COUNTYWIDE : Judge Frees Man in Child-Support Case

SANTA ANA —  When Joseph C. Codsi was thrown in jail last month for refusing to pay his wife $17,000 in child support, everyone figured he would soon come around and cough up the money. But on Monday--26 days later and as defiant as ever--Codsi was freed by a judge who decided it was pointless to keep him in jail.

Despite his refusal to cooperate and his habit of insulting the judge during a series of court hearings, Codsi was released from Orange County Jail and allowed to return to his Cypress home.

Codsi’s colorful run-in with the court has been novel, even by the standards of family law court, where the tempers of spurned spouses often run high. Orange County Superior Court Judge Theodore E. Millard, presiding judge of the family law section, said it is “extremely rare” for a parent to spend so many days in jail for refusing to answer child-support questions.

Codsi, a Lebanese-born former real estate agent and self-described “refusenik,” has declared in no uncertain terms that he resents the court’s inquiry into his private family matters and that he considers the law “stupid and immoral.”

Attorney Robert M. Stone, who represents Codsi’s ex-wife, said he asked Superior Court Judge William F. Rylaarsdam to free Codsi because it had become apparent that Codsi would not tell Stone where his bank account was or how much it contained. Codsi’s ex-wife, Ruth Hill of San Clemente, could not afford to keep paying Stone to return to court over and over in an attempt to force Codsi’s cooperation, the lawyer said.

“After 26 days in jail, I was beginning to think he might be enjoying it,” Stone added.

But Stone said he doesn’t want Codsi to think that he has beaten the system. While Codsi was in jail, Stone’s investigator located $3,365.40 in an account under Codsi’s name at an Irvine bank. County marshals seized it and turned it over to the county on a court order, Stone said. It will soon be given to Hill, and Stone said he will keep searching for other assets.

“It would have been nice if he cooperated with us, but since he hasn’t, we want him to know there are other ways to get at his assets,” Stone declared.

Codsi claims he stopped paying child support when his wife breached an agreement that allowed him to see the children, ages 12 and 19. Codsi could not be reached for comment Monday. But he has been ordered to return to court on Jan. 9 for a status hearing.

Codsi’s battle with the court began Oct. 18 when Stone asked about his bank accounts. Codsi refused to answer Stone’s questions in the courthouse hallway, unleashing expletives at the lawyer and stalking away, Stone said.

A bailiff brought Codsi into the courtroom, where he refused to reveal details of his finances, Stone said. He was held in civil contempt of court and put in jail, ostensibly until he agreed to cooperate.

In a series of hearings since then, Codsi appeared in court in handcuffs and an Orange County Jail jumpsuit but refused to answer questions, calling the judge “illiterate” and “thick-headed.”