>>>Why can't your attorney be present at the hearing?
>>
>>A: I believe that she cannot appear due to the fact that she
>>was retained at such a late date (last week), and has
>>obligations already scheduled for that date...
>OK, that means that she's not actually your attorney of
>record, yet, because she hasn't appeared either at court or in
>a pleading.... bottom line is that the instant you ask for something >other than a continuance, you will not be asking for a continuance.
>
>I can't tell you what to do in this situation.... otherwise, ask for the >continuance and then if you're refused, then ask for what you want, >because at that point you will have no other choice.
UPDATE
I just wanted to give you and update on what actually happened in this case. We went before the judge, I stated what I was petitioning for (full L & P custody), and that it was primarily because of the child being in a 'relatively' unsafe environment - due to the
BM history AND the fact that I was being denied parenting time and hadn't seen my 9mo.old daughter since Jan 1st.
BM then was allowed to rebut any claims that I made, (and once again perjured herself), but I had evidence to counter every claim she made - interestingly the judge didn't want to see any of MY hard evidence. Even though I told the truth and the BM did not in some cases, the judge lost patience with both of us and said that she didn't believe either of us.
But the bench started to view our case in a different light when I presented her the letter from the atty. I intend to retain. She is respected and well known in the court system here - which is something I'm willing to pay a premium for. The bench then asked some pointed questions and had us present some facts (employment status, any criminal histories, living arrangements, etc.) The judge then set a continuance for May, and ordered social services to perform
home studies in each home.
I am probably going to ask that personality profiles be ordered too - the BM will have a difficult (impossible?) time masking her emotional problems.
But the best (and worst) part is this:
The bench asked about the visitation and why I wasn't allowed to visit the child, and the BM didn't have a valid reason. After taking my work schedule into consideration, she ordered visitation for four hours on Saturdays each week until the case is heard. The BM asked that the transfer of the child be done at a local precinct, and that I only be given
supervised visitation. The judge agreed on the transfer location, but basically saw thru the BM's attempt to make me 'suffer' supervised visitation - I think she saw something in the BM's atttitude by the fact that she asked for supervised visitation in the first place.
Four hours a week only works out to less than nine days a year, thank goodness its only temporary. Its a somewhat bittersweet victory that, for all of the responsibility that I've tried to provide for my child (and the BM fro that matter), all I get is a sliver of time. But the system's 'stormy seas' are what they are, and I at least have to stay afloat before I can hope to reach the distant shore.
So that's it - I just dropped my daughter off at the precinct after four of the most lovely (and hard fought for) hours of my life.
Thanks for all your help and advice. When this is all over, I hope I have enough strength to volunteer to help others out.