Wronke v. Madigan
United States District Court for the Central District of Illinois
26 F. Supp. 2d 1102 (1998)
- Written by Tammy Boggs, JD
Facts
In 1990, a court judgment was entered dissolving the marriage between Kenneth Wronke (plaintiff) and his former wife. In 1991, the state court entered an order regarding childcare issues and requiring Wronke to pay child support for his two minor children. By 1995, Wronke had incurred child-support arrearages of $44,226, despite having the ability to pay. Wronke had also placed the names of his children on a sign along a state highway. In October 1995, the state court found Wronke in indirect civil contempt and ordered him incarcerated in county jail until he purged himself of the contempt order by paying child support and effectuating a removal of his children’s names from the sign. The court’s civil-contempt order was affirmed on appeal. In July 1996, Wronke filed a petition for writ of habeas corpus in Illinois district court, challenging his incarceration by the state (defendant) without a jury trial for more than six months. Wronke compared his situation to that of a criminal contemnor, who, under the law at the time, could not be imprisoned for more than six months without a jury trial.
Rule of Law
Issue
Holding and Reasoning (McCuskey, J.)
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