Changing Judges

[InTheMiddle]

BACKGROUND--

AZ divorce, Dad in AZ, Mom in TX

We have been in court a year trying to get stepkids out of an abusive situation (BM's preferance for abusive boyfriends). Judge #1 denied temporary custody orders, has been lied to by BM and he yelled at her and fined her for it.  Stepkids were interviewed by Court Psychologist and conclusion was that DH should get 2 youngest kids as oldest is 17, violent, and admitted he hates me but doesn't know why.

PROBLEM

Now, Judge #1 has transferred case to Judge #2 for a final decision.

1)  Is this a common pratice?

2)  Under what conditions would a judge be willing to do this?

3)  Could this cause the case to start completely over again?

4)  What else should I be concerned about regarding switching judges?

[socrateaser]

>1)  Is this a common pratice?

No, very unusual.

>
>2)  Under what conditions would a judge be willing to do
>this?

If the judge believes that his/her decision will be appealed for unreasonable bias or an abuse of discretion. Or, maybe the judge lost the last election, or is sick, or going on an extended vacation. Could be many reasons.

>
>3)  Could this cause the case to start completely over again?

No.

>
>4)  What else should I be concerned about regarding switching
>judges?

A different judge won't know anything about your case. So, if the previous judge was angered by the other parent, your emotional leverage is lost. On the other hand, if the new judge is fair, then he/she will examine the record -- and you should make the judge aware of the past issues that work to your advantage, by way of a supplementary brief -- then you should get a fair decision on the merits of your case.

Of course, you know what they call an attorney who nearly flunked out of law school and barely passed the bar exam, don't you?

"Your Honor." (kidding...or am i?)

[InTheMiddle]

Thank you very much for your advice.

I had a feeling the Birth Mother's Lawyer would do something after the Court Psychologists conclusion.

One of the ways we were told to to win a case, is to exhaust the other's finances.  Now we have to pay our lawyer to create a supplementary breif.  

So much for the kid's college education fund.  (kidding...or am i?)