Recent Developments Law and Poverty: Summary Prejudgment Wage Garnishment Held

In Sniadach v. Family Finance Corp.' the United States Supreme Court held a Wisconsin statute2 authorizing garnishment of wages without notice and prior hearing to be a denial of due process under the fourteenth amendment. In 1966 Family Finance instituted statutory garnishment proceedings; against Mrs. Sniadach and against her employer as garnishee. Upon presentation of a promissory note, the clerk issued a summons to the employer instructing him to retain the wages then due Mrs. Sniadach, exempting only a subsistence allowance. This garnishment established a lien on the wages until there was a disposition of the principal action. Motions for dismissal on the grounds of a denial of due process and equal protection were denied by the clerk of court, the district court, and the Wisconsin Supreme Court.4 Wage garnishment,8 which most states have among their creditor collection devices, 6 is the attachment of unpaid wages owed to an alleged debtor by his employer. Garnishment is most often invoked by professional credit agencies as the surest, most expedient method of enforcing payments7 and is used both to execute judgments and to prevent the dissipation of wages before judgment is obtained 8 The