US Supreme Court rejects case of Indiana man jailed for not paying child support

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — The U.S. Supreme Court has declined to hear the case of an Indiana man jailed three times for unpaid child support.

The nation’s highest court announced Monday it would not consider an appeal from Kenneth Chambers.

Chambers claimed Hamilton County authorities violated his constitutional and civil rights in his 2017, 2020, and 2021 arrests for failure to pay child support.

Chambers sued the state, Hamilton County Sheriff, and Hamilton County Prosecutor’s Office on allegations including false arrest, excessive force, common law assault/battery, and conspiracy with racial animus.

In his lawsuit, Chambers argued that because of the state’s child support rules, “hundreds of innocent Black and Hispanic fathers, including Plaintiff, have been subjected to unconstitutional false arrests and financial punishment.”

Chambers was seeking financial damages of at least $20 million.

A federal judge in Indianapolis and a federal appeals court both rejected his lawsuit last year.