Greeneville attorney Duncan C. Cave remains in custody at the Greene County Detention Center today following his arrest Wednesday on charges of contempt of court and failure to appear.

The charges came on Wednesday in connection with a custody case in Greene County Circuit Court which Cave had represented John Pichichero in court proceedings with his ex-wife, Julia Pichichero.

Julia Pichichero said in a telephone interview Thursday that she is on permanent disability and had filed a request for the court to recalculate her child support payments as a result of her financial situation.

According to a show-cause order issued against Cave on Sept. 12, the court ordered the attorney to recalculate the child support on Nov. 28, 2011.

The show-cause order commanded Cave's appearance in Circuit Court at 9 a.m. on Wednesday, Nov. 13, to "show cause why you [Cave] should not be held in contempt for failure to recalculate child support as ordered by this Court ..."

Cave failed to appear, and his absence resulted in an order of contempt for "continually and willfully failing to comply with an order of the court and failure to appear after having been cited to show cause as to why he should not be held in contempt and failure to appear."

The order, issued by Circuit Court Judge Kindall T. Lawson, calls for Cave to be "incarcerated until he has complied with the court's order or clearly demonstrates to the court willingness to comply."

Cave, 34, of 106 Parkwood Circle, was a partner in The Cave Law Firm, PLLC, of Greeneville and Kingsport, until August of this year.

He practiced law with his father, Robert Payne Cave Sr., and his two brothers: Robert Payne Cave Jr. and Jonathan Sevier Cave.

The law firm gave no comment on Duncan Cave's Wednesday arrest.

A deputy with the Greene County Sheriff's Department confirmed on Thursday that Cave was being confined at the Greene County Detention Center, and noted that Judge Lawson had ordered him held without bond.

"I'm glad, finally, to see somebody do what's right for the people," Julia Pichichero said Thursday.

"I'm glad to see somebody's actually listening to me without having an attorney at my side. ..."

Pichichero also expressed her surprise that Cave had been arrested.

"I'm just glad to see that the justice system is working and helping parents that are trying to do the right thing, paying child support," she said.

Cave was one of four candidates for the Republican nomination for 5th District State Representative in the Aug. 2 Republican primary, but did not win.

He ran a distant fourth, with 665 votes, compared with incumbent Rep. David Hawk's 3,093. Hawk won the primary race.

Cave was also an unsuccessful candidate for Greeneville alderman in 2010.

A former Greeneville High School athletic standout, he was inducted into the GHS Sports Hall of Fame in 2011.