Re: Teenage Boys - Contempt of Court

[SFMedic]

Dear Soc,

Thanks for the quick synopsis of "rules of evidence law 101"..! smile..

This coming Monday, I had planned on spending time in the county law library, to find out and determine the "codes and rules".

During my hearing for Contempt of Court, this past friday against the Mother for denial of visitation.  The "Master" had started out the proceedings by stating, "this hearing concerns the matter of a contempt of court motion, and not an "enforcement to modify visitation", which is already scheduled for pre-trial on April 25th.  Which I thought made sense and was okay.

Towards the end of the proceedings, the Master makes the statement of "if the mother or children does not feel safe coming to MD from WV, (per the standing court order) then the Mother can make arrangements for visitation to take place in WV.  This was said by the Master because the Mother was still claiming physical child abuse

1.  Question:  By the Master making the statement, regarding my having visitation in WV, is he not voiding the very specific wording of times and places that already exist in my standing court order?  

2.  Question:  By the Mother only allowing me to have visitation in WV instead of MD, where the standing court states she is to meet me halfway at a designated place in MD, isn't this grounds for another contempt motion, due to her deliberately violating the standing court order?

3.  Question:  In essence, by his remark from the bench, he's taken it upon himself to "modify" my visitation, without giving me due process, which is what I thought the upcoming, "modification and enforcement of visitation" was for on April 25th?  Can he actually get away with this?

4.  Question:  I was told by someone earlier I can file something called an "exception to a master's recommendation"?  Due to the Master saying, he was "not not finding her in contempt", which didn't make any sense at all to me, even though she repeatedly admitted in open court that she was in contempt..!

Thanks...

[socrateaser]

>1.  Question:  By the Master making the statement, regarding
>my having visitation in WV, is he not voiding the very
>specific wording of times and places that already exist in my
>standing court order?  

You had a contempt motion and you lost. There was one finding: no contempt. If there were an order, then one of you would likely have been instructed to prepare it, so, more than likely the order was very simple: "Dismissed" or "Not guilty."

Everything else the judge said was dicta and non binding.

>2.  Question:  By the Mother only allowing me to have
>visitation in WV instead of MD, where the standing court
>states she is to meet me halfway at a designated place in MD,
>isn't this grounds for another contempt motion, due to her
>deliberately violating the standing court order?

N/A. There wasn't any order, based on your post.

>3.  Question:  In essence, by his remark from the bench, he's
>taken it upon himself to "modify" my visitation, without
>giving me due process, which is what I thought the upcoming,
>"modification and enforcement of visitation" was for on April
>25th?  Can he actually get away with this?

N/A. See above.

>
>4.  Question:  I was told by someone earlier I can file
>something called an "exception to a master's recommendation"?
>Due to the Master saying, he was "not not finding her in
>contempt", which didn't make any sense at all to me, even
>though she repeatedly admitted in open court that she was in
>contempt..!

Call the clerk and get a copy of the court's minute orders from the hearing. If there was an order contemplated, then it will be in the minute orders. If the judge actually signed an order, it will be in the file. I've got a hunch he swept the entire deal under the table and is gonna pretend it never happened.

That's pretty typical when no one's represented by counsel.

[SFMedic]

Dear Soc,

Yesterday was a mixed bag in terms of results with my scheduled court hearing, regarding contempt of court against the mother, for denial of visitation.  We were both Pro Se in the Contempt of Court case that was heard in MD.  Children at this time are 15 and 16 y/o.

I had well over 20 different exhibits that were all relevant to the case and couldn't get them presented or accepted as evidence.  Because according to the Judge, I wasn't following proper procedure.

The end result of the case, the Mother openly admitted in court she was in contempt due to denying visitation.  She brought the children as well, and I was able to have them removed from the courtroom before we proceeded any further.  

The Mother also had planned to call them up as witnesses, and I requested they be questioned in chambers, so the Judge had everyone leave the courtroom, and they were questioned separately.  They painted a picture to the Judge, as if I constantly beat them or hit them all the time when they come down to visit, and that I hardly do anything with them during a given weekend, which were bold face lies.

I had brought a photo album with other 600 pictures as evidence to the contrary, covering the last 8 years, but again, wasn't able to present it as evidence.

The Judge's ruling was "he wasn't not going to find her in contempt", that final determination would be set aside for now.  He warned the Mother, the onus was on her "to make some type of effort" with  arrangements with the boys, in order for me to have some type of visitation.  

This weekend was an actual scheduled weekend, which I made the court aware during my closing remarks.  I haven't seen my boys since July 31, 2005.  

The Judge ordered a complete custody evaluation to be initiated with both of us.  The Judge reminded her when we have a pre-trial conference on April 25th, regarding an "Enforcement and Modification" motion that I filed, and the court should have a determination made by then regarding the evaluation.  He warned the Mother once again, if she didn't allow visitation to take place, it would not look good for her coming back to court in April.

I requested sanctions be brought against the mother, regarding make-up of additional time, posting of a visitation bond, they were all discarded.

The Judge also made a comment based on the extensive documentation that I've submitted in the case file, that I obviously had concerns with Parental Alienation taking place.

The Mother had asked if the children could be interviewed by someone in WV, so they wouldn't have to miss anymore school.  This was also the Mother's way of trying to get out of having to meet me halfway, per the standing court order.  The Judge pointed out, how they would be interviewed in MD, and that it could easily be accomplished during my scheduled weekends, which the Mother didn't like to hear.

1.  Question:  What is the proper format/procedure with presenting evidence to the court, I realize there is subtle differences from one state to the next?

2.  Question:  Regarding the custody evaluation, would you recommend we have an attorney present, once we get to a point of the evaluator conducting interviews with me?

3.  Question: Regarding my exhibitis of evidence, is this something I could present to the evaluator during an interview?

4.  Question: Regarding the evaluation, is there anything else you could think of, that I would need to do or have, so that I'm properly prepared?

thanks...

[socrateaser]

>1.  Question:  What is the proper format/procedure with
>presenting evidence to the court, I realize there is subtle
>differences from one state to the next?

The differences between jurisdictions is so small that's generally irrelevant. If there's a big difference, it is usually described in the State trial court rules, and/or county court rules. Never go to trial without reading all the court rules, because you may miss something big, even if you're an attorney. You're expected to know the code of civil procedure, the rules of evidence, and the state/local rules.

 I can't tell you specifically what the proper format/process is without knowing all of the above. And, even with all of that, the proper process depends on the evidence offered, so I'd need to know exactly what you offered (and don't post it here, because I'm not teaching an evidence/trial practice class online -- way out of scope).

In GENERAL, evidence must be:

1. Logically relevant. It must tend to prove or disprove an element necessary to satisfying the burden of persuasion in the case. Ex: a receipt from the store where a custody transfer was to take place is relevant to proving that the declarant was at the store at the place and time shown on the receipt.

2. Legally relevant. It must not violate some public policy that prevents it from being offered, regardless of its logical relevancy. Ex: A person's character is generally inadmissible to prove their conduct on a particular occassion, unless their character is actually at issue, so if there is proof of a parent's reputation for hating for the other parent, then this character flaw would be admissible to prove conduct, but it's still a pretty weak proof. Conversely, the fact that a father is reputed to enjoy wearing pink underwear, doesn't make him a bad parent.

3. Based on sufficient foundation, so that it is deemed to be what it is purported to be. Ex: a photo is not competent unless the person who took it is identified, the time, date, and place that it was taken are identified, and the general method by which it was taken, and how it arrives at the court in its present form (i.e., "chain of custody") is identified. That way, you can't take a digital foto, insert a smiling face of your child into the family scene, dull it up in Photoshop(r), and then claim that you took the foto 5 years ago at the kid's b'day.

4. It must be in proper form (mainly concerns testimony). Ex:
Assumes facts in evidence. Question can't contain an assumption that is not already on the record "Are you still beating your spouse," assumes that you were beating your spouse, in the past. Without evidence showing that you were, this is inadmissible.

5. It must not be subject to an exclusionary rule. The big one being hearsay: "An out of court statement (or evidence) offered to prove the truth of the matter asserted." Ex: "My neighbor told me that she my ex leave our one year old child in the backyard unsupervised for over 2 hours." If this statement is offered to prove that the defendant is a poor caretaker of the child, then the neighbor must be on the witness stand saying it in the first person, or at least available for cross examination -- otherwise, the statement is out.

Conversely, "My ex said that she left the child outside unsupervised for 2 hours," is an admission, and is, while highly suspect because of its source being the adversarial spouse, admissible, unless the statement is offered in a criminal trial, and was compelled by governmental interrogation, incident to an arrest and without the person having been read their "Miranda" rights.

That's about as far as I'm going into evidence law online. This could take months to completely review. If you are really interested, you'll have to go to law school.

>2.  Question:  Regarding the custody evaluation, would you
>recommend we have an attorney present, once we get to a point
>of the evaluator conducting interviews with me?

Not necessarily. I would recommend that you have a disinterested third party witness videoing the entire episode. Of course this will make the evaluator think you're paranoid, but that's the tradeoff -- there's no real good answer to this question.

>
>3.  Question: Regarding my exhibitis of evidence, is this
>something I could present to the evaluator during an
>interview?

Yes, but you need to be careful that you don't appear obsessed with "getting even," because that is the kiss of death for a custody eval. You want the evaluator to KNOW that your sole interest is the child's welfare, even if it means that you would never see the child again. That will get the evaluator's attention better than any hard evidence.

>
>4.  Question: Regarding the evaluation, is there anything else
>you could think of, that I would need to do or have, so that
>I'm properly prepared?

See #3. You need to be sad that you haven't had time with yor child, and happy for anything that is good in the child's life, regardless of whether it is the consequence of the other parent, or of your being cut off from the child.

Other than that, do NOT denegrate the other parent. The other parent is NEVER BAD, she is simply advancing her interests, and you are sad that your child has not had the benefit of both parents as a result.

This difference is the BIG issue in an eval -- your attitude is what the evaluator looks for. Are you interested in yourself and getting revenge, or are you interested only in the child's "best interests," regardless of how detrimental those interests may be to your personal interests.

You can bet that the other parent will take bad about you, so if you don't return the favor, then you have a huge edge, because the evaluator will say, "What's up with dat?" This guy is only interested in the kid, and the mom is an a___."

Don't rise to the occasion to show your own ass or you will get it kicked.

[SFMedic]

Dear Soc,

Thanks for the quick synopsis of "rules of evidence law 101"..! smile..

This coming Monday, I had planned on spending time in the county law library, to find out and determine the "codes and rules".

During my hearing for Contempt of Court, this past friday against the Mother for denial of visitation.  The "Master" had started out the proceedings by stating, "this hearing concerns the matter of a contempt of court motion, and not an "enforcement to modify visitation", which is already scheduled for pre-trial on April 25th.  Which I thought made sense and was okay.

Towards the end of the proceedings, the Master makes the statement of "if the mother or children does not feel safe coming to MD from WV, (per the standing court order) then the Mother can make arrangements for visitation to take place in WV.  This was said by the Master because the Mother was still claiming physical child abuse

1.  Question:  By the Master making the statement, regarding my having visitation in WV, is he not voiding the very specific wording of times and places that already exist in my standing court order?  

2.  Question:  By the Mother only allowing me to have visitation in WV instead of MD, where the standing court states she is to meet me halfway at a designated place in MD, isn't this grounds for another contempt motion, due to her deliberately violating the standing court order?

3.  Question:  In essence, by his remark from the bench, he's taken it upon himself to "modify" my visitation, without giving me due process, which is what I thought the upcoming, "modification and enforcement of visitation" was for on April 25th?  Can he actually get away with this?

4.  Question:  I was told by someone earlier I can file something called an "exception to a master's recommendation"?  Due to the Master saying, he was "not not finding her in contempt", which didn't make any sense at all to me, even though she repeatedly admitted in open court that she was in contempt..!

Thanks...

[socrateaser]

>1.  Question:  By the Master making the statement, regarding
>my having visitation in WV, is he not voiding the very
>specific wording of times and places that already exist in my
>standing court order?  

You had a contempt motion and you lost. There was one finding: no contempt. If there were an order, then one of you would likely have been instructed to prepare it, so, more than likely the order was very simple: "Dismissed" or "Not guilty."

Everything else the judge said was dicta and non binding.

>2.  Question:  By the Mother only allowing me to have
>visitation in WV instead of MD, where the standing court
>states she is to meet me halfway at a designated place in MD,
>isn't this grounds for another contempt motion, due to her
>deliberately violating the standing court order?

N/A. There wasn't any order, based on your post.

>3.  Question:  In essence, by his remark from the bench, he's
>taken it upon himself to "modify" my visitation, without
>giving me due process, which is what I thought the upcoming,
>"modification and enforcement of visitation" was for on April
>25th?  Can he actually get away with this?

N/A. See above.

>
>4.  Question:  I was told by someone earlier I can file
>something called an "exception to a master's recommendation"?
>Due to the Master saying, he was "not not finding her in
>contempt", which didn't make any sense at all to me, even
>though she repeatedly admitted in open court that she was in
>contempt..!

Call the clerk and get a copy of the court's minute orders from the hearing. If there was an order contemplated, then it will be in the minute orders. If the judge actually signed an order, it will be in the file. I've got a hunch he swept the entire deal under the table and is gonna pretend it never happened.

That's pretty typical when no one's represented by counsel.

[SFMedic]

Dear Soc,

My apologies, for not knowing what you just referenced as an order, regarding my "Contempt of Court" hearing, from this past Friday, due to the Mother denying my visitation.  I do have a yellow carbon copy for a "report and recommendation".  Which has the Defendant marked with an "X" and reads "the obligor has wilfully (which is lined thru) failed to comply with the court's order(s).

Another block that is "X" off states, "the obligor is adjudged to be in contempt of court".  This entire statement was lined through, and the Judge made a note to the right side "contempt hearing is continued".

Another block is "X" off states, "The terms and provisions of all prior Orders remain in effect to the extent that they are not inconsistent with the terms of this order".

1.  Question:  based on the above statement, regarding "terms and provisions", am I to assume my court order is still unchanged and enforceable, until such time that I attend the "Enforce & Modify" hearing on April 25th?  

2.  Question:  Then would the Mother still be obligated to meet me still at our half-way point, which is in MD versus her being in WV?

3.  Question:  regarding the note the Judge made, regarding "contempt is continued", I take it the Mother is still on the hook, pending the outcome of a custody hearing?

4.  Question:  I was also told, if I file an "exception to a Master's report and recommendation", it would temporarily postpone a custody evaluation from taking place, is this true?

5.  Question:  Regarding the custody evaluation, wouldn't the judge have to make some type of ruling referencing a change of custody, as to his reason for requesting a "custody evaluation" in the first place.  Part of me feels, this was nothing more then him passing the buck, and not having to make any type of final ruling regarding the Mother's contempt?

thanks...

[socrateaser]

>1.  Question:  based on the above statement, regarding "terms
>and provisions", am I to assume my court order is still
>unchanged and enforceable, until such time that I attend the
>"Enforce & Modify" hearing on April 25th?  

Yep. No changes.

>
>2.  Question:  Then would the Mother still be obligated to
>meet me still at our half-way point, which is in MD versus her
>being in WV?

No changes to the prior orders, based on your post above.

>
>3.  Question:  regarding the note the Judge made, regarding
>"contempt is continued", I take it the Mother is still on the
>hook, pending the outcome of a custody hearing?

Yep. The entire question of whether the mother is in contempt is pending -- that's a very big point in your favor, BTW.

>
>4.  Question:  I was also told, if I file an "exception to a
>Master's report and recommendation", it would temporarily
>postpone a custody evaluation from taking place, is this
>true?

Contempt is pending. If you file an exception, you're gonna blow your foot off. The master is on your side, at the moment.

>5.  Question:  Regarding the custody evaluation, wouldn't the
>judge have to make some type of ruling referencing a change of
>custody, as to his reason for requesting a "custody
>evaluation" in the first place.  Part of me feels, this was
>nothing more then him passing the buck, and not having to make
>any type of final ruling regarding the Mother's contempt?

You're not reading it correctly. The master wants to get the mother to start cooperating without throwing her ass in jail. But, if she doesn't, then that could happen next April.

You're trying to win. Put away your ego and just deal with the child's interests. If the mother doesn't play ball, you're gonna probably get custody awarded, because the master will have had enough.

[SFMedic]

Dear Soc,

I went to court on Jan 20th for Contempt of Court against the Mother for denial of visitation.  I live in MD, Mother with children live in WV.  We both went to court Pro Se.  We had a 1hr block of time in court.  Children will be 15 in Feb 06 & oldest just turned 16 y/o in Dec 05.  Haven't seen them since July 31, 2005.  The following is information I thought you would need to have clear a understanding of what took place during and following my hearing.

The "Master" stated he was "not not going to find the Mother in Contempt at this time", pending the results of a "custody evaluation being initiated".  He did not order any sanctions against the Mother that I brought up, such as posting a visitation bond, or fines, or additional make-up time.

The Master would not accept any of the my exhibits as evidence, because he stated I was not submitting them to him in the proper format.  

I listened to an court room audio recording of the court hearing, I was curious to know what testimony was provided by the children?

My mouth just dropped, when I heard lie after lie come out of both of my Sons, in front of the Master.  Which I had asked that they were questioned separately, of course I forgot to ask that they should have sequestered in chambers.

The other thing which I heard on the audio, was the Master on his own, directing my oldest Son, while taking his testimony, to ask the court clerk for directions to an office down the hallway, following court, so he can file paperwork to change custody/visitation with me seeing how he's already 16, while he was still here in MD.

It was also stated on the audio from the Master and his clerk, where they had said, "this is a sad case"..."there's no chance of them having a relationship with their Father"... "the Father is gonna regret this later"....
these comments were made immediately following my oldest Son being dismissed from providing testimony.  I was completely floored.

The Master contradicted himself between comments he made in the beginning versus what he said at the end.  In the beginning the Master stated "we are here today for matters regarding Contempt of Court and not issues regarding "Enforcement and Modification of Visitation, which is already scheduled for trial on April 25th".  Which btw I was the one to file the motion.

At the end, the Master stated "the original order is still in effect and has not changed at this time"...   "if either she or the children do not feel comfortable coming to MD, at a minimum, the onus is on the Mother to initiate visitation even if it is for a period of one day in WV"

I had asked the Master about my two other Contempt Motions, regarding denial of visitation, which were "Amendments" to my initial Contempt Motions from Nov 8th.

I had a pre-trial conference on Dec 7th, with yet another Master who then stipulated and had us sign an order, that any amendments or pleadings had to be filed no later than Jan 3, 2006, which I filed the 3rd contempt motion, hand carried by Dec 27, 2005.

In the 2nd & 3rd contempt motions, I changed the request from jail time to no jail time, and further relief as "reversal of custody".

When I asked the Master what was the courts final dispositon of those motions, he stated "Sir you changed the dates and they do not apply to this matter before us at this time".  I thought that was total "BS" from the Master, just sweeping them under the rug.

This past Saturday, I received a call from the Mother, informing me she had convinced the boys to meet me at 12 noon, at a shopping mall in Morgantown, WV.  I remined her, my visitation had not changed, and was still to be in MD, she stated the boys did not want to cross state lines, and if I didn't come up, then she would take that as my "refusing visitation" with the children.

I drove for 4 hrs to meet with my Sons for lunch at the shopping mall, to have a sit down lunch with them to discuss our future as a family.  They wouldn't agree to us taking them somewhere else to have a sit down talk.  The visit amounted to them saying the only reason they were meeting, because I'm trying to put their Mom in jail, we met for a little over 2hrs and they left.

I decided to file an exception to a Masters report and recommendations.

I filed an exception for the following

1.  That the Master's refusal to make a determination as to the contempt before this Honorable Court due to the Defendant's denial of court ordered visitation is clearly erroneous and an abuse of discretion, since the Defendant admitted in open court she was in contempt and will continue to deny court ordered  visitation

2.  That the Master's recommendation advised the Defendant to allow visitation in the state of West Virginia is clearly erroneous and an abuse of discretion, inasmuch as the focus of this hearing was contempt for denial of court ordered visitation and that a separate hearing, April 25, 2006 has been scheduled before this Court to address modification of the standing court order

3.  That the Master's actions in not accepting into evidence documentation relevant to the Contempt matter before the Court was clearly erroneous and an abuse of discretion, since it prevented the parties from effectively presenting their respective cases to the Court.

4.  That the Master's recommendation that a custody evaluation is ordered in this contempt matter is clearly erroneous and an abuse of discretion, since the Master refused to make any recommendations or consider a reversal of custody as a remedy for the contempt.

5.  That the Master's refusal to address the ongoing contempt in this case as is clearly erroneous and an abuse of discretion, since this court strongly advised the Defendant of at least two different occasions to resume court ordered visitation between the minor children and the Plaintiff.

6.  That the Master's refusal to address the ongoing contempt in this case as is clearly erroneous and an abuse of discretion, since there have been three contempt petitions filed with each denied visitation since July 31, 2005

7.  That the Master's refusal to address two additional amended contempt petitions, as is clearly erroneous and an abuse of discretion, since this court  stipulated from the pre-trial conference of December 7, 2005, any amendments or pleadings were to be submitted to the court, which they were, no later than January 3, 2006.  

8.  That the Master did not advise the parties of their right to seek review of his findings in the form of exceptions pursuant to Maryland Rule S74A.


1.  Question:  Given the above circumstances and exceptions, do you feel a Judge should find grounds for a new hearing to be scheduled?

2.  Question:  If we have an attorney this time during a 2nd hearing, is the attorney permitted to be present during the children's testimony, in order to object or questioned their testimony in someway?

3.  Question: If I'm allowed to have a 2nd hearing, am I to assume that I will be able to submit my original exhibits of evidence, or would they be discarded?

4.  Question:  If the Mother refuses to bring the children to MD between now and when we are to have another hearing, or the April 25th pre-trial conference, would she not be once again violating the standing court order, in light of what she was already told from the 1st Contempt hearing?

5.  Question:  If the Mother is found in Contempt, how would or could this impact my going to court for a pre-trial conference on April 25th for an "Enforce & Modify Vistation" petition, which I filed?

thanks....

[socrateaser]

>1.  Question:  Given the above circumstances and exceptions,
>do you feel a Judge should find grounds for a new hearing to
>be scheduled?

No, because at the moment your contempt motion is still pending, and the judge will not intervene until it is final.
>
>2.  Question:  If we have an attorney this time during a 2nd
>hearing, is the attorney permitted to be present during the
>children's testimony, in order to object or questioned their
>testimony in someway?

You're not going to get a 2nd hearing. If the master dismisses or finds not guilty, the double jeopardy clause of the constitution will kick in and the mother will be immune to reprosecution for the contempts. That's why the master has left the matter open. If he closes it, you're SOL, and you'll have to start over with an enforcement proceeding instead of a contempt.

>
>3.  Question: If I'm allowed to have a 2nd hearing, am I to
>assume that I will be able to submit my original exhibits of
>evidence, or would they be discarded?

N/A See above.

>
>4.  Question:  If the Mother refuses to bring the children to
>MD between now and when we are to have another hearing, or the
>April 25th pre-trial conference, would she not be once again
>violating the standing court order, in light of what she was
>already told from the 1st Contempt hearing?

N/A See above.

>
>5.  Question:  If the Mother is found in Contempt, how would
>or could this impact my going to court for a pre-trial
>conference on April 25th for an "Enforce & Modify Vistation"
>petition, which I filed?

That would be good, but it's probably not gonna happen, because now you've undoubtedly pissed off your only ally in the case. Try and withdraw your exceptions if you can. If you can't, I'd say you've probably just shot your foot off.

I advised you not to take exceptions and to try to work with the master. You've made a fairly bad decision to disregard that advice, and you REALLY need to discuss this all with a local attorney now.