Cramer v. Petrie

The sole issue in this case is whether a court may hold a parent in contempt and impose a jail sentence for the parent’s failure to comply with an order to pay child support when the child who is the subject of the order is emancipated. We hold that a court may use its contempt powers in such a manner even if the child is emancipated. Accordingly, we affirm the decision of the court of appeals.

Appellant notes that when a child is emancipated, a parent’s legal obligation to support that child ends. See R.C. 3103.03. Appellant argues that when a parent’s obligation to support a child no longer…