Judicial Disconduct

[tablerjessica]

I am in the same situation except it is the judge that is discriminating against me. He has made several slanderous claims and is refused to allow me to have legal documents. I have contacted attorneys that are willing to take my case, buti cannot afford their fees what do i do?

 

[Betty3]

You should have furnished the name of your state.

We don't have a whole lot of information here.

You might contact your local legal aid society or local law school if there is one to see if you can get a referral to a no cost/low cost attorney.

 

[tablerjessica]

Thank you for your reply. I live in cambridge ohio. I have contacted my local legal aid during the custody hearings, however, they told me that my case was to large for them to take on. They did not have enough attorneys to take on a case of this magnitude. They also stated that the judge should not have accepted the motion for custody from the father because it was not properly filed. They gave me a few names of attorneys that would be able to assist me with this case, but i'm unable to afford their fees.

 

[tablerjessica]

The father has been absentee all of my childs life, and was over a year behind in child support. The judge passed that debt onto me. I was not permitted to have an attorney during these hearings, but he provided the father with a court appointed attorney. The father is unemployed, and living with his girlfriend who is also unemployed. She also has three children of her own that were removed from her care by the state due to abuse. I had a order of protection against the father due to the extreme violence towards my child and myself. The judge would not allow me to present that into evidence as he said he "did not care about that". Several county agencies and child advocates wrote letters to the judge on my behalf ( they were not permitted to testify) and the judge would not accept them into evidence. He stated that " they did not matter". The father is a convicted felon and his ex wife testified that it was a violent crime. She also testified that the reason for their divorce was for domestic violence. The judge put in his finding of facts that people testified on behalf of the father that were not there. Nor did any of the so called witnesses submit anything to the court. I have not seen my son in over a month and when i went to file a contempt of court motion the court stated that i could not do so because i didnt have an attorney. The court documents state that me and the father were representing ourselves per se, however he did have counsel throughout the proceedings. It was not until the last hearing did he acctually state that father has an attorney.

 

[Proserpina]

A couple of things here.

First, letters generally won't be admitted into evidence - they cannot be cross-examined.

Second, did you actually follow the correct procedures to have your witnesses testify?

Third, much of what you're saying isn't making any sense.

Let's take this one and we'll go from there:

You said that the judge "passed on" the debt to you - the debt was what exactly?

 

[disagreeable]

With all respect, I agree with Pro. It appears all the issues you had were related to you not having the ability to represent yourself. There is no allowance for feeling sorry in a custody case.