Signing agreements as a new employee: What about secrecy oaths?

There are lots of forms to sign when you're a new employee, like allowing drug testing, background checks, and so on. And many employers will make new employees sign "non-disclosure" agreements. Most people will sign things because it seems like accepting the job requires you to sign everything.

But secrecy oaths? That seems to be taking things a bit too far. But government employees might be expected to sign them.

Article here.

Donna Busche, employee at the Department of Energy, reluctantly signed the agreement.

“It was a gag order,” said Busche, 51, who served as the manager of environmental and nuclear safety at the Hanford waste treatment facility for a federal contractor until she was fired in February after raising safety concerns. “The message was pretty clear: ‘Don’t say anything to anyone, or else.’ ”

Are law schools heading into a bull market?

The schools of thought are hesitant to say "yes" to this question, but it's a good "maybe."

Article here. (via WSJ law blog, hat tip taxlawprof blog).

The analysis, the writer suggests, is less an endorsement of law school than a recognition of the law of supply and demand.

Says Mr. Weissmann (business reporter at Slate): “The only reason the class of 2016 is looking at a relatively upbeat future is that enough students gave up on the idea of becoming lawyers amid a market that was flooded with jobless young people.”

In other words, the only reason it looks good now is because so many people decided it looked terrible a few years ago.  

Another 9-0 Supreme Court ruling: Presidents can't do that

The constitution was written with this concept known as "separation of powers" which was meant to stop one branch of government from hogging power. The tendency feared by the Framers of the Constitution was that one branch (of the three: executive, legislative, or judicial) would attempt to grab more power than it was meant to have. So separation of powers means that one branch can only act in some situations with oversight by another branch. For example, when Congress (legislative branch) writes a law, it has to get approval (or be vetoed) by the President (executive branch). If both of those branches do something, it will end up in front of the Court eventually (judicial branch) which will interpret the law, and see if one branch has overstepped its power boundary. (See Marbury v. Madison).

So it's nice to see that the current nine folks in black robes (aka the US Supreme Court) can still uphold this facet of the constitution. And the fact that they did it unanimously is even nicer.

Article here. (via Washington Times).

It’s been a bad week for President Obama. Twice, he’s been caught red-handed, violating the Constitution’s separation of powers. On Monday, in United Air Regulatory Group v. EPA, the Supreme Court ruled that the president’s carbon-emission “tailoring rule” exceeded Congress‘ intent in the Clean Air Act, proclaiming, “Were we to recognize the authority claimed by EPA in the Tailoring Rule, we would deal a severe blow to the Constitution’s separation of powers.”

On Thursday, in NLRB v. Noel Canning, the court smacked down the president’s arrogant skirting of the Senate’s prerogative to confirm presidential appointments. No other president ever attempted to make an appointment while the Senate was still in session, without seeking, as Article II requires, the “advice and consent” of that chamber.

The importance of typing well for lawyers

I know I've been droning on and on about how note-taking is better done by hand. But this is about how to write your thoughts from what were hand written notes into something you would submit to court. Which must be done on a keyboard aka touch typing.

Article here.(via the lawyerist)

From the article:

For lawyers and anyone else who makes a living from words, the ability to type fast is an essential — not optional — skill. Unlike notetaking, which is better done by hand, one of the keys to writing well is eliminating any bottlenecks between your brain and the page.

It's all fiction: Slaying suspect says note was outline to movie script, not a plot to killing

After police found a note that appeared to detail Jose Hernandez, her ex-boyfriend’s killing, Maryann Castorena told investigators it was only the outline of a book she planned to write.

Later, she told police it was a movie script based on an overheard conversation.

Article here. (via mlive.com). 

Teacher guilty of sex with student loses at Michigan Court of Appeals

A former Cedar Springs Public Schools teacher convicted of having sex with a student in the summer of 2011 said that evidence that he provided his teen victim with pills to induce an abortion unfairly prejudiced the jury, which found him guilty.

Jon Eric Jungkind is serving three to 15 years in prison after he was convicted of having sex with a 17-year-old girl, a student at Cedar Springs High School where he taught.

Article here (from mlive.com). 

Jungkind filed an appeal, stating that the evidence about the abortion should have been withheld from the jury, which then became unfairly prejudiced against him. The Michigan Court of Appeals disagreed, and the conviction stands. The jury should have heard the evidence, rules the Court of Appeals, because giving the student abortion pills could have meant that Jungkind admitted to the sex, and knew he'd been the cause of the pregnancy.

Fourth Amendment win: cell phone privacy protected at US Supreme Court

In a rare 9-0 opinion, the US Supreme Court ruled today that cell phones should be treated differently than other things when a person is arrested.

This is a small victory for the Fourth Amendment, which hasn't gotten much respect lately from courts.

 Article here. (via scotusblog). 

From the Article: 
Treating modern cellphones as gaping windows into nearly all aspects of the user’s life and private conduct, the Supreme Court on Wednesday unanimously ordered police to get a search warrant before examining the contents of any such device they take from a person they have arrested.

How do Michigan's bar dues compare to other states?

Michigan's Supreme Court announced Friday that dues for active Michigan bar members will decrease - related to funds for attorney discipline.

Article here. (via sbmblog).

But after the decrease, how will Michigan's dues compare to other states in the US?

And is this all related to other legislation (proposed under Michigan's Right to Work laws) to make state bar membership voluntary instead of mandatory?

Aside: my basic dues amount is added to with membership fees for other Sections of the State Bar.

Friday, the Michigan Supreme Court announced that the portion of dues paid by State Bar of Michigan members to fund the disciplinary system in Michigan will decrease by $20 for every Michigan attorney during the next dues cycle. That means the total amount of dues paid by active Michigan attorneys will drop from $305 a year to $285 a year.
After that decrease in dues takes place, how expensive will Michigan's dues be compared to those in other states?
- See more at: http://sbmblog.typepad.com/sbm-blog/2014/06/how-do-sbm-dues-stack-up-compared-to-those-paid-by-attorneys-in-other-states-.html#sthash.YFY1BfeX.dpuf

Friday, the Michigan Supreme Court announced that the portion of dues paid by State Bar of Michigan members to fund the disciplinary system in Michigan will decrease by $20 for every Michigan attorney during the next dues cycle. That means the total amount of dues paid by active Michigan attorneys will drop from $305 a year to $285 a year. - See more at: http://sbmblog.typepad.com/#sthash.suppCtqD.dpuf

Friday, the Michigan Supreme Court announced that the portion of dues paid by State Bar of Michigan members to fund the disciplinary system in Michigan will decrease by $20 for every Michigan attorney during the next dues cycle. That means the total amount of dues paid by active Michigan attorneys will drop from $305 a year to $285 a year. - See more at: http://sbmblog.typepad.com/#sthash.suppCtqD.dpuf

Friday, the Michigan Supreme Court announced that the portion of dues paid by State Bar of Michigan members to fund the disciplinary system in Michigan will decrease by $20 for every Michigan attorney during the next dues cycle. That means the total amount of dues paid by active Michigan attorneys will drop from $305 a year to $285 a year. - See more at: http://sbmblog.typepad.com/#sthash.suppCtqD.dpuf

Friday, the Michigan Supreme Court announced that the portion of dues paid by State Bar of Michigan members to fund the disciplinary system in Michigan will decrease by $20 for every Michigan attorney during the next dues cycle. That means the total amount of dues paid by active Michigan attorneys will drop from $305 a year to $285 a year. - See more at: http://sbmblog.typepad.com/#sthash.suppCtqD.dpuf

Friday, the Michigan Supreme Court announced that the portion of dues paid by State Bar of Michigan members to fund the disciplinary system in Michigan will decrease by $20 for every Michigan attorney during the next dues cycle. That means the total amount of dues paid by active Michigan attorneys will drop from $305 a year to $285 a year. - See more at: http://sbmblog.typepad.com/#sthash.suppCtqD.dpuf

60 dead cats found, 35 rescued from Detroit home

It’s unclear whether the person at the house on Marne Street on the city’s east side will face criminal charges, and nobody was home when the cats were rescued, Detroit police spokeswoman Jennifer Moreno said Monday.

Article here. 

17 dogs found dead at Arizona pet boarding facility

Seventeen dogs were found dead Friday at a pet boarding service in Gilbert, Ariz., after one of the dogs apparently chewed through an air-conditioning power cord.

The dogs died of heat exhaustion after the air conditioning went out on the side of the Green Acre boarding facility where the dogs were staying, according to the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office.

Article here.  (via Detroit Free Press).

New law grads are getting hired, but the competition is stiff

If you're trying to weather the storm of finding a job as a new law school grad, things are looking better. But don't get that new career wardrobe just yet.

Article here. (via wsjlawblog)

The chances of landing a job at a large law firm have improved from the hiring nadir a few years back, when sputtering demand for legal services triggered layoffs and cutbacks.

But the total number of such jobs taken by the class of 2013 remains far lower than for the class of 2009: 3,980 positions compared with 5,156.

Can corporations who have been sued by their stockholders then foist the legal bill to the stockholders?

The answer is: no, not for the time being.

I often wondered this while I was taking Business Organizations (not a popular class, but it was still one I liked nonetheless):  Can a corporation, who has been sued by their stockholders (but the stockholders lost), then turn around and place the legal bill in the hands of the stockholders?

Not right now, according to the Delaware legislature.

Article here.

Record Numbers of Americans are renouncing their US citizenship

The reason? Taxes, and a campaign by the IRS to go after non-residents and taxes they owe.

Article here.  (via Taxprof blog).

From the article:

The tax dragnet has also swept up many middle-income Americans living abroad, prompting some to give up their U.S. citizenship. While people who renounce aren't freed of taxes due for past years, they don't want to risk sizable taxes and penalties for them and their children in the years ahead, experts say. Nearly 8,000 taxpayers have renounced U.S. citizenship in the past five years, Mr. Mitchel found, compared with fewer than 5,000 in the preceding decade. ...

More evidence: Lawyers should be taking notes by hand

Yet another study showing that long-hand note taking is superior as a means of retention than note taking via laptops.

Article here.  (via the Lawyerist).

It turns out that typing speed is a big part of the problem. When you have a keyboard, you have a very strong tendency to transcribe what you hear, even if you try not to. But when taking notes by hand, you have to (a) pay attention and (b) decide what is important.

Legal haiku: a reason to join twitter?

There's a Twitter account that follows Supreme Court opinions, then distills the opinion into a haiku format. It's called @SupremeHaiku, and it's pretty entertaining. I suppose this follows the "ancient" legal tradition of writing parody verse to do case summaries, etc. I remember writing one that was based on Three Blind Mice, but I can't remember the case summary anymore. The barbri lecturer for Civil Procedure had a really good one for remembering jurisdiction, based on an Eagles song, "Take it to the Limit," which helped me pass that essay for the Bar exam.

(via State bar of Michigan blog.)

you're not already a Twitter user, here's one more reason to consider joining (as if following updates from the State Bar of Michigan wasn't already enough).
You're missing out on one of the greatest artistic feats of lawyer kind: the Supreme Court Haiku twitter
- See more at: http://sbmblog.typepad.com/sbm-blog/2014/06/heres-a-reason-to-join-twitter-supremehaiku.html#sthash.VtAOj31l.dpuf

you're not already a Twitter user, here's one more reason to consider joining (as if following updates from the State Bar of Michigan wasn't already enough).
You're missing out on one of the greatest artistic feats of lawyer kind: the Supreme Court Haiku twitter
- See more at: http://sbmblog.typepad.com/sbm-blog/2014/06/heres-a-reason-to-join-twitter-supremehaiku.html#sthash.VtAOj31l.dpuf

If you're not already a Twitter user, here's one more reason to consider joining (as if following updates from the State Bar of Michigan wasn't already enough).
You're missing out on one of the greatest artistic feats of lawyer kind: the Supreme Court Haiku twitter account,
- See more at: http://sbmblog.typepad.com/sbm-blog/2014/06/heres-a-reason-to-join-twitter-supremehaiku.html#sthash.VtAOj31l.dpuf

If you're not already a Twitter user, here's one more reason to consider joining (as if following updates from the State Bar of Michigan wasn't already enough).
You're missing out on one of the greatest artistic feats of lawyer kind: the Supreme Court Haiku twitter account,
- See more at: http://sbmblog.typepad.com/sbm-blog/2014/06/heres-a-reason-to-join-twitter-supremehaiku.html#sthash.VtAOj31l.dpuf

If you're not already a Twitter user, here's one more reason to consider joining (as if following updates from the State Bar of Michigan wasn't already enough).
You're missing out on one of the greatest artistic feats of lawyer kind: the Supreme Court Haiku twitter account,
- See more at: http://sbmblog.typepad.com/sbm-blog/2014/06/heres-a-reason-to-join-twitter-supremehaiku.html#sthash.VtAOj31l.dpuf

If you're not already a Twitter user, here's one more reason to consider joining (as if following updates from the State Bar of Michigan wasn't already enough).
You're missing out on one of the greatest artistic feats of lawyer kind: the Supreme Court Haiku twitter account,
- See more at: http://sbmblog.typepad.com/sbm-blog/2014/06/heres-a-reason-to-join-twitter-supremehaiku.html#sthash.VtAOj31l.dpuf

If you're not already a Twitter user, here's one more reason to consider joining (as if following updates from the State Bar of Michigan wasn't already enough).
You're missing out on one of the greatest artistic feats of lawyer kind: the Supreme Court Haiku twitter account,
- See more at: http://sbmblog.typepad.com/sbm-blog/2014/06/heres-a-reason-to-join-twitter-supremehaiku.html#sthash.VtAOj31l.dpuf

Legal shortcuts: how to paste in lower case text & change it to uppercase

Have you ever created an issue heading (or case caption) in Microsoft Word by using pasted lower case text, only to later retype it as upper case text?   How about wanting to reuse text typed in upper case that you would like to convert to lower case?  There’s a shortcut in Microsoft Word that toggles text between upper case, lower case, and initial letter capitalization.  Just highlight the desired text and press SHIFT + F3.

Also be aware that the initial letter capitalization option may work slightly differently, depending on the punctuation in the highlighted text.  The string ‘this is some text’ will toggle between ‘THIS IS SOME TEXT’, ‘this is some text’, and ‘This Is Some Text’ while the string ‘This is a sentence.’ will toggle between ‘THIS IS A SENTENCE.’, ‘this is a sentence.’, and ‘This is a sentence.’

It's best to type some sample text into a document, and play with the Shift + F3 function until you get where you want. It will not toggle to tOGGLE cASE, or whatever that's called.

Why all-night study session are a bad idea: brain builds memory while you sleep

As you sleep, your brain is actually forming new neural connections, helping you retain the things you learned during the day, according to a new study.

Article here.(via Instapundit)

I personally can count on one hand the number of times I "pulled an all-nighter" or close to it, to cram for an exam or finish working on a paper. I can't say that it helped, but I always thought it was better than nothing.

What companies are using off-shore tax havens? How much do they claim they have there?

Companies who voluntarily reported what they held in off-shore countries (that are often viewed as tax havens since US taxes aren't paid there).

Article here (via taxprof blog).

Commonly violated legal ethics rules.

According to this article, legal ethics rules that are commonly violated are the duty of competence, diligence, and conflicts of interest.

Article here (via the lawyerist).

Professional Etiquette, rule number two: don't call the judge names. Attorney gets $1000 fine.

GRAND RAPIDS, MI – A Plainfield Township attorney was fined $1,000 for writing that Kent County Circuit Court judge Christopher Yates was acting "as the bitch" for one side in a contentious lawsuit.

Article here. 

Solitary confinement practice in jeopardy?

More than 200 inmates at Pelican Bay, California’s toughest prison, have spent over a decade locked in windowless 8-foot-by-12-foot cells for 22 hours or more a day. Dozens more have been in solitary confinement for 15 years — or even longer.

But in a ruling this week, a federal judge in Oakland, Calif., agreed to consider whether, as a lawsuit against the state’s corrections department maintains, holding prisoners in such prolonged isolation violates their rights under the Eighth Amendment.

Article here. 

More isn't necessarily better: Longhand note taking leads to better retention than laptop note taking.

Obviously it is advantageous to draft more complete notes that precisely capture the course content and allow for a verbatim review of the material at a later date.  Only it isn’t.  New research by Pam Mueller [Princeton] and Daniel Oppenheimer [UCLA] demonstrates that students who write out their notes on paper actually learn more [The Pen Is Mightier Than the Keyboard: Advantages of Longhand Over Laptop Note Taking]. 

Across three experiments, Mueller and Oppenheimer had students take notes in a classroom setting and then tested students on their memory for factual detail, their conceptual understanding of the material, and their ability to synthesize and generalize the information.  Half of the students were instructed to take notes with a laptop, and the other half were instructed to write the notes out by hand.  As in other studies, students who used laptops took more notes. 

In each study, however, those who wrote out their notes by hand had a stronger conceptual understanding and were more successful in applying and integrating the material than those who used took notes with their laptops.

Article here. (via taxprof blog)

Personal note: I was a longhand note taker in almost every class. I think the one exception to that was Pre-Trial Skills class. And the same thing held true for when I crammed for the bar exam. My method was to take notes in class, and then later condense the notes to flash cards before the exam, and sometimes a spreadsheet/outline. My lucky husband sometimes helped me review by quizzing me on what was on the cards.

And I know that the times where I tried to get every piece of information on a flash card -- which was when I crammed during bar prep for a topic I never took as a class (like No-Fault Insurance)-- or for weeks that I missed class or totally didn't get part of the topic -- I couldn't remember what was on the darned cards. The flash cards I did the best at remembering were one and two sentence cards, where I had previously digested the material via notes taken from class.

How does child support get calculated? A Michigan family law primer

This article is intended to give a newcomer to Michigan courts some background information into child support. It is not intended as legal advice that is specific to a given situation. For more information, see the article "What is the Friend of the Court?"

Q: Who has a right to child support?
A: All children under age 18 (until they graduate from high school or are emancipated) have a right to child support from both parents. Both natural or adoptive parents have an obligation to give support, unless a court modifies or terminates the obligation, or the child becomes emancipated.

Generally, there is no obligation to support an unrelated child (however, the court may recognize an equitable parent.)

Q: When will a court order support? 
A: A court has the power, or "jurisdiction," to order support when it is deciding a divorce, child custody action, paternity, or other family law case where minor children are involved.

Q: How is child support calculated? 
A: The amount of support is calculated using the Michigan Child Support Formula (MCSF). The MCSF calculates a base support amount (that factors in things like ages of the children, income of the parties, child care expenses, medical expenses, and so on) that is adjusted for parenting time offsets.

 The court will consider the amount suggested by the MCSF and order support either based on the formula, or deviating from the formula when appropriate.

The child support formula manual can be found here. Also here. 
Link here to a child support calculator online. I can't testify as to how accurate it is.

Q: My spouse refuses to give me parenting time with the kids. Why should I keep paying support? 
A: Because if you stop paying support, you will eventually accrue arrears, and face a show cause hearing for non-payment.
Yes, each parent should follow what ever parenting time schedule they agreed to. But this doesn't mean a support obligation goes away when the schedule changes. After all, kids have to eat, see the dentist, etc., regardless of who is taking care of them.

Depending on where you are in your case, you could talk to FOC to change your support amount, or do a motion to modify parenting time (after hiring an attorney) to get some action on seeing your kids. But don't stop paying support until the ordered support amount changes.

Q: Is it possible for a court to not issue a support order where the case involves minor children?
A: No. Because a court has a case with children, it will issue a support order, period, because the Michigan statute says it must. Also, courts have to consider the best interests of the child, which include how the child is living which is related to the amount of support that is ordered.

Q: Can a court deviate from the MCSF's suggested support amount?
A: Yes. A court can deviate from the suggested support amount when application of the MCSF would be unjust or inappropriate. When it does deviate, it has to state in writing what the suggested support amount is, and the reasons why it deviated.

Reasons to deviate can include, but are not limited to:
A child has special needs;
one or both parents are minors;
one or both parents have varying amounts of irregular or bonus income;
and so on.

Q: When will my child support obligation end? Can it ever change?
A: A child support obligation will most often end when the child is no longer 18, or has graduated from high school.

A parent who seeks a change to what they are paying can request to FOC or the court to modify their amount, but only if that parent can show a considerable change in circumstances (such as a much better paying job, or a large change in parenting time amount). The requested change needs to be greater than a 10 percent change per month.

Q: I have questions about child support that aren't answered here. What should I do?
A: Go to Office of Child Support for more information, or send me a question on this blog.

Panhandling ordinance fails in Grand Rapids

With public objection pushing elected leaders away from a package of panhandling restrictions, two city commissioners urged that Grand Rapids at least ban begging from motorists.

But a 3-3 vote led by First Ward commissioners Dave Shaffer and Walt Gutowski on Tuesday, June 3, failed to get a majority.

Article here. 

This means that panhandling is still legal in Grand Rapids.

Ionia county man freed after 26 years in prison, sues.

David Gavitt in 1985 was accused of setting his Ionia County home on fire with his wife, Angie, and daughters, Katrina, 3, and Tracy, 11 months, inside the house.

The Michigan Innocence Clinic took on his case and, in 2012, persuaded Ionia County Prosecutor Ron Schafer to present a motion to set him free.

Researchers with the Innocence Clinic touted independent arson testing that showed there was no way to prove definitively that gasoline was on carpet samples taken from Gavitt's home in 1985.

Article here. 

Since he's been released, Gavitt has decided to sue several people, including  Ionia County, Ionia City, state fire marshal investigators and Ionia County prosecutors.

Liquor License Suspended at the B.O.B. - Restaurant seeks court order during appeal

Yesterday, the Liquor Control Commission decided to increase the penalty on the B.O.B. from three day's suspension to ten day's suspension of their liquor license.

Greg Gilmore, the B.O.B.'s owner, had faced a three-day suspension of The B.O.B.'s license after an MLCC hearing commissioner this spring ruled that his employees served a visibly drunk Kevin O’Brien in May 2013, when he died after falling down a now-enclosed fire exit stairwell at the multi-venue complex in downtown Grand Rapids.

Gilmore is now seeking a injunction that will stay the suspension while the appeal of the 10 days suspension is pending.

Article here. 

The "Jobs I'd never want" department": Forensic anthropologist to chisel remains out of cement.

A forensic anthropologist will begin chiseling cement that encases body parts today, so officials can try to identify the remains discovered in a garage on Detroit’s west side.

The body parts were found in black, plastic storage crates by a man, who smelled a strong order, officials said.

Article here.

Officials don’t know how much of the body is in the cement or how decomposed the body is yet, she said.

Rally for teen ticketed for cussing has low turnout

In Brighton, teenager Colin Anderson was recently ticketed for cursing in public. A rally was held in his support, but sadly had a low turnout.

Article here. (from mlive)

About 30 people turned out for the “This is f----- bulls---“ rally Saturday at the Brighton Mill Pond, according to the report. Some signs carried swear words and protested the city police’s decision to ticket a teen for cussing.

Metro Detroiter fled Nazi persecution, returned to fight them.

Guy Stern, now aged 92 and living in West Bloomfield, Michigan, volunteered in 1941 to be in the navy intelligence service. But he was initially turned down, because of his native German background.

But Stern eventually was one of what came to be known as the Ritchie Boys — German Jews who had fled the Nazis to America and returned to Europe with the U.S. military. Their fluency in German and understanding of cultures and customs helped them provide intelligence to U.S. commanders.

Article here. 

What is "Friend of the Court?" What role will it play in my Family Law case?

This article is designed to inform a newcomer to Michigan courts on the role of the Friend of the Court (FOC) in Michigan family law cases. This article is intended to give general background information, and does not substitute for individual legal advice for your particular situation.

 Q: What is "Friend of the Court?" 

A: Friend of the Court is essentially an arm of Michigan Circuit Courts. It is able to do what the court would do, but it (whatever the task is) is instead delegated to Friend of the Court.

FOC is involved in child support, spousal support, child custody, and parenting time. It also enforces orders on spousal support, and child support.

Q: How will Friend of the Court become involved in my case?

A: At any time during a family law case, Friend of the Court can become involved, either through a request of the parents, or at the request of the court.

If a parent begins a family law case (like custody, divorce, etc.), typically a copy of their pleadings is also sent to Friend of the Court, unless the parents decide to "opt out" of the Friend of the Court services (more on this later).

But if a parent has overlooked this, or if a court chooses, it can "send" or refer the parents to Friend of the Court for its services. 

Q: What are the services of Friend of the Court?
A: FOC can be used to review or modify a support case, mediate parenting time decisions between parents, make written recommendations regarding custody or parenting time, enforce an order of support against a payor of support, and so on.

Q: How does enforcement happen? 
A: Enforcement happens when a parent with an obligation to pay becomes behind on payments. At that point, the FOC can send out a notice to the paying parent for a Show Cause Hearing. This notice will tell the paying parent that they are to appear at a specified date and time, and must "show cause" to an FOC case manager - and possibly in front of a judge -- why he or she hasn't been able to pay, and what plans he or she is making to correct that.

At the show cause hearing, the person with the support obligation may face contempt charges (in other words, that person will go to jail) for not having paid support. So be prepared to pay, or to have a good reason (this is the "cause" they are talking about!) if you want to stay out of jail. 

Q: What types of enforcement is available to FOC?
A: What isn't available to FOC as a means to enforce support, is a more appropriate way to phrase the question. FOC is able to attach a lien onto houses, tax refunds (aka "intercept" of tax refunds),suspension of driver's or recreation licenses, credit bureau reporting, contempt (show cause, see above), are all part of the enforcement capability of the FOC.

Q: What does "opting out" of FOC services do to my case? Would that be a good idea or not? 
A: Opting out means that the parties choose to enforce any support obligation privately, and that FOC will not become involved. Whether it is a good idea depends on the individual circumstances in your case (and this article is not intended to substitute for individual legal advice).

Opting out does not mean that there will be no support obligation at all. A case that involves minor children will require that a support obligation will be issued to one of the parties. (a follow-up article on how child support calculations work is coming soon).

Q: How does one opt out of FOC Services? 
A: Parties to a family law case can opt out of FOC services, if they file a motion to do so. They also must complete an "Advice of Rights" form, to show that they are aware of the services, and that they elect not to choose those services. Some counties will require both parties to attend a "conciliation conference" with FOC, which will make sure that the parents do not qualify for public assistance, before the parties can opt out of FOC services.

Q: My income level has changed. Does this affect what I owe (or what the other side owes me)? What should I do? 
A: The parties who are involved in an FOC case are solely responsible for reporting changes to the FOC about their income (gain or loss) to the FOC. And they should do so as soon as possible. Because of the way support is calculated, the amount of support (paid or received) will change determined on income of the parties, amount of parenting time overnights, and other factors (see related article).

It's best to report an income change as soon as possible to FOC, to make sure (if you're the paying party) that you don't start accruing arrears.

Q: I have more questions about FOC that aren't answered here, what should I do? 
 A:  More information can be found at the Michigan FOC website. Also, feel free to contact me, or leave a question on this blog.