• FreeAdvice has a new Terms of Service and Privacy Policy, effective May 25, 2018.
    By continuing to use this site, you are consenting to our Terms of Service and use of cookies.

Ohio: Can I write a letter to the judge about the case?

Accident - Bankruptcy - Criminal Law / DUI - Business - Consumer - Employment - Family - Immigration - Real Estate - Tax - Traffic - Wills   Please click a topic or scroll down for more.

ZiggityDiggity

Junior Member
What is the name of your state? Ohio
My daughter goes to her custody case march 16th. The father will not help with any support and he has a lawyer. My daughter can't afford a lawyer, has no friends or family in Ohio, I'm her mother and live in Florida, my health is bad and can't travel or have extra money to help her with a lawyer. Legal aid tells her there's a six month waiting list.

I have seen the father smoke pot several times. And have overheard him say disgusting things refering to his daughters like "if their old enough to bleed their old enough to breed". He's also into porn and the oldest daughter has gone to the bathroom while with him and his new wife for weekend visits and saw them watching hardcore porn movies and once caught them having sex. They sleep in the living room. The father won't keep a steady job. So he has got a lawyer and wants full custody and my daughter to pay him child support! That way he can stay at home with the children and his new wife can work and support the family.

Now my question is, can I write a letter to the judge telling her what I know and have seen and heard? Or will it jeapordize the case. Should I mail it to my daughter and tell her not to open it, give it to the judge or mail dirrectly to the judge? And what's going to happen since she can't afford a lawyer?
 
Last edited:


seniorjudge

Senior Member
ZiggityDiggity said:
What is the name of your state? Ohio Florida
My daughter goes to her custody case march 16th. The father will not help with any support and he has a lawyer. My daughter can't afford a lawyer, has no friends or family in Ohio, I'm her mother and live in Floida, my health is bad and can't travel or have extra money to help her with a lawyer. Legal aid tells her there's a six month waiting list.
The judge will not read any letters from parties.
 

weenor

Senior Member
mom6stepmom2 said:
Well, I know all states are different. But my husband petitioned the court for change of custody in Georgia. After the court date was determined he wrote a letter to the judges office describing some of the things the kids were telling him about mom's house. The letter asked for a closed door meeting between the 2 children, both attorneys and the judge. The meeting was granted and the children were seen in chambers at the beginning of the hearing.

The letter may have prompted an inquiry from the judge, but it is not legal evidence and cannot be relied upon by the judge in making any decisions. OP is talking about trying to be a witness through the letter without appearing in court. The letter is hearsay (an out of court statement submitted to establish the truth of the matter asserted). If OP wants to help and the judge thinks her testimony is relevant to the issues to be decided, her testimony must be taken. The judge may allow deposition testimony without an actual court appearance because of the distance...but that is something her daughter's lawyer will have to request.
 

LdiJ

Senior Member
mom6stepmom2 said:
I do realize the letter my husband wrote is not evidence. I gave it as an example. Maybe OP's daughter could do the same thing with her own children.
I think that your husband's letter was taken as a "petition" rather than a letter. Since grandma is not a party to the case, any letter she would write couldn't be interpreted as a petition, therefore the judge would never even see the letter. It wouldn't get past the court clerks.
 

Find the Right Lawyer for Your Legal Issue!

Fast, Free, and Confidential
data-ad-format="auto">
Top