Joint Case Status Conference

[crayiii]

I have a letter from my former attorney letting me know that I have a Joint Case Status Conference before the judge next week.

He told me I need to collaborate with opposing counsel to draft a Domestic Joint Case Status Report.

I haven't been able to get opposing counsel to return any messages, letters, or faxes for a few weeks.  How should I address this report completion?

Also, do you know if this is something I need to do in person at the court house?

[socrateaser]

>I haven't been able to get opposing counsel to return any
>messages, letters, or faxes for a few weeks.  How should I
>address this report completion?

In my experience, no pro se litigant, who isn't also an attorney, has ever managed to get opposing counsel to cooperate to issue a status/at-issue report/memo. My suggestion is that you get the form and prepare it yourself, and then send him your version, with a note stating, that if he declines any invitation to cooperate towards a joint statement, you will take his silence as assent to your version of the case status, and that you will submit the document to the court without his signature, and note that he declined any comment.

>Also, do you know if this is something I need to do in person
>at the court house?

Unless the judge agrees to hold the hearing on the phone, then you need to show up and be ready to argue your theory of the case. In a typical action, the upcoming hearing is held primarily in chambers, and it goes something like this:

Judge: OK, what's this case about?
Attorney for Pet: My client wants joint custody, 50% of the parenting time,  and no spousal support awarded.
Attorney for Resp: Ridiculous! My client has had the child in her sole custody for the past year, and the father lives 500 miles away, so we think that the temporary orders should be made permanent. We also want spousal support for 2 years in order that the mother can become self sufficient.
Judge: Your client apparent left Oregon with the child. I suggest that you try to settle for something without any spousal support. On the other hand, the father didn't call out the national guard to find his kid during the past year, so I'm inclined to leave the custody orders as is. You two see if you can get this case to settle, because if it goes to trial, neither of you will like what you get. OK, let's go back.

And everyone marches back into court, and the judge asks if both sides can be ready for trial on (checks with clerk) ??/??/??. The attorneys grumble for a second like they don't know if they have another case on that day, and then the agree, and the court adjourns.

However, as you are not an attorney, and the judge will not admit you into chambers, he will try to act like the status document and the hearing means something. Mainly, the judge will encourage you to obtain an attorney, and then he will set a trial date, and suggest that you try to work out any differences before trial, and then he'll adjourn.

You'll leave the court wondering why your time was wasted. And, if you try to bring up anything for a ruling that hasn't been already briefed in a motion, the judge will shut you down and tell you that he's not addressing any issues today.

And, that will be the end of it.

Frustrating, I know. But, if it goes down differently, then you tell me, because I'll be surprised.

[crayiii]

I spoke with her attorney just a minute ago.  He said that if I fax him the form he will add his stuff and fax it back to me.  He also said that he would agree to allow me to participate telephonically and he would notify the court about that.

He was really pushing to get it over with and sign perm. orders.  I suggested that we need to look into getting a GAL assigned to the case as it states in our orders and he said that he doesn't think we need to do that.

Mom's new work schedule puts her out of the house until 10pm.  I believe that this may factor into the evaluation.  Should I push for a GAL or just hammer on the fact that I won't agree to perm orders that are less than what I submitted?



One of the questions on the form is this:

"Pursuant to LAR 0.4(a), the court expects this case to be resolved within 10 months.  If there is areason why this is impractical, please explain"

Since the first 3-months of the case were focused on jurisdictional issues, we have really only just begun on the dissolution proceedings.  Additionally, I am out of State and discover will cover people in three different states.

Should I include this as a reason or just leave that question blank?

As for the temp order being made a perm order.  The temp order is nothing more than a residential schedule through the end of this year with everything else be reserved.  I would only agree to the order if it was written that way so I could at least have a chance at modifying it before it became perm.

[socrateaser]

>I spoke with her attorney just a minute ago.  He said that if
>I fax him the form he will add his stuff and fax it back to
>me.  He also said that he would agree to allow me to
>participate telephonically and he would notify the court about
>that.

How accomodating. This can only mean that he has been paid a substantial advance (by the boyfriend) and there's still more billing money to be had.

>
>He was really pushing to get it over with and sign perm.
>orders.  I suggested that we need to look into getting a GAL
>assigned to the case as it states in our orders and he said
>that he doesn't think we need to do that.

No point in even advocating this until you hear what the judge has to say about things at the hearing. Hard to tell whether the court might lean in your direction. I'm always afraid to waste client resources on a fight that can't be won. But, if you want to pay for a custody evaluation, you can certainly ask the court to order it -- you don't really need grounds -- you're entitled to it because this is the first custody determination.

>Mom's new work schedule puts her out of the house until 10pm.
>I believe that this may factor into the evaluation.  Should I
>push for a GAL or just hammer on the fact that I won't agree
>to perm orders that are less than what I submitted?

Be careful about this "GAL" thing. A GAL acts in the child's interests, NOT in the child's BEST interests. In other words, the GAL is an attorney who must try to represent what the child wants, not what the child needs. A custody evaluator/psychologist/therapist, etc., merely reports to the court as to the parent-child relationship and lets the court decide what's in the child's best interests.

When a GAL is appointed in preference to an evaluator, to me, this indicates that the court is leaning against the non-custodial parent, because the child is usually more under the influence of the custodial parent, and the GAL is ethically bound, as an attorney, to advocate what the child wants, rather than what the child needs (and the child will probably want to stay put).

However, if you think you can influence your son to want to live with you more than mom, then a GAL is the way to go, because you can ask the GAL directly, what does the child want, and then you can ask why the GAL is not upholding his/her ethical duty to advance the child's interests, rather than what the GAL believes are the child's interests.

Subtle, but important distinctions.


>One of the questions on the form is this:
>
>"Pursuant to LAR 0.4(a), the court expects this case to be
>resolved within 10 months.  If there is areason why this is
>impractical, please explain"
>
>Since the first 3-months of the case were focused on
>jurisdictional issues, we have really only just begun on the
>dissolution proceedings.  Additionally, I am out of State and
>discover will cover people in three different states.
>
>Should I include this as a reason or just leave that question
>blank?
>
>As for the temp order being made a perm order.  The temp order
>is nothing more than a residential schedule through the end of
>this year with everything else be reserved.  I would only
>agree to the order if it was written that way so I could at
>least have a chance at modifying it before it became perm.
>