Courtroom Practices?

[Lorane]

What is the name of your state? Missouri

How do the courts, when you have a court date, get away with keeping one party out in the halls and allowing the other party to be in the courtroom?

It goes like this. The attorneys go up front and talk with the judge, which can be heard by the parties in the courtroom, and when they are finished or have come to an agreement among themselves, the attorney whose client if waiting in the hall, is told to go before the judge.

This type of practice should be illegal. Nothing should be said in a court room without all parties involved.

[Gracie3787]

I agree very much. But at least in that situation BOTH parties were represented by attorneys. This is what happened to my husband:

Hearing on motion filed pro-se by my husband, his ex was represented by CSE attorney.
Unbeknownst to my husband this attorney had filed a PETITION one week before, but my husband had not been served yet.

My husband and I sat in the hall waiting for his name to be called. We saw a man (the attorney) and a woman (represenative from CSE) called into the judges office. At the time we had no idea who they were.

Ten minutes later my husband was called into judges office. Without allowing my husband to say anything more than good morning your honor, the judge denied my husband's motion and then told him that he had to pay $50.00 per week toward arrears (in addition to the $54.60 wk CS). My husband first tried to get the judge to understand that there had been nothing filed asking for payment and that payment of arrears was NOT the issue to be heard. The judge told him to be quiet and even though the attorney, the judge and the ex all knew about the petition NO ONE said a word about a petition having been filed!
My husband then tried to explain to the judge that he was paying on-going support and that the extra $50.00 would leave him with a net weekly pay of only $120.00. The judge refused to listen.

We truly believe that during the ten minutes that the attorney was in judge's office without my husband that his ex was on the phone and the decisions were made totally without my husband (who was his own attorney) present.
And surprise- the judge retired (with a big pension) the very next day!

A whole lot of very shady and illeagal things are done by the people who definately know better- the judges and attorneys!

[Lorane]

I am sorry that you had to go through the unlawful practices of the court. Was this case in Missouri also? The judge took 80% of my husband's net pay. This is definitely unlawful, but when the judges have to answer to no one, are are voted in by attorneys what kind of law can we expect. The present system has been created to put money into the courts and the attorney's pockets and to take it from the families. It is also designed to destroy the "head of the family" figure. The checks and balances do not add up or balance.

If you are a man in the family court system, with an attorney or without an attorney, expect you life to be ruined. There is no laws protecting the men, and the women, (just read the boards) come running, I helpless and I need everything, he doesn't deserve anything. He doesn't need a life. He is the scum of the earth. With this attitude and the judgements that the judges are ordering, our country will fall. Just let this happen to one judge and maybe he will think twice about the family laws. Men deserve the same rights as women.

Just remember, no one leaves a happy marriage!

[firedaddy03]

Va.The same thing just happened to me,in temp custody that I won.
My stbx attorney asked that thare be no whitneses,and all my whitneses and family had to wait in the hall. Afterword everyone asked thats legal !!!
I will have even more support/whitneses for my final custody in march,I guess they will stand in the hall also.

P.S. at this point, living right and not having extra money for more of attorney's time is not working too well.

Good luck !!