Tuesday, April 12, 2005
Involuntary lawyering
A New York judge has found Simon Ajose in contempt for not filing the papers necessary for admission to the bar. According to Mark Fass of the New York Law Journal, Ajose owes $40,000 in child support but has decided to pass up law for divinity—school, that is.
The judge ruled that Ajose's decision not to join the bar merited a finding of contempt."Domestic Relations Law ... authorizes enforcement by contempt where it appears presumptively to the satisfaction of the Court that payment cannot be enforced by any other remedies available to a payee spouse," the judge noted....
"It has been proved to the satisfaction of the Court herein and defendant has offered no justification for his failure to make the necessary payments herein other than the fact that he is voluntarily unemployed," he added.
The judge stated that his decision to hold Ajose in contempt for not joining the bar did not preclude Ajose from pursuing his desire to become a minister.
"Once admitted and once earning a living there would be nothing to stop him from going to night school to gain an additional degree in divinity while still meeting his obligation to support his two young children," Justice Sunshine suggested.
It's hard to say at which employment Ajose will be worse—lawyering or preaching.
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