witness list

[neutron11]

So in preparation for trial, BM provided her list of possible witnesses and it's loooooooong. She is calling pretty much everybody she knows. This is not the definitive list, just the list of potential witnesses but we have no clue who  these people are so we are getting a little bit anxious. This is the first time we are going to trial so I'm not sure what to expect. Is normal to call twenty something witnesses? I imagine they all will say she is a wonderful parent and a wonderful person but other than that, they can't say much since  they don't know my DH. Is there a way to limit her number of witnesses? How much weight do these kind of witnesses have? It seems to me it will be a waste of the court's time. We have a lawyer but we don't want to ask too many questions cause it's costing us a leg and an arm. Thanks!

[sillystring]

They are probably mostly just character witnesses and will not be called at all. The judge doesn't whave time to hear from 20 people saying "Bm is a great mom!" so I wouldn't worry about the list at all.

The only ones you need to worry about are ones that personally know your husband anything negative they may say. But again, they probably won't be called either.

[neutron11]

thanks, Sillystring! What do you mean by they won't probably be called? who decides who gets called? can the judge make that choice? BM is saying she is going to bring all her coworkers, literally, all of them. She works part time in a daycare center. The place will have to close down! I don't think in the end all of them will show up but it's rather annoying for the sheer amount of time it will take to interrogate them, etc. I guess I just need reassuring. We have a pretty strong case but you never know what BM can pull off in the last minute!

[MixedBag]

The judge....

I too faced a long list of witnesses that my EX put forward....and he was forced to whittle it down, and in the end NONE appeared.

It's also a form of intimidation before court hearings actually happen.

And it's working because you're scratching your head wondering WTF?

[CrenshawClark]

the first witness list we got had 15 people on it. We in-turn, sent her a witness list with 15 people on it. At the pre-trial we narrowed the witness list down to the 2 experts and the 2 of us that live in the home with BD. (who has been alienated from his daughter by BM.) She still had 5 witnesses on her list. The judge threw out ALL of her witnesses except one, and we wanted him to testify because it actually made our case stronger. The judge doesn't want to hear about how great your friends thing you are... request a social investigation. It is done on BOTH "BM" and "BD". After reading the final judgement it seems to me the Social investigator is the only person the judge really listened to. Even the testimony that was give by the "character" witnesses and the other expert (Dr. Evans, expert PA and PAS) was only referenced if it pertained to something the social investigator observed or recommended. Good luck!

[neutron11]

Thanks guys, I feel a little bit better and yes, lol! we were intimidated by the sheer number and especially because it was the first time we heard of some of them. Now our lawyer has started depositions and it's going to take her a long time to do it  (more money we need to pay...sigh)   Counting the days till this is over, one way or another.