Hell hath no fury!
Lamh Foistenach Abu!
Posted on 07/10/2009 5:38:20 PM PDT by Chet 99
Posted on Fri, Jul. 10, 2009
Man jailed 14 years for divorce contempt freed
By Mari Schaefer
INQUIRER STAFF WRITER
The former Main Line lawyer jailed for more than 14 years on a contempt-of-court charge was ordered released today.
H. Beatty Chadwick, who was jailed in April 1995, will walk out of the Delaware County Jail this afternoon.
"He's one happy guy," said his attorney, Michael J. Malloy.
Chadwick was incarcerated for failing to turn over $2.5 million for distribution in a divorce settlement. He contends the money was lost in a bad investment overseas. His ex-wife, Barbara Applegate, says Chadwick spirited the money out of the county.
Chadwick has set a U.S. record for time served on a contempt charge.
Earlier this week Chadwick testified he did not control the missing funds or have possession or knowledge concerning them.
Malloy, Chadwick's attorney, argued that the civil contempt order was not effective and had turned punitive. Albert Momjian, Applegate's lawyer, argued there was no constitutional limit on civil confinement. Malloy said he expected Judge Joseph P. Cronin to rule quickly.
Cronin issued his ruling today.
This is nuts.
There needs to be some limit put on civil contempt confinement.
Lamh Foistenach Abu!
2.5 million isn’t worth 14 years.
What kind of woman would do that to a man? What kind of a Judge would let her?
2.5 million isn’t worth 14 years.”
Revenge is...
What is the calculation on Madoff’s years VS the missing money?
“the money was lost in a bad investment overseas” ... Yeah right. Happens all the time.
I think he was telling the truth about the money. He could have handed it over and made it up within a few years.
14 years is longer than many murder raps. Does anyone doubt that the sentence would have been lighter had the perp been FEMALE?
This judgement was at the intersection of feminism and judicial activism.
MEN = ENEMY
There was no sentence. He was held for contempt of court for refusing to say where he put the money.
I hope there is more to this case than “he said he lost the money, she said he didn’t.”
Somewhere in this there has to be a pit bull involved.
Which means that he really might NOT have the money as he claimed. Which would also mean he was falsely jailed for 14 years on the word of an angry woman.
I don’t think there is anything more to it. He refused to say where the money was, claiming he lost it. The judge/wife did not believe him. So in jail he stayed.
Wow. Did he stay in the county jail the whole time or did they transfer him to a prison after some period?
There’s a saying about civil contempt “he has the keys to the jail in his pocket” meaning that by complying with the order the contempt is purged and he walks out of jail.
In this case, the judge must not have believed him. If he was not being truthful, then in jail he stays. The problem, of course, is suppose he is telling the truth but the story is so screwball that it is unbelievable.
Even so, there comes a time when civil contempt crosses the line when it is clear that no additional penalty will force compliance. At this point, he should have been set free. And it should have happened a lot sooner than 14 years.
Jack
and as usually the case in divorce, it was the wife who left him...
Finally, can you assure us that this man got any of those rights in court that sits without a jury and decides these kinds of matters routinely on affidavits. By the way, the scope of appeal is much more limited than it is in a criminal conviction
What if he was telling the truth?
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