San Diego District Attorney - Another Tool Of The Scienokult
Q: Please review and release my driver's license suspension in light of the following information: 1) I need my driver's license in order to exercise my right under the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution to have employment. I am an on-call employee of the City of Los Angeles as a live event producer, and as a registered minister with the State of California. Without my license I cannot perform the duties required of me. (see attached letters from employers) 2) I do not qualify as a candidate for license suspension according to Welfare & Institutions Code Section 11350, in that neither my ex wife, nor my child have ever received public assistance of any kind. The code begins: "11350. (a) In the case of separation or desertion of a parent or parents from a child or children which results in aid under this chapter being granted to that family ..." [emphasis mine] The Section goes on (at 11350.6) to describe what can be done if one is not in compliance with a judgement or order. You should note that there is no current order for child support in my case; rather only a judgement for arrearages which accrued during a period my ex wife was hiding my daughter from me. My wages are already garnished to the full extent that they can be, in accordance with the stipulation into which I entered with Plaintiff's attorney. I have kept your office appraised of my employment to facilitate garnishment. So, in fact, I am in compliance with the court's orders. The provisions of the law regarding license suspension do not apply to me. 3) Section 11350.6 calls upon the District Attorney's Office to "... also recognize that certain expenses may be essential to enable an obligor to be employed." It is clearly counter to the intent of the law that the earning potential of a cooperative obligor, such as myself, should be diminished by the District Attorney's efforts to enforce collection, or to impose punishment. That is precisely what you will be doing to me if you go forward with the suspension of my driver's license. 4) The child support arrearage accrued while my ex wife and her new husband, a San Diego County Deputy Sheriff (an officer of the court), knowingly violated an order from the San Diego Family Court, and took my daughter out of California, denying me any contact or ordered visitation. For nearly 10 years they did not inform me of the child's whereabouts or let me know to what address I could send my child support payments or serve them with an OSC for contempt. In the July 10th, 1995 hearing which set the arrearage, Judge Mason reviewed the facts of this case and confirmed the above, ruling: "For many years here, she was satisfied not to get her child support and essentially keep the child from him ..." In the interest of fairness, license suspension is not warranted. Please release my license so that I can continue my employment with the City of Los Angeles and my duties as an ordained minister. I can be reached at 818/247-0022. I need to know your determination regarding this matter before the proposed date of suspension, December 14, 1998, so that I will not be in violation of any law.
A: I assume the obvious solution -- hiring a lawyer -- is out of the question. However, you might query the folks at MoFo whether there is some kind of Legal Aid establishment who would be willing to dicker with the DA for you. The other solution, tiresome as it seems, is to go up the line. Ask to speak to Rosie's boss. Then speak to the boss of that boss until you get some satisfaction or -- and more likely -- you run out of bosses. Don't harp too loudly on the unfairness of it all or try to re-hash the court case -- they don't care. Emphasize that you are and have been cooperating with debt collection efforts to the best of your ability, that you are and will continue to be a cooperative obligor, and that revoking your driver's license is counter-productive if the goal is to get the debt paid off. I would CC all correspondence to the judge who has supervision of your support case along with a cover letter explaining how you are being prevented by this action from earning enough of a living to make the payments ordered by the court. Be sure to CC your ex-wife's attorney on any communication with the court