Thank you so much for the quick response. You are generally right in your characterization of my friend, except for the "abandoned his child" part -- the mother ran off and has continually refused to reveal her location. Were he to track her down, she has a history of violent physical abuse toward him, including beating him with chains and other weapons, and he has real reason to fear for his own safety in pursuing her. The child support order was only filed a year ago, not three, so he has not avoided it for three years. And he has certainly not *chosen* to be absent from the child's life. He sent presents to a friend of a friend's address, who made sure they made it to the child. He has spoken with child on the phone, he has send the mother money via Western Union on a number of occasions. And the situation surrounding the warrant for probation violation are similarly sticky. The point is, you are right in some of your characterizations, but the situation admits of some nuance.

Perhaps I should post in a different forum re: the nature of the warrant, and whether, with a proper lawyer, he might be able to pay his way out of it through fines, etc, and then file for custody in California?

By the way, are you saying he needs to "go back to California" as in quit his job and abandon the first healthy job, life, etc, he has been able to secure for himself in years? Couldn't he try to clear up the warrants via a lawyer and keep his full-time job here on the east coast, and then have a lawyer help him with the custody proceedings out of state, while he holds down this job?