UNIFORM DESERTION AND NON-SUPPORT ACT Section I. That any husband who shall, without just cause, desert or wilfully neglect or refuse to provide for the support and maintenance of his wife in destitute or necessitous circumstances or any parent who shall without lawful excuse, desert or wilfully neglect or refuse to provide for the support and maintenance of his or her child or children under the age of sixteen years in destitute or necessitous circumstances, shall be guilty of a crime and, on conviction thereof, shall be punished by a fine not exceeding five hundred dollars, or imprisonment in the not exceeding two years, or both, with or without hard labor, in the discretion of the court. Delaware. Donaghy V. State (1917), 29 Del. 467. Kansas.- In re A. T. Fowles (1913), 89 Kan. 430; State v. Waller (1913), 90 Kan. 829; State v. Wellman (1918), 102 Kan. 503. Massachusetts. - Commonwealth v. Shamon (1916), 223 Mass. 62. Tennessee.-Moye v. State (1917), 139 Tenn. 680; State V. Dixon (1917), 138 Tenn. 195. Section II. Proceedings under this Act may be instituted upon complaint made under oath or affirmation by the wife or child or children, or by any other person, against any person guilty of either of the above named offenses. Section III. At any time before the trial, upon petition of the complainant and upon notice to the defendant, the court, or a judge thereof in vacation, may enter such temporary order as may seem just, providing for support of the deserted wife or children, or both, pendente lite, and may punish for violation of such order as for contempt. Section IV. Before the trial, with the consent of the defendant, or at the trial, on entry of a plea of guilty, or after conviction, instead of imposing the penalty herein before provided, or in addition thereto, the court in its descretion, having regard to the circumstances, and to the financial ability or earning capacity of the defendant, shall have the power to make an order, which shall be subject to change by the court from time to time, as circumstances may require, directing the defendant to pay a certain sum periodically, for a term not exceeding two years, to the wife or to the guardian, curator or custodian of the said minor child or children, or to an organization or individual approved by the court as trustee; and shall also have the power to release the defendant from custody on probation for the period so fixed, upon his or her entering into a recognizance, with or without surety, in such sum as the court or a judge thereof in vacation, may order and approve. The condition of the recognizance shall be such that if the defendant shall make his or her personal appearance in court whenever ordered to do so and shall further comply with the terms of such order of support, or of any subsequent modification thereof, then such recognizance shall be void, otherwise of full force and effect. Section V. If the court be satisfied by information and due proof under oath, that at any time during said period of two years the defendant has violated the terms of such order, it may forthwith proceed with the trial of the defendant under the original charge, or sentence him or her under the original conviction, or enforce the suspended sentence, as the case may be. In case of forfeiture of recognizance, and enforcement thereof by execution, the sum recovered may, in the discretion of the court, he paid, in whole or in part, to the wife, or to the guardian, curator, custodian or trustee of the said minor child or children. Section VI. No other or greater evidence shall be required to prove the marriage of such husband and wife, or that the defendant is the father or mother of such child or children, than is or shall be required to prove such facts in a civil action. In no prosecution under this Act shall any existing statute or rule of law prohibiting the disclosure of confidential communications between husband and wife apply, and both husband and wife shall be competent witnesses to testify against each other to any and all relevant matters, including the fact of such marriage and the parentage of such child or children; provided that neither shall be compelled to give evidence incriminating himself or herself. Proof of the desertion of such wife, child or children in destitute or necessitous circumstances or of neglect or refusal to provide for the support and maintenance of such wife, child or children shall be prima facie evidence that such desertion, neglect or refusal is wilful. Utah.-State v. Smith (1915), 45 Texas. Qualls V. The State (1913), 71 Tex. Crim. Cases, 67. Section VII. It shall be the duty of the sheriff, warden, or other official in charge of the county jail, or of the custodian of the reformatory, workhouse, or house of correction, in which any person is confined on account of a sentence at hard labor, under this act, to pay over to the wife, or to the guardian, curator or custodian of his or her minor child or children, or to an organization or individual approved by the court as trustee, at the end of each week, for the support of such wife, child, or children, a sum equal to ... for each day's hard labor performed by said person so confined. ... Section VIII. This Act shall be so interpreted and construed as to effectuate its general purpose to make uniform the law of those states which enact it. |