North Carolina Lawyers Weekly published a correction regretting its errors in coverage of one of my appeals—an appeal which never existed. In January 2014, North Carolina Lawyers Weekly reported that I was personally held in contempt and was appealing that order. In April of this year, North Carolina Lawyers Weekly conducted additional independent investigation, and found that there was no such order in the first place. On April 21, 2014, North Carolina Lawyers Weekly corrected its earlier publications, wanting its readers to know: Attorney Aylward was not fined $4,600 (North Carolina Lawyers Weekly regrets the error) Attorney Aylward did not insult the…
Barker v. Barker is a case that has significance far beyond family law. Joseph Barker agreed to pay for his daughter’s college bills, so long as she “diligently applied” herself in school. When Joseph received Holly’s college reports, he learned that Holly (a) had finished her Fall 2011 semester with a 1.000 GPA, (b) was on academic probation for the first three semesters of school; and (c) was enrolled in 16.5 hours but earned only 7.5 hours of credit. In the Spring 2011 semester, Holly improved her GPA for a cumulative GPA of 2.000, narrowly escaping academic probation. Not surprisingly,…
There now is a fascinating TV Series about a man whose life lasts forever, which is aptly called Forever. It’s a greatly entertaining show. But I digress. Point here is, contempt purge are not like the TV show. They simply cannot last forever. In Wellons v. White, the Court of Appeals reminded again that a civil contempt order must have a purge that is not “impermissibly vague.” Just as importantly, the purge must be finite, meaning that there should be an end to the punishment. (If you really need something that lasts forever, consider diamonds. Or a permanent injunction.) The…