In Ohio, Supreme Court Considers Right to Procreate

Collections have increased significantly. From 2001 to 2002, collections increased by 6 percent, to about $20 billion per year. Even so, Horn said, the agency tries to make distinctions between offenders.

"Not everyone who owes is a deadbeat," Horn said. "Some people just don't have the money. We're trying to distinguish between deadbeat and dead broke."

Medina County Prosecutor Dean Holman, whose office prosecuted Talty, said that he tries to do the same thing. He has two lawyers and two secretaries devoted to child-support cases. Holman said his office works with those parents who are trying to make payments. The others, he said, he takes to court -- with great success.

"One fellow we indicted owed on two different cases," Holman said. "He managed to pay down from $30,000 to $9,000 or $10,000. They find a way to do it."

But Carro said Talty does not have the money. Talty dropped out of school and has worked a series of jobs that do not pay well, Carro said. His latest job earned him $400 per week at World Wide Windows and Siding, according to court papers.

At the same time he owes $150 a week plus arrearages on two separate cases, and is paying a $6,000 judgment from a traffic accident. Since his initial sentencing, Talty has married his then-girlfriend, Vickie Lynn Kinder, in a civil ceremony. It is his second marriage. The couple already had two children, but Kinder told reporters after a hearing last year that she wanted to have more. At the time, Talty said that he had no plans to get anyone pregnant and was chipping away at his debts. "I'm not a deadbeat dad," he told reporters. "I take care of my kids."

Talty declined to be interviewed for this article.

Kimbler said that Talty's income was a consideration in sentencing. On the day Talty was initially supposed to be sentenced, Kimbler considered putting him in jail but first had a question: Could he require Talty not to have any more children?

The prosecution and defense said they did not think it was legal, so Kimbler ordered briefs from the lawyers and ended up with the language that Talty should make "reasonable efforts to avoid conception."

"It was the first time I had imposed this particular condition," Kimbler said.

His ruling was upheld by the 9th District Court of Appeals in Akron.

And Kimbler said the provision has been beneficial to Talty. "He has been a model probationer," Kimbler said. "If he has a problem, he notifies his probation officer. Mr. Talty is a hard worker and seems to be a guy who is a good worker. That was one reason I didn't want to put him in jail."