Posted by Marge on 9/23/03

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There's no question that my son, Jim, was in contempt of
the child support order. As in many divorces, the money to
keep up with everything is just not there. Shortly before a
hearing his attorney withdrew from the case because he also
is owed money. Legal Aid has Jim on a waiting list but that
takes time. Jim sent a letter to the court asking for a
postponement until Legal Aid could represent him. Denied.
Because there was a good chance that he would go to jail, I
drove him to court so his car wouldn't be sitting there and
because we are friends and we support each other in good
times and bad.
To get to my question, when facing jail time, isn't it
required that the judge allow the person time to get any
attorney? Instead, the judge said that often people lie
about contacting Legal Aid as a delay tactic, an attorney
can't help when a person is in the wrong anyway, and
proceeded to humiliate Jim for one hour. "Why did your mom
bring you to court; I always wonder about men your age who
bring their mother's with them; Where do you live, with
your mom?; You don't seem to be doing well in the
restaurant business, maybe you should try Bigfoot(A local
convenience store); Did you eat last week before paying
child support?"(Judge has no clue that Jim has been
diabetic for 25 years and if he doesn't eat, he dies and no
one gets child support.)This kind of thing went on for one
hour. Disciplinary action is one thing; public humilation
is another. Isn't a judge supposed to treat everyone with
respect?(Canon 3,Judicial Ethics). Does any of this sound
right?
Jim is not a deadbeat. He lost his job at the same time he
seperated from his wife and that was not a coincidence.
Several $8.00 an hour jobs didn't do more than keep the
lights on and food on the table, things the judge said were
not important. Jim lost his restaurant management job a few
weeks ago because of downsizing and is doing whatever he
can to make money while sending out resumes. This is
actually imaterial but I wanted to make the point that Jim
does work. He's intelligent and articulate. Except for that
hour in court.
I'm looking for answers and advice. Thanks. Marge

Re: Proper procedure?, 9/25/03, by Marge.

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