Briefing Notes
- What Matters Now: A new federal class-action lawsuit alleges Georgia’s child support policies create an unconstitutional “debtors’ prison” for the state’s poorest parents by ordering payments they can’t possibly make.
- A Striking Figure: The suit claims the state routinely assigns a theoretical full-time, minimum-wage income to parents, otherwise known as “imputation of income”—even to those who are incarcerated, disabled, or homeless—resulting in automatic, unpayable debt orders.
- What’s Next: Three Georgia state agencies named as defendants must now respond to the allegations in federal court, likely with a motion to dismiss the case.
By Samuel Lopez — USA Herald
ATLANTA — A Georgia mother has filed a sweeping federal class-action lawsuit against three state agencies, alleging the state’s child support system is unconstitutional. The suit, filed by Latorya Johnson, claims Georgia systematically traps indigent parents in a “vicious cycle” of poverty and punishment by issuing support orders based on fictitious income, leading to crushing debt they can never repay.
The lawsuit, spearheaded by the Southern Center for Human Rights (SCHR) and the National Center for Law and Economic Justice (NCLEJ), argues that this practice violates the Due Process Clause of the 14th Amendment. It targets the Georgia Department of Human Services (DHS), the Division of Child Support Services (DCSS), and the Office of State Administrative Hearings (OSAH), seeking to dismantle a policy that plaintiffs say is fundamentally unfair.
