ADMINISTRATIVE POWER UNDER TITLE IV-D Newly Elected and Appointed Prosecuting Attorneys Training Seminar and Attorney General’s Winter Conference Indianapolis, Indiana, December 7-12, 2014 David L. Morris, Senior Deputy Prosecutor, Marion County Prosecutor’s Office
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ADMINISTRATIVE POWER UNDER TITLE IV-D Newly Elected and Appointed Prosecuting Attorneys Training Seminar and Attorney General’s Winter Conference Indianapolis,
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ADMINISTRATIVE POWER UNDER TITLE IV-D
Newly Elected and Appointed Prosecuting Attorneys Training Seminar
andAttorney General’s Winter Conference
Indianapolis, Indiana, December 7-12, 2014
David L. Morris, Senior Deputy Prosecutor, Marion County Prosecutor’s Office
LEGISLATIVE DELEGATION – THE SOURCE OF ADMINISTRATIVE AUTHORITY
LEGISLATIVE DELEGATION – THE SOURCE OF ADMINISTRATIVE AUTHORITY
‒ Federal -
• Congress enacts legislation.
• U.S. Dept. of H.H.S. writes regulations.
‒ State -
• Indiana Legislature creates the Department of Child Services.
• Child Support Bureau (CSB) administers IV-D plan.
• Indiana has agreed to follow the federal code and HHS regulations.
LEGISLATIVE DELEGATION – THE SOURCE OF ADMINISTRATIVE AUTHORITY
ADMINISTRATIVE HEARINGS – SPECIFIED ACTIONS
• Income withholding
• License suspension
• FIDM
• State tax refund offset
• TANF arrearage allocation
ADMINISTRATIVE HEARINGS – SPECIFIED ACTIONS
JUDICIAL REVIEW OF ADMINISTRATIVE AGENCY ACTION (1/9)
Exhaustion of Administrative Remedies -
• Party must exhaust administrative remedies before seeking judicial review.
• Petition for judicial review must be verified.
• Petition must allege exhaustion.
• Failure to exhaust administrative remedies is jurisdictional.
JUDICIAL REVIEW OF ADMINISTRATIVE AGENCY ACTION (2/9)
Exceptions to Exhaustion Requirement –
• Petitioner must show:
‒ Futility
‒ Statute void on its face
‒ Agency action is ultra vires (“beyond the powers”)
JUDICIAL REVIEW OF ADMINISTRATIVE AGENCY ACTION (3/9)
Procedure for Seeking Judicial Review –
1. Agency issues an appealable final order
2. Petitioner files verified petition
• Venue – usually in county where IV-D action took place
• Time limitations - w/in 30 days after notice of IV-D action
3. Petitioner submits agency record – w/in 30 days of filing the petition.
• Failure to submit record is jurisdictional
JUDICIAL REVIEW OF ADMINISTRATIVE AGENCY ACTION (4/9)
Stay of Administrative Action –
‒ Petitioner may file for a stay of the administrative action.
‒ The court may issue a stay if:
• Petitioner shows a reasonable probability of winning
AND
• Petitioner posts a bond of at least $500.
JUDICIAL REVIEW OF ADMINISTRATIVE AGENCY ACTION (5/9)
The Hearing –
‒ Limited to facts and issues raised before administrative agency
‒ Court may remand back to agency if:
• agency failed to prepare / preserve an adequate record;
• agency improperly excluded or omitted evidence from the record; or
• a relevant law changed after the agency action.
JUDICIAL REVIEW OF ADMINISTRATIVE AGENCY ACTION (6/9)
Burden of Proof -
‒ Petitioner must prove agency action was arbitrary and capricious.
‒ An arbitrary and capricious decision is one which is:
• patently unreasonable;
• made without consideration of the facts and in total disregard of the circumstances; and
• lacks any basis which might lead a reasonable person to the same conclusion the agency reached.
JUDICIAL REVIEW OF ADMINISTRATIVE AGENCY ACTION (7/9)
Scope of Judicial Review –
• Court shall grant relief only if agency action is:
‒ arbitrary, capricious, an abuse of discretion, or unlawful;
‒ contrary to constitutional right, power, privilege, or immunity;
‒ in excess of statutory jurisdiction or authority;
‒ without observance of procedure required by law; or
‒ unsupported by substantial evidence.
JUDICIAL REVIEW OF ADMINISTRATIVE AGENCY ACTION (8/9)
Standard of Judicial Review –
‒ Questions of Fact – substantial evidence
‒ Questions of Law –
• Interpretation of unambiguous statute = de novo• Interpretation of ambiguous statute – defer to agency • Whether undisputed facts lead to a certain conclusion =
de novo.
‒ Mixed Questions of Fact and Law - abuse of discretion
JUDICIAL REVIEW OF ADMINISTRATIVE AGENCY ACTION (9/9)
Disposition - If Petitioner is entitled to relief, the court may:
• remand the case to the agency for further proceedings; or
• compel agency action.
Appeal of Decision -
• Decisions on petitions for review of agency action are appealable.
• Appellate court applies the same standard of review as did the trial court.
INDEPENDENT ADMINISTRATIVE AUTHORITY (1/3)
Income Withholding -
• Court can’t prohibit IV-D income withholding.
• Court can’t limit amount of a IV-D income withholding order.
License Suspension -
‒ Court can’t reinstate license suspended by IV-D agency.
INDEPENDENT ADMINISTRATIVE AUTHORITY (2/3)
Tax Refund Offset -
• Court can’t restrain IV-D tax offset.
• Tax offset OK despite income withholding on arrears.
Passport Revocation -
• Court can’t order passport reinstatement.
Financial Institution Data Matching -
• IV-D income withholding OK to seize bank account.
INDEPENDENT ADMINISTRATIVE AUTHORITY (3/3)
• Credit Reporting
• Lottery and Gambling Interception
• Gaming License / Alcohol Permit Suspension
• Liens against Vehicles and Other Property
• Paternity Establishment
Do we really want greater efficiency?
ADMINISTRATIVE PATERNITY ESTABLISHMENT
ADMINISTRATIVE PATERNITY ESTABLISHMENT (1/2)
Administrative Paternity Establishment -
‒ Federal requirements:
• State must have paternity affidavits, including a hospital-based program.
• Executed paternity affidavit establishes paternity, subject to rescission.
• After 60 days, may challenge only upon fraud, duress, or material mistake of fact.
ADMINISTRATIVE PATERNITY ESTABLISHMENT (2/2)
State Paternity Affidavit Statutes – IC 16-37-2-1 et seq.
– Paternity Affidavit may be executed:
• At hospital - w/in 72 hours of child’s birth or
• At local health department before child’s emancipation.
– Persons allowed to sign affidavit:
• Mother
• Man who reasonably appears to be the child's biological father
ADMINISTRATIVE PATERNITY DISESTABLISHMENT
ADMINISTRATIVE PATERNITY DISESTABLISHMENT
• Within 60 Days After Affidavit is Executed:
‒ A man who signed affidavit may file request for DNA test
‒ Filed in paternity court
• After 60 Days - Set Aside Only If:
‒ Court finds fraud, duress or mistake of fact in execution;
‒ Man requests DNA test – and court orders it; and
‒ DNA test excludes man as biological father
BANKRUPTCY
BANKRUPTCY – MAIN CONCEPTS
• Child support is nondischargeable
‒ Even if arrears owed to the state
• Ch. 7 vs. Ch. 13
‒ Ch. 7 = Liquidation
‒ Ch. 13 = Reorganization (same for Ch. 11 and 13)
• Consider filing proof of claim
BANKRUPTCY – ALWAYS OK
• Establishing Paternity
• Establishing Support
• Modifying Support
• Initiating or Continuing with Criminal Proceedings
BANKRUPTCY – NEVER OK(Without bankruptcy court permission)
• Contempt actions
• Initiating liens on estate property
• Foreclosing on estate property
• Suspending or revoking passport
• Demand letters for pre-petition debt
BANKRUPTCY – SOMETIMES OK
• Income withholding
• License suspension
• Credit reporting
• Tax refund interception
• Enforcing medical support order
SOMETIMES OK --- DEPENDS ON:
• Ch. 7 – OK
• Ch. 13 –
‒ Ok between filing of bankr. petition and confirmation