paternity complaint, an accused father in California has 180 days to contest a child support order

That's about the usual time limit for any appeal.

Unlike capital murder convictions, which are being overturned around the country because of DNA evidence,

Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Clause. And, we also distinguish between "criminal" and "civil" law, and make the process for appealing murder convictions much more extensive. I promise you, in civil law, if I forgo my right to appeal within the timeframe, it doesn't matter if I'm right, I still can't reopen the judgment.

"It ain't your kid, you can prove it ain't your kid, and they say, 'So what?'"

They don't say "so what", they say "so, you had 30 days to respond to the complaint, then 180 days to appeal the decision. You didn't avail yourself of those rights, so why is it fair for you to come back and say "yeah, but I totally meant to"?"

It's how any time limits in statutes work. If you breach a contract with me in Colorado, and I wait six years and one day from the breach to sue you, I'm S.O.L, even if you totally did it.

Overall, I think false paternity sucks. But I don't consider this to be either fraud, or truly "unjust". Men have the opportunity to exercise their rights to object, and don't. Does it suck, yes? Is it inequitable? Sure. But what's the alternative?

jay76 · 2010-11-15T08:56:05+00:00

It is somewhat ironic that half of these kids, who are held up as justification for screwing over these men, will themselves become disposable as they grow into men themselves.

AkuTaco · 2010-11-14T22:35:03+00:00

So what I got from this article is "I wasn't responsible enough to actually respond to the summons in which I was told I was the father of a baby that wasn't mine and then wondered why they wouldn't just give me my money back when I waited 8 years to respond at all."

ycombinator · 2010-11-14T18:32:41+00:00

what is also striking about this article is how disposable the guy is

mean0dean0 · 2010-11-16T08:32:36+00:00

Moral of the story--do not live in California. You will have a welfare baby thrown at you like an IED.

Is it even conceptually possible in California to garnish the wages of a deadbeat mom?

subvertc · 2010-11-14T10:55:23+00:00

fuck.the.government.

BolshevikMuppet · 2010-11-16T21:53:11+00:00

For everyone who seems confused about what things like "notice pleading", "personal service" and "default" are, I'm going to explain things here.

So, what the fuck does BolshevikMuppet mean when he says that America uses a "notice pleading" system?

A little history is important. In England (circa 1750) they used a much more specific pleading system. The original complaint was required to set out the specific, factual, basis for the claim. If it failed to do so, the defendant would "demur", and the case would be dismissed. Fundamentally, the initial complaint was required to contain at least purported evidence for the basis of the claims.

America, in 1938, adopted the original Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. These rules relaxed the standards of pleadings, and changed it to what is now known as "notice pleading". Essentially, a complaint under the F.R.C.P (and most states' rules) need only set out general allegations, and put the defendant "on notice" that the suit had been brought. The "due diligence" of determining the real facts would now occur during the newly-made "discovery" phase.

Mere service of a valid complaint compels a response from the defendant. Either a motion (asking for dismissal under 12(b), for instance) or to "answer" the complaint. An answer admits or denies the allegations of the complaint (which usually are numbered, so the answer can admit or deny line by line). So, what happens if you don't answer? Basically, the court accepts that as being a general admission of all of the allegations. It's called a "default judgment" and happens really frequently in things like contract cases (wherein the defendant knows he breached, and doesn't want to pay a lawyer to deal with it).

Bolshevik, you mentioned "service" above as the basis for requiring an answer, what is that?

I'm so glad you asked. Service takes one of two forms. Either it's done through a waiver of service (which the F.R.C.P encourage), which is essentially asking the defendant to waive the requirement for personal service. If the defendant doesn't do that, there has to be what's called "personal service". Personal service is essentially giving a copy of the complaint either directly to the defendant, or to someone who is in a reasonable position to give it to him.

So, if I give the complaint to the defendant in person, he's served. If I go to his home and give it to his wife, he's served. If I go to his office and give it to his boss, he's served.

The idea about "they can just post it to his door while he's on vacation" doesn't exist anymore (least of all in California). That's a hold-over from what was called "in rem" jurisdiction, and the notice rules thereof.

I hope this helps to make all of the issues here more understandable.

Title	Injustice by Default - Reason Magazine
Author	thetrollking
Upvotes	26
Comments	55
Date	November 14, 2010 9:11 AM UTC (15 years ago)
Subreddit	Posted in /r/MensRights
Original Link	https://old.reddit.com/r/MensRights/comments/e5wg4/injustice_by_default_reason_magazine/
Archive Link	https://theredarchive.com/r/MensRights/injustice-by-default-reason-magazine.1045982 https://theredarchive.com/post/1045982

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