Temp Emergency Custody

[daddyinpdx]

Dear Socrates

   My daughter was recently taken out of the home by DHS for reported Child Abuse. I was notified by DHS out of state of the incident. I immediately flew down to see about my daughter. When I arrived, I was told by DHS that my child was placed with the moms friend (nearby) and that a saftety plan was in place.

The mother agreed that she applied more than necessary force to the child causing my daughters arm to bleed from possible belt buckle blows.

My daughter was then taken to counseling which they suggested that mother recieve psy counseling.

I filled for emergency custody and was granted. The child and I returned to my state of residence. I then after filled for sole cutody and the mother objected. She desires for us both to share joint custody with her maintaining physical custody after she finishes her anger management classes.

My question is does she have leverage to obtain physical custody in a few months after DHS "founded" child abuse?

Mother is presently on "supervised visitation" as per DHS.

DHS has since withdrawn their case immediately after my recieving temporary emergency custody.

I have to return for a hearing in Domestic Relations Court about the moms objecting to sole custody. What are some things I can do to maintain custody of my child and protect her from harm mom can cause to child?

[socrateaser]

>My question is does she have leverage to obtain physical
>custody in a few months after DHS "founded" child abuse?

In Multnomah or Lane County, maybe, leaning towards doubtful. Anywhere else, no (my opinion).

>I have to return for a hearing in Domestic Relations Court
>about the moms objecting to sole custody. What are some things
>I can do to maintain custody of my child and protect her from
>harm mom can cause to child?

Stall the hearing for as long as possible so as to establish a new status quo where you're located as strongly as possible.

Hire a court appointed evaluator in your area that will testify to how well adjusted and happy the child is in the new environment. This would be expensive, but the testimony of the evaluator would be worth it, if you were to depose him/her in your locale and then have that testimony available at the hearing. When I say court appointed, I mean an evaluator that would ordinarily be appointed by a court in the county where you live now. That will give some weight to the evaluator's testimony, without you're having to hire someone court appointed in the county where the case is actually being heard and then fly him/her to your local to do the eval.

The court will not change the status quo if it knows that things are great. It's the "Don't fix it if it ain't broken," legal doctrine.

[daddyinpdx]

Thanks Soc,

Your advice is really solid. You must be an attorney. My Attorney suggested the same strategy after filling the sole custody petition.

Attorney says that mom has no legs to stand on due to the letter from DHS and the judge and DHS suggesting that the child not return to the home until the mom gets help.

We also have a second letter from the shrink that DHS took my kid to and it also sugests that the mom gets further psyc counseling.

Not to mention a letter from the child to the judge which is attached tot he petition. The letter is also nototrized as well.

Pictures were taken of the wounds (skin removed)

So Multco is very easy on abuse?

Attorney also suggested that I appear in Domec Rel Court to straigthen out the mess. Attorney has been right thus far, but I just wanted to get a 2nd opinion from the team. I've sought advice from the board 2 years ago which led me to obtain physical custody.

You tell it like it is and that's what I need.

[socrateaser]

>So Multco is very easy on abuse?

No. But, statistically, a more urban area will have more "intellectual" thinkers, and if some of them are judges (and some of them are), and you have drawn one at random, then there is a greater probability that the judge will attempt to "craft an equitable solution," rather than to just say, "Lady, you had your chance, now it's dad's turn -- next case."

And, I'm not saying that intellectual thinking is bad. I'm only saying that the job of the courts isn't really to craft solutions -- the job is to apply law to facts in evidence on the record, and then render a fair decision.

Trouble is that in family law (aka dom rel), judges are charged with the duty to use the "child's best interests" as the tiebreaker when parent's rights are equally balanced.

And, since parents' rights are almost always equally balanced in family law, all that remains is the child's best interests doctrine, and that doctrine is completely subject to the opinion of the judge who happens to be rendering the decision, except where an appellate ruling has defined what the child's best interest is in a particular circumstance.

An intellectual thinker is simply more prone to "create" a novel solution, than is a judge who just wants to take the case file off the inbox stack and move it to the outbox stack.

This is the long way to saying that the system sucks, and it sucks worse where judges use their authority like a crystal ball to divine the future of a child's life, or what is best for that child.

The truth is that neither the attorneys, evaluators or judges have a clue what's best. If anyone did know such things, he/she would also know the closing price of the DJIA tomorrow, and if he/she knew that, then he/she wouldn't need to be a judge, because in short order he/she would be Emperor of Earth.

Have a bitchen weekend!

[daddyinpdx]

Your words flow like the fingers of Liberachi.

Thanks for the heads up. I see that this is a real 50/50 situation.

Like Vanbulo said, "let the chips fall where they may."

I'm not going to go into it with a "they must grant me custody attitude." I will keep an open mind and do the very best thing I can do as a father.

It's in the Lords hands and that's it.