Due Process May Require Appointment of Counsel In Civil Contempt

Supreme Court reaffirmed that freedom “from bodily restraint,” lies “at the core of the liberty protected by the Due Process Clause.” In Turner v. Rogers, No. 10-10 a 5-4 majority held that the State of South Carolina violated a non-custodial parent’s right to due process of law by sentencing him to a year in jail without a reliable procedure for determining whether he had the ability to pay back child support or providing him with counsel to help him prove his case.