can someone clarify?

I need help understanding...My husband has custody of one child in Arizona. Over the summer, we sent the child to California for visitation. The x-wife has refused to return him, he is 14. I was under the impression we could go to court here in Az. and she would be found to be in contempt, guilty of kidnapping, required to return the child and go to jail. Apparantly, I'm missing the boat somewhere, the contempt is "civil" and the kidnapping is "criminal"? So if we go to court to have the child returned, we still have to travel to California to pick up the child, and then file criminal charges with the state police there? If that is true, why do we have to go to court in the first place, if we just went and filed the criminal charges, wouldn't she go to jail and we would get our son back? Where am I not understanding this?

Is the custody court ordered ? If so, go to the local police and show them the order. Inform them that she refuses to return the child and has in fact, 'kidnapped' the child. If they refuse to get involved then ask to speak to the person in charge. They will try and tell you it is domestic and they can not get involved.. but, you have a court order and if she is refusing to return the child then that makes it a police matter.

If you get no joy at all, then you need to get an attorney and file for an emergency hearing to have another order in CA drawn up for the police to take the child.

Then, sue her for all the costs associated with your travel and legal fees. THEN file for a change in visitation in AZ courts and also for contempt of court orders.

Thank you for your response...I wish our attny was as candid and honest as you have been. We have done this all backwards. The hearing tomorrow, I found out, is an evidentiary deal or something to clarify custody. The custody orders originated in another state, and needed to be filed as a foreign judgement (or something to that effect) Anyway, I thought all along that we were taking care of the whole she-bang tomorrow, and now it seems that the best case scenario is a confirmation of custody. I guess I will find out soon enough. So, there is basically no way to get a child back, even if you have the legal paperwork, without physically travelling to the state where that child has ended up, and either hoping the police help or retaining a lawyer in that state? Meanwhile, you have to have the $ up front, and lose all that time from work, and then hope she hasn't left town by the time you get there! Jeez. Hey, what are the odds that the judge will tell her to put him on a plane home, and she complies! That would be a hoot. I'll let you know what happens. Thanks again.

Which state is the hearing ? because hearing can turn into anything and you can bring up the fact that she has kidnapped the child against current court orders.

Failing that, have an attorney in CA file the papers and then request an emergency hearing. Have the attorney request all legal fees or even sue her for the amount.

Do whatever you can to get the child back.. and then swamp her with charges and change the visitation.

The hearing is in Arizona in about, oh 8 hours or so. She is supposed to appear, assuming she has been served, and if she does it will probably be telephonically. We shall see. We will slam her for as much as possible, including termination of parental rights. I'm sure this is going to turn messier before it gets better. I guess we should be prepared for all the false accusations that are going to be coming our way. I'm starting to get really nervous, never been big on court rooms. She has always been above the law before, so today should prove interesting if nothing else. One more fear...how in the world do you go to her place with the police and all, and deal with the emotional trauma you will witness the child going thru? Hopefully, we won't need the Ca. lawyer, but depending on how today goes we will find some way to afford one if need be. We are requesting all court fees associated with today be awarded to her as one of the sanctions, but as she does not work, I doubt that we will ever see any.

There was a recent post from a father whos child was not returned. When the contempt hearing came up the judge basically would not listen to the reasons the mother gave. 'There is a court order in place, return the child now' was what the judge said.

I believe that today you should be able to get a judge to find her in contempt and order the childs immediate return. If she does not, it will be a lot easier to sort out in CA with this recent ruling.

Come back tonight and let us know how it went.

Thanx for the reassurance and hope! You've set my mind at ease at least a bit! Well, I'm off to work, then court, but I'll be back with the results.

Well, I am back and I am bummed. You were certainly right about these hearings turning into anything. It lasted about an hour, the X appeared telephonically, and the judge listened to her every word. I do not believe our attny was very well prepared to say the least. The judge even let a recorded telephone call from Ca. be entered...It had been edited out of context. I should mention that this is a special needs child, and the reason we got custody 6 years ago was because of state removal from this woman and her then husband for abuse. Long story short, with no specifics-there was no contempt????, the X is being given until the end of September to file a change of custody at which time we have another hearing???We are ordered to set up a psyciatrist appointment for the child and when we have the date, the X is required to send the child by plane back here one day prior. (And to think I put that part in my post as a hoot.)She (the judge) denied the X's request for temporary custody. I don't have a clue what happened in that courtroom today, and I was there. At least we won't need the Ca. lawyer! (yet) Wish we'd a had that other fathers judge!

Someone else correct me if I am wrong.. but CA is an 'all party' state.. so if that phone call she recorded was between you and her, and she did not inform you it was being recorded, then she has committed a serious crime. I am surprised the judge allowed it to be honest but I assume she was referencing AZ law. Personally I would get a copy of the court transcript and file charges in CA. Phone taping is a very serious offence.

I assume she has to file the change of custody into AZ court as they are keeping jurisdiction.

You attorney is crap.. There is no way the hearing should have gone the way it did. There is a clear contempt of court here and the fact the judge did not order her to return the child immediately is confusing.

I am curious, once you have the child back for the appt, did the judge say anything about them being returned to the mother ??

Just reading the stuff below.. and if you lose custody and it can be shown that the tape recording made a difference in court, then you could also seek to recover civil damages.


Cal. Penal Code § 631, 632 (Deering 1999): It is a crime in California to intercept or eavesdrop upon any confidential communication, including a telephone call or wire communication, without the consent of all parties.

It is also a crime to disclose information obtained from such an interception. A first offense is punishable by a fine of up to $2,500 and imprisonment for no more than one year. Subsequent offenses carry a maximum fine of $10,000 and jail sentence of up to one year.

Eavesdropping upon or recording a conversation, whether by telephone (including cordless or cellular telephone) or in person, that a person would reasonably expect to be confined to the parties present, carries the same penalty as intercepting telephone or wire communications. Conversations occurring at any public gathering that one should expect to be overheard, including any legislative, judicial or executive proceeding open to the public, are not covered by the law.

Anyone injured by a violation of the wiretapping laws can recover civil damages of $5,000 or three times actual damages, whichever is greater. Cal. Penal Code § 637.2(a) (Deering 1999).

Yes, Az. is keeping jurisdiction and she must file here. Yes our attorney is crap! The phone call was between the father and son, she did not inform that it was being recorded. I mentioned the above reference to our attny shortly before the hearing (saw it in another post) The attorney said something about it being admissable because of some sort of exception dealing with the best interest of the child,happens all the time. How do I get a transcript of the hearing, is it public information? The child was supposed to be returned on the 29th of July. On the 26th, the X informed us she decided not to send him home-no agreement between anyone, just her deciding that since she had taken him to a therapist and the therapist said he should not come back-On the 29th, he did not arrive. The phone call came on the 30th, first time he had been allowed to talk to the child. Basically, the child said he wanted to stay, the father saying ok he just wanted to hear it directly from him. The rest of the call was NOT submitted where the father is explaining that that may be HIS decision, but it is not the courts decision, etc. The judge apparantly felt that since the father told the child ok you can stay, the mother is not a mind reader and was I guess correct in assuming she did not have to send the child back...therefore no contempt. The mother had already made decision, the phone call was after she had put the father in a terrible position and then let him speak to the child.

Regardless of the law in AZ, you can still file charges against her in CA. To tape a phone conversation between parent and child for use against is scum tatics and you need to fight fire with fire.

Go to the clerk of the court and ask for a transcript. You might want to call a few attorneys in CA and get a free consultation and ask them how to proceed.. unless IAAL steps in and explains..