Georgia Supreme Court Reverses Lower Court, Finds Child Support Guidelines Constitutional

May 9, 2003

On April 29, 2003, the Supreme Court of Georgia entered an opinion in Georgia Department of Human Resources v. Sweat et al, reversing Atkinson County Judge C. Dane Perkins' order finding Georgia's child support guidelines to be unconstitutional based on violations of substantive due process, equal protection, individual's right to privacy, and Georgia's taking clause.

The Georgia Supreme Court determined that the lowest standard of scrutiny should be applied because there is no discrimination and non-custodial parents are not a suspect class.   According to the Supreme Court, the guidelines meet a government purpose of "ensuring that adequate support is provided for Georgia's children whose parents have divorced or separated."  The Supreme Court states that there is a rational relation between the guidelines and this purpose.� The Court also stated, "Moreover, the Guidelines' means of determining the amount of support to be paid are not arbitrary in any sense of the word."

Daryl LeCroy, lead attorney for Appellee Ms. Michelle Sweat, commented on the opinion,

"Prior to a divorce, parents are 'similarly situated' regarding their children. If, after a divorce, both parents had equal income and equal parenting time, the parents would still be similarly situated, and minimum, if any, child support would be appropriate.  In 1991, the Georgia legislature declared that joint custody after divorce is 'the policy of this state.' The Supreme Court has now, in the Sweat decision, held that divorced parents are not similarly situated when it comes to custody, and the legislature can therefore treat them differently. One issue with which I disagree with the Supreme Court is whether the difference in treatment of parents by the Georgia Child Support Guidelines is justified by the different roles of 'custodial' and 'non-custodial' parents, in light of the Georgia statute which states that the parents have an equal duty of support.  I doubt that many non-custodial parents believe our current guidelines reflect an equal duty of support, especially since they currently have no relationship to child costs."

LeCroy said that this decision will be appealed to the Supreme Court of the United States.

"If the case is accepted by the U.S. Supreme Court, I am confident that the Georgia Supreme Court's decision will be overturned, validating Judge Perkins' sound legal arguments at the trial court level."  

The Georgia high court has yet to address additional constitutional issues pending in appeals of other cases concerning child support issues.  Two cases have raised the issue that Georgia's guidelines do not comply with federal regulations on child support guidelines and are unconstitutional due to the Supremacy Clause of the U.S. Constitution.

While these cases continue on appeal, as a practical matter, the focus needs to be on setting child support awards that conform to the latest Sweat decision yet offer some economic equity.  In the Sweat decision, the high court stated that the 18 deviation factors contained in the statute are important parts of the guidelines for ensuring both parents contribute fairly to child support.  It is appropriate that Georgia develop case law as found in other states for instructing how to apply these 18 factors consistently.