Court today - no results

[dipper]

Soc,

After over three months of waiting, the hearing for five cases was today.  Found out ahead of time that bm did have a lawyer - she was no longer retaining her former attorney.

go for the hearing and the lawyer is one hour, forty minutes late - almost to the minute that mine was late in January.  The judge tells us he has a few minutes before his next case.  BM's attorney says it will only take a few minutes, but I told the judge that I have alot of information to present.  

the judge then asks the attorney if he will stipulate that my subpoenaed info. from the school was authentic - the lawyer took the information and skimmed it and said no.  The judge then  told me that there is a way around this, but he couldnt tell me what it is himself.

The judge said that in looking at school records - which consisted of one paper from son's prior school, to about 2 inches worth in most recent school, he feels the case should be reopened.

The case has - and all other cases have been postponed until Nov. 1.  The judge also spoke of appointing a guardian ad litem.

The children involved in my son's burns were there with one mother and all signed a paper that they would be back for the hearing on November 1.   These children never even spoke to my son.  

Also, my son is very angry and saying that he is not going back with bm and he IS going to school here.....he is 13.  His mother is saying that he cannot take PE because the kids will make fun of him when he dresses out.  I totally disagree and believe that he should be treated normally and the school should make accomodations for him to dress out.....

Soc, short of issuing a summons for everyone in that school that has written documentation on my son's behavior - how do I get around the lawyer not stipulating to its authenticity?

As much of my evidence is addressed to bm, could I just ask her if she indeed received that letter and remembers its contents?

I was told earlier at the court house that I could not subpoena school records on the children involved in son's burns - but since they are officially on the witness list now, does that change things?

IF son refuses to leave when his mother comes after him, am I responsible to force him to go?


As the noncustodial parent, can I fight for my son's right to be treated as everyone else in school?

[socrateaser]

>Soc, short of issuing a summons for everyone in that school
>that has written documentation on my son's behavior - how do I
>get around the lawyer not stipulating to its authenticity?

Each piece of evidence is different with regards to what is required to get it admitted into evidence. I can't give you a blanket, "do this." You could have testified that you received the documents directly from the school on ??/??/??, in response to a lawfully issued subpoena issued on ??/??/??, and that you have not altered any of the documents in any manner since you received them. This would authenticate them as being from the school, but it doesn't necessarily make them admissible until you offer them to prove something in particular.

I'd need the laundry list of items and what you believe each item proves.

>As much of my evidence is addressed to bm, could I just ask
>her if she indeed received that letter and remembers its
>contents?

Yes, you could, but bm could just say, "I don't remember receiving this letter," and you'd be screwed. So, that would have been a crap shoot, however you could have done it.

>
>I was told earlier at the court house that I could not
>subpoena school records on the children involved in son's
>burns - but since they are officially on the witness list now,
>does that change things?

You can subpoena the kids and order them to bring the records with them to the hearing.

>IF son refuses to leave when his mother comes after him, am I
>responsible to force him to go?

Contempt requires willful action on your part. You must use a reasonable amount of force to make him go, but you are not required to drag him kicking and screaming, or to tie him up and carry him against his will. If you cannot force your child to go, then you should ask the court for a temporary order permitting him to stay, on grounds that he is afraid for his safety.

>As the noncustodial parent, can I fight for my son's right to
>be treated as everyone else in school?

This is a waste of time. The kid will decide for himself if he wants to get dressed or not. Neither you nor the other parent will have any control over it unless you're planning on sitting in the locker room.

[dipper]

Thank you Soc,

As for the school records - they are discipline records and we havent even seen these particular documents.  They are thicker than what we were sent, so they must contain more information.  In fact, there is no way we could alter them - they were sent straight to the court and we had not even looked at them.  They are being introduced to the court to show the sheer volume of aggressive acts son has been into since his move.

As for my stepson dressing out - he wants to be in PE.  But, the bm has convinced his casemanager at the school that she doesnt want him to even have PE because the other kids will make fun of him.

It has occurred to me that all papers that we received from school have the CC at the bottom with 'my' name on it..............

Would I be able to just state that I received this letter from the school and that be enough to 'validate' them?

Thank you soc..

[socrateaser]

>Would I be able to just state that I received this letter from
>the school and that be enough to 'validate' them?

If the records were sent straight from the school to the court, then I believe that you could simply say:

Your honor, I ask that the court take judicial notice of the fact that the document chain of custody is direct from the school custodian of records to the court clerk, and that it would be impossible for the records to have been altered, except by an employee of the school or the court. And, although a particular record may arguably be inadmissible hearsay depending upon what it is being offered to prove, for the purpose of demonstrating that a large amount of discipline by the school has occurred, and for the purpose of demonstrating that the child is suffering some distress concerning his education, the records are easily verifiable and not subject to reasonable dispute.