Marvin Mandel, Governor                        1677

88.

(a)    Any person who shall without just cause desert or wilfully
neglect to provide for the support and maintenance of his wife shall
be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor, and upon conviction in any
court of the State having criminal jurisdiction shall be punished
by a fine not exceeding one hundred dollars, or imprisonment in the
Maryland House of Correction, or in jail, for not more than three
years, or both, in the discretion of the court. Any person charged
with a violation of this section may be prosecuted in the jurisdiction
where he or his wife resides. The fine may be directed by the court
to be paid in whole or in part to the wife; provided, that before
the trial with the consent of the defendant, or after conviction,
instead of imposing the punishment hereinbefore provided, or in
addition thereto, the court in its discretion, having regard to the
circumstances and financial ability of the defendant, shall have the
power to pass an order which shall be subject to change by it from
time to time, as the circumstances may require, directing the defend-
ant to pay a certain sum weekly for the space of three years to the
wife, and to release the defendant from custody on probation for
the space of three years upon his entering into a recognizance in such
sum as the court shall direct, with or without sureties. Any such
order shall constitute a lien on the earnings of the defendant and the
employer is required to deduct the amount of the decree as soon as
notified by the Probation Department; PROVIDED, HOWEVER,
THIS SHALL NOT CONSTITUTE A LIEN ON THE EARNINGS
OF STATE EMPLOYEES AND EMPLOYEES OF BALTIMORE
CITY. All such deductions are to be paid directly by the employer
to the notifying Probation Department. The condition of the recog-
nizance shall be such that if the defendant shall make his personal
appearance at the court whenever ordered to do so within the three
years, and shall further comply with the terms of the order, or of
any subsequent modification thereof, then the recognizance shall be
void, otherwise of full force and effect. If the court be satisfied by
information and due proof under oath, at any time during the three
years, that the defendant has violated the terms of such order, it
may forthwith proceed to the trial of the defendant under the original
indictment, or sentence him under the original conviction, as the case
may be. In the case of forfeiture of a recognizance and enforcement
thereof by execution, the sum recovered may, in the discretion of the
court, be paid in whole or in part to the wife.

(b)    Any parent who shall desert or wilfully neglect to provide
for the support and maintenance of his or her minor child shall be
deemed guilty of a misdemeanor, and upon conviction in any court
of the State having criminal jurisdiction shall be punished by a fine
of not exceeding one hundred dollars, or imprisonment in the Mary-
land House of Correction, or in the Maryland Reformatory for
Women, or in jail, for not more than three years, or both, in the
discretion of the court. Any parent charged with a violation of this
section may be prosecuted in the jurisdiction where he or she or the
child resides. Provided, that before the trial with the consent of the
defendant, or after conviction, instead of imposing the punishment
hereinbefore provided, or in addition thereto, the court, in its dis-
cretion, having regard to the circumstances and financial ability of
the defendant, shall have the power to pass an order which shall be
subject to change by it from time to time, as the circumstances may
require, directing the defendant to pay a certain sum weekly for