Pendente Lite Hearing Order

[notnew]

I asked and they don't know why it is in assignment. Assignment doles out cases to judges I assume. In this county - you get to see a different judge for each hearing. I've been doing this for about 6 years now and that is the way it has always gone. It seems early to have the case in assignment for a hearing in May though.

[socrateaser]

>I asked and they don't know why it is in assignment.
>Assignment doles out cases to judges I assume. In this county
>- you get to see a different judge for each hearing. I've been
>doing this for about 6 years now and that is the way it has
>always gone. It seems early to have the case in assignment for
>a hearing in May though.

Maybe it's in assignment, because the judge who was originally to make the decision doesn't have time, so someone else is looking at the case.

My first reaction, is that this sort of method is ridiculous, because it means that the person who renders the decision didn't hear the case, and frankly, that arguably violates due process, because you should be entitled to a ruling from someone who actually heard the witnesses -- not someone who's merely reading a transcript of the court record.

Try to track down the person to whom this was actually assigned, and send them a note.

[notnew]

What upset me the most is that the judge at this last hearing stated at the start of the hearing that he hadn't had time to read the filing. He also went on to say that if he transferred custody that day, then he'd also have to address visitation and child support issues that could be taken care of at the Pre-trial anyway. I took his statements to say that he really didn't want to be bothered with my case.

What I did do this morning was fax the letter and the order to the chambers for the judge we saw at the first hearing hoping that someone who counts may put their eyes on it while in transit.

The judge who conducted the hearing doesn't have a chambers phone and fax # listed on the court web site (all the others do so it seems strange) He's been with the court now for about 4 years so I don't understand totally.

I agree that it seems that something is happening that is denying me my rights in court, but how to put a finger on it without pissing the court off. I need them to hear me out on this one. I just don't understand that the facts of my filing have already been proven, but they just drag their feet in doing what is best for the child. I have never had custody of my child. Her mother has had her for the past 6 yrs and this is what she has done, will I ever get a chance to demonstrate that I CAN be a good father?

In addition, at the second hearing, we met with a custody evaluator who attempted to mediate. The CE told mother repeatedly that the child needs to go with me, that mother can't handle things, asking mother if she wanted to do this the hard way or the easy way, etc. I really felt that I would have gotten temp custody at the pendente lite that followed. It seems incredible that so many in the court were pushing for the order to go to me and then this one judge changed the whole thing. Just makes me sick.

[socrateaser]

Don't let your emotions get the better of you. I cannot resolve this issue, and no amount of complaining in this forum will improve your situation.

Example:Radio talk show hosts love to take extreme positions in order to stimulate the listeners' testosterone and make the phone ring, which improves ratings.

This sort of thing does not work in the courthouse, because judges have something that talk show hosts do not have -- power to resolve problems, rather than merely complain about them. Judges just don't care about complaints. They care about solutions, because solutions take a case file from the inbox to the outbox.

Don't complain and don't get upset about your circumstance. Pretend it's just a business deal -- not your kid's life and you will be able to accomplish a lot more, and a lot faster than you would otherwise.

Find the person who's in charge of your case and request a resolution in your child's best interests, not because you hate the system or think it's unfair, but because your child needs the judge's help to resolve the problem.

That gets the court's attention. Nothing else will.

[notnew]

I understand completely what you are saying. Was just giving a little more information on things. My letter to the judge was very simple and short. No complaints - I know how the system works, been Pro-se for 5 years and been ruled in my favor for the last three trips to the court. Thanks for your help.  You are a blessing.