relocation of the child case

[Dez]

Greetings Soc,

Just read the moving out of state thread. Curious about a couple things re my own case.  My case is in WA state, RE: Relocation of the child. Temp order granting the move, Temp parenting plan, are in place. I went Pro se.

I have had a letter drafted to the judge in my case sitting  on the computer (never mailed) requesting him to explain his ruling. It has been 18 months since his temp. order was signed.

I timely filed an objection to the move, and my declaration supporting my objection. Service of process was also timely.

The other parties lawyer verbally motioned I believe it was for a summary judgment, based on the fact that I did not timely file a motion to 'Restrain the move', and that based on the info before the court, he believed the court would rule in favor of the move at trial. This judge ruled in his favor, granting a move to VA.

This particular judge is pretty hard on Pro se litigants as a rule, unless you have all your ducks in a row and follow procedure to the letter. If you do present your case well, and don't miss anything, he is fairly impartial.

In the past, I've seen this judge give advice/suggestions to lawyers and involved parties re their case. In my relocation of the child case however, he basically slammed the door in my face.



My questions:

1.  After all this time, can I still request "findings and conclusions" re the judges ruling?

2.  Could I have verbally motioned to 'restrain the move' in the court room at the time of the hearing?

3.  If  #2 is yes, did the judge have any obligation to inform me of my right to do so?

4.  If  #3 is yes, would that be abuse of discretion?


Thank you for your time and knowledge.

[socrateaser]

>My questions:
>
>1.  After all this time, can I still request "findings and
>conclusions" re the judges ruling?

The judge doesn't have to explain a temporary order -- only final judgment. So, yes, you can make the request, but after 18 months, it's not going to matter, because you have allowed the status quo to change, and the children are long gone. So, the judge's explanation will mean nothing to an appeals court, because it will be based on stale facts.

>2.  Could I have verbally motioned to 'restrain the move' in
>the court room at the time of the hearing?

Yes, but you would have needed to follow up in writing.

>
>3.  If  #2 is yes, did the judge have any obligation to inform
>me of my right to do so?

None at all -- in fact just the opposite. The judge is supposed to be a neutral decisionmaker, and telling you how to practice law would be aiding your prosecution against the other party. Sometimes judges do help a little, but it's only when the children's interests are directly at issue, i.e., the judge may ask questions about the move that neither party raised, in order to understand, but the judge can't show favoritism for either side -- just for the children's interests.

>
>4.  If  #3 is yes, would that be abuse of discretion?

Helping you would be the abuse of discretion. The only time that a judge is obliged to inform you of anything, is when you are in custody (arrest, jail). Then, the judge must inform you of your right to a trial, to not testify against yourself, to subpeona witnesses, to have legal representation, and to make certain that you understand the nature of the charges against you and the impact of a guilty or no contest plea.

Other than that, if the judge helps you, the judge is violating the cannons of judicial ethics, by showing bias in your favor.


>Thank you for your time and knowledge.
>
>
>

[Dez]

Greetings Soc,

Thank you for your reply.

Law is very complicated...and to think now that I could have made that motion verbally...is tearing me up inside. Even 18 months after the fact.

I think the motion to retrain the move was all I needed to stop it, and then I guess we would have had a full hearing on the matter.

My son is almost 11 yo. We have never had a final order on anything, only Temp. orders.

Questions:

1. When if ever, are 'Parenting Plans' made final?

2. Since all orders re this case have been made in WA state,(I still reside in WA state) and CP and son are in VA, could CP petition for a change of venue and get the case moved there?

3. If #2 is yes, what if any, would be the best basic argument to keep jurisdiction here?

Dez

[socrateaser]

>Questions:
>
>1. When if ever, are 'Parenting Plans' made final?

It's up to the parties of a case to move the action towards trial. You don't have a final order, because you never ask the court to set the matter for trial, and you never proposed any final parenting plan.

>2. Since all orders re this case have been made in WA state,(I
>still reside in WA state) and CP and son are in VA, could CP
>petition for a change of venue and get the case moved there?

There is no change of venue between states. However, your case is really stale, and I wouldn't be at all surprised if the court were to order that the status quo, whatever it is, at the moment, and then close the case.

And, in fact, if it's been more than 12 months without any action in your case, it's quite possible that the court may have automatically dismissed the entire action. Some states have statutory requirements for litigation that remains pending without resolutin for too long.

In Oregon, it's 12 months, same for federal court. In California, it's 5 years. I doun't know about Washington State.

This could mean that there are no orders at all right now, which depending upon what was temporarily ordered during your case, custody, support, etc., might all be gone. I doubt it, but it's possible.

I would be pretty funny if that were to happen, because, if you were married to the other parent at one time, you could just go pick the kid up and bring her back to WA, and there wouldn't be a damn thing that the other parent could do about it (unless there's some statute in VA making such action a crime.

But, I don't know enough about the details of your case, so don't depend on my comments here. I'm just musing.

>
>3. If #2 is yes, what if any, would be the best basic argument
>to keep jurisdiction here?

N/A