Barnes, J.
Case Summary
Brian Moore appeals the trial court’s contempt finding and thirty-day suspended jail sentence. We reverse and remand.
Issue
Brian raises two issues. [Footnote omitted.] We address the dispositive issue, which we restate as whether the trial court improperly denied his request for the appointment of counsel.
….
Brian argues that the trial court improperly denied his request for counsel prior to sentencing him to thirty days in jail, all of which were suspended, for his failure to pay child support pursuant to the June 2013 order. We have held “that where the possibility exists that an indigent defendant may be incarcerated for contempt for failure to pay child support he or she has a right to appointed counsel and to be informed of that right prior to commencement of the contempt hearing.” In re Marriage of Stariha, 509 N.E.2d 1117, 1121 (Ind. Ct. App. 1987). This is so regardless of whether a private person or the State initiates the contempt proceedings. Marks v. Tolliver, 839 N.E.2d 703, 706 (Ind. Ct. App. 2005).
Here, there is a clear possibility that Brian is indigent. Furthermore, even though the trial court suspended the sentence and indicated it would reconsider the issue of appointing counsel prior to the compliance hearing, Brian clearly risked the possibility of losing his physical liberty as a result of the trial court’s contempt finding. Thus, if indigent, Brian was entitled to have counsel represent him at that hearing, not just at the subsequent compliance hearing.
Conclusion
Brian has made a prima facie showing that the trial court erred by denying his request for counsel. We reverse and remand for the trial court to determine if Brian is indigent and, if so, to appoint counsel to represent him at a new contempt hearing.
Reversed and remanded.
BAKER, J., and CRONE, J., concur.