LANSING, MI - Parents accused of failing to pay child support can defend themselves against the felony charge by saying it is impossible to pay, a divided Michigan Supreme Court ruled late Tuesday.

On the final night of its regular 2011-12 term, the court gave "deadbeat" parents a window of opportunity to avoid criminal penalties when they do not pay. But to do so - only in "exceptional circumstances" - they must prove that they have exhausted all their finances, including assets that could be sold.

"Although the dissent criticizes our approach and complains that 'only the rarest of persons' will be able to demonstrate impossibility, that is exactly the point," Justice Mary Beth Kelly wrote in an opinion joined by Chief Justice Robert Young, Stephen Markman and Brian Zahra.

"We intend that ... a parent who fails to pay court-ordered child support must meet an exacting standard to demonstrate a genuine impossibility defense."

For the past dozen or so years, it appears that accused child-support scofflaws in Michigan have been unable to defend themselves by citing their inability to pay.

The Supreme Court on Tuesday upheld a 2004 state Court of Appeals decision that interpreted the child-support law to say it does not matter if someone can afford to pay or not.

But the four majority justices also looked to 1800s-era rulings to say parents do have another defense - that it is "impossible" to pay.

Three dissenting justices accused the majority of making Michigan the only state in country to not allow the more traditional defense of simply being unable to pay child support.

"In essence, the majority has created a nearly-impossible-to-satisfy defense," Justice Marilyn Kelly wrote in an opinion signed by Michael Cavanagh and Diane Hathaway. "The practical effect of this rule is to press a heavy thumb on the prosecutor's

side of the delicate scales of justice."

She also wrote: "The majority refuses to acknowledge that, unfortunate as it is,

many people experience periods in their lives when they are insolvent. This fact does not

automatically render them uncaring, deadbeat parents. And it should not necessarily

render them criminals. Poverty is not a criminal offense, and our federal and state

constitutions guarantee the impoverished the equal protection of the laws."

The majority disputed the contention that Michigan is unique among other states.

The 4-3 ruling affected three cases before the court from different parts of Michigan:

- Selesa Arrosieur Likine, of Oakland County, was convicted of not making $1,131 monthly payments for her three children from 2005-08. She was barred from submitting evidence that she had been unemployed ever since a 2005 stay in a mental hospital, was subsisting on Social Security disability payments of $603 a month and never earned the income the family judge based her payment on.

She also had a history of schizoaffective disorder and depression. She was convicted and sentenced to one year of probation and restitution.

The ACLU of Michigan and the Innocence Clinic at the University of Michigan Law School took up her cause, arguing that forcing her to make payments she could not afford violated the U.S. Constitution.

The high court reversed her conviction and ordered a new trial, ruling her evidence could possibly persuade a jury that it was impossible for her to pay.

- Michael Joseph Parks was charged in Ingham County for not paying $761 a week in child support for three children. A rural doctor, he objected that his payment amount was based on the assumption that he earned as much as an urban doctor working in a group practice.

He also testified that he was unable to pay, was disabled and getting federal assistance. He was sentenced to five years probation, the first year to be spent in jail.

The Supreme Court affirmed his conviction because he never argued at trial that it was impossible for him to pay.

- Scott Bennett Harris was charged in Muskegon County for not paying child support for two children for five years. The judge agreed to not incarcerate the repeat offender if he could pay $8,000. He missed the deadline to pay and was sentenced to 15 months to 15 years in prison.

The high court did not allow Harris to withdraw his guilty plea.

Read the legal briefs here.

Email David Eggert at deggert1@mlive.com and follow him on Twitter @DavidEggert00