false accusations

[loadmaster]

Originally Posted by Dogmatique

And did the mediator provide you with confirmation of this?

That this clinic ONLY sees minor patients by either court or law enforcement referral? Did you ask about this?

(There is a reason for my questions)

It is called the Child Assessment Center.

At the time I was told about this, I was not really focusing on the specific name of the clinic. I was more or less in shock hearing that something like this happened to my daughter. It wasnt until I received the written mediator recomendations where she states the CAC and only referred to by the courts or law enforcement.

[quincy]

Although there is no defamation action you can pursue against your ex for the lies she tells in court, if your ex is falsely implying that you harmed your child (and that your girlfriend is a drug addict), this can be more serious.

Your ex can potentially face a contempt of court or perjury charge if she is deliberately making false or misleading statements while under oath. While judges expect a certain amount of stretching of the truth and even outright lying in divorce and custody cases, there is a limit to what they will tolerate.

You will want the court to be aware of the falsity of any statements made by your ex that impugns your character and reputation. Do not let these statements go unchallenged. If your ex has no evidence to support her statements (or if you have evidence to the contrary), it will be up to the judge to decide if any sanction should be imposed against your ex for her reputationally harmful lies.

In the end, any false and unsupported statements should not help your ex in the custody dispute, and could actually hurt her.

[loadmaster]

Originally Posted by quincy

Although there is no defamation action you can pursue against your ex for the lies she tells in court, if your ex is falsely implying that you harmed your child (and that your girlfriend is a drug addict), this can be more serious.

Your ex can potentially face a contempt of court or perjury charge if she is deliberately making false or misleading statements while under oath. While judges expect a certain amount of stretching of the truth and even outright lying in divorce and custody cases, there is a limit to what they will tolerate.

You will want the court to be aware of the falsity of any statements made by your ex that impugns your character and reputation. Do not let these statements go unchallenged. If your ex has no evidence to support her statements (or if you have evidence to the contrary), it will be up to the judge to decide if any sanction should be imposed against your ex for her reputationally harmful lies.

In the end, any false and unsupported statements should not help your ex in the custody dispute, and could actually hurt her.

Really? OK. So do I file paperwork asking for sanctions, or do I just bring it to the attention of the judge? I was under the impression if a person takes a child to a DR. and if the Dr. sees signs of abuse, by law the Dr. is required to report it. Is that true?

[Proserpina]

Originally Posted by loadmaster

Really? OK. So do I file paperwork asking for sanctions, or do I just bring it to the attention of the judge? I was under the impression if a person takes a child to a DR. and if the Dr. sees signs of abuse, by law the Dr. is required to report it. Is that true?

Yes - a physician is a legally mandated reporter.

[loadmaster]

Originally Posted by Dogmatique

Yes - a physician is a legally mandated reporter.

So if she states after taking my daughter to the Dr. the Dr. states that there is cause for concern for abuse, and the Dr doesnt report it, Isnt she opening herself up for a big problem? She should have to show some documentation that she went to the Dr. and then by all rights the court would check into the Dr. if nothing was reported? She has stated to the mediator who then wrote it in her statement that the DR. was concerned of signs of abuse. This would show she lied? correct?

[quincy]

Under California Family Code §3027.1, false allegations of child abuse or neglect that are made during a child custody proceeding can be subject to sanctions. The judge would decide whether to impose any or not, after you make a motion to request sanctions. A show cause hearing will be scheduled, to allow your ex the opportunity to show why sanctions should not be imposed.

If you do not file any motion, you can still challenge any untrue statements made by your ex, so the judge is aware that what she is saying is false and unsupported by evidence. You should not, however, make any statement that could be used against you. Point out the erroneous statements made by your ex to the court, but otherwise remain silent on the false allegations.

It is actually rare for a judge to find a party in a divorce or custody hearing in contempt of court. But if your judge feels that your ex is making his job difficult, trying to sort out the lies from the truth, and if he finds the lies she is telling especially heinous (as false allegations of child abuse are), he could impose a fine, or potentially jail her.

A doctor is a mandated reporter. He must report all cases of suspected child abuse. The suspected abuse is then investigated. If you were not contacted about an investigation, the investigator (if any) did not find your ex's allegations sufficiently believable to warrant an investigation.

But, yes, you are correct that if someone takes a child to a doctor and the doctor sees an injury that is consistent with abuse, he must make a report of the injury so the cause can be investigated.

[loadmaster]

Originally Posted by quincy

Under California Family Code §3027.1, false allegations of child abuse or neglect that are made during a child custody proceeding can be subject to sanctions. The judge would decide whether to impose any or not, after you make a motion to request sanctions. A show cause hearing will be scheduled, to allow your ex the opportunity to show why sanctions should not be imposed.

If you do not file any motion, you can still challenge any untrue statements made by your ex, so the judge is aware that what she is saying is false and unsupported by evidence. You should not, however, make any statement that could be used against you. Point out the erroneous statements made by your ex to the court, but otherwise remain silent on the false allegations.

It is actually rare for a judge to find a party in a divorce or custody hearing in contempt of court. But if your judge feels that your ex is making his job difficult, trying to sort out the lies from the truth, and if he finds the lies she is telling especially heinous (as false allegations of child abuse are), he could impose a fine, or potentially jail her.

A doctor is a mandated reporter. He must report all cases of suspected child abuse. The suspected abuse is then investigated. If you were not contacted about an investigation, the investigator (if any) did not find your ex's allegations sufficiently believable to warrant an investigation.

But, yes, you are correct that if someone takes a child to a doctor and the doctor sees an injury that is consistent with abuse, he must make a report of the injury so the cause can be investigated.

Thank you for your very helpful advice. I will file a motion requesting sanctions. I am assuming I can get the proper forms needed by going to the court facilitators office?

[quincy]

You could check out [url=http://www.courtinfo.ca.gov/cgi-bin/forms.cgi]California Courts: Forms[/url]. It is possible this site has what you are looking for under the Family Law section. Or you can inquire at the court.

You should only consider a motion for request of sanctions if your ex is defaming you to the extent that it could make a difference in the judge's ruling on custody. Allegations of child abuse could have an impact, in that the judge is not going to want to take chances with such claims and could err on the side of caution, to your detriment. On the other hand, I am not sure the accusations of drug use by your girlfriend would be worth a motion (although the falsity of these accusations should be pointed out to the judge at the hearing).

If you have an attorney, I recommend you discuss this issue with him. Or, if you don't have an attorney, it would probably be wise for you to spend at least an hour's time with a family law attorney in your area, just to go over what your ex has been saying in court and to go over the motion to request sanctions, prior to filing it. There are always both pros and cons to every court action, and you should be aware of them before moving ahead.

Good luck.