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Subpoenas In A "Closed" Case ??

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State of Maryland - In a custody case that has been labeled as "Status: Closed", when the non-custodial party intends to file a motion for change of custody thereby re-opening the case, but feels they need to be in possession of documents that will support their claims as to Material Change and Best Interest Standard before a judge will grant the motion, hear arguments, or even begin scheduling and would prefer to be armed with these supporting documents before the case is re-opened, can they have subpoenas issued for those documents while the case is still in "closed" status?

The documents I am referring to are things such as a report from a casino detailing the opposing party's number of hours playing, which will take 30 days from the time they RECEIVE the subpoena (not when it's issued) and the last time I subpoenaed the same docs from the same casino, I had to go through the Custodian of Documents, then the Legal Department and the whole process took about 60 days, which I fear is too long.

In other words, I don't want to file the motion without already having supporting docs in hand for fear that I may end up in front of a judge, unable to support my claims, if the case scheduling moves faster than the subpoenas/documents being sent to me do.
 


LdiJ

Senior Member
State of Maryland - In a custody case that has been labeled as "Status: Closed", when the non-custodial party intends to file a motion for change of custody thereby re-opening the case, but feels they need to be in possession of documents that will support their claims as to Material Change and Best Interest Standard before a judge will grant the motion, hear arguments, or even begin scheduling and would prefer to be armed with these supporting documents before the case is re-opened, can they have subpoenas issued for those documents while the case is still in "closed" status?

The documents I am referring to are things such as a report from a casino detailing the opposing party's number of hours playing, which will take 30 days from the time they RECEIVE the subpoena (not when it's issued) and the last time I subpoenaed the same docs from the same casino, I had to go through the Custodian of Documents, then the Legal Department and the whole process took about 60 days, which I fear is too long.

In other words, I don't want to file the motion without already having supporting docs in hand for fear that I may end up in front of a judge, unable to support my claims, if the case scheduling moves faster than the subpoenas/documents being sent to me do.
Why do you feel like that kind of information from a casino would be useful in a custody case?
 
Thanks for your interest in my question and for responding so quickly, guys. So, to answer your questions respectively,

1. This information is important because the opposing party has a severe gambling problem, which adversely affects the minor child in a number of negative ways. Gambling away the rent money and spending more hours at the casino than at home with the child are all things that should be considered by a judge as they relate to the Best Interests of The Child Standard.

and

2. This is not a new issue - anything BUT. Is has been brought up in court before, only to be denied on record by the opposing party. Their statement to the judge was that they had quit gambling altogether. I had no documentation to back up my claim. The judge believed the opposing party. Through information and investigation, I learned and confirmed that the opposing party has, in fact, INCREASED the number of hours spent gambling as of the current date, but WAS spending in excess of 50 hours per week at the casino at the time of their statement of denial of any gambling activity to the judge at the last hearing.
 
FYI: OP posted before and deleted the thread.
That was a post asking if it is possible to take civil action against a person you're in custody litigation with... completely irrelevant to this question. But out of curiosity, am I not supposed to do that? Obviously, I'm in a custody battle and have concerns that if the opposing party should see my questions (farfetched, but who knows?) it may affect my ability to properly strategize.

THAT BEING SAID, if deleting a question after I've garnered the information I was looking for is not proper etiquette or against the forum rules, I just need someone to tell me that and I won't do it again.
 

Just Blue

Senior Member
That was a post asking if it is possible to take civil action against a person you're in custody litigation with... completely irrelevant to this question. But out of curiosity, am I not supposed to do that? Obviously, I'm in a custody battle and have concerns that if the opposing party should see my questions (farfetched, but who knows?) it may affect my ability to properly strategize.

THAT BEING SAID, if deleting a question after I've garnered the information I was looking for is not proper etiquette or against the forum rules, I just need someone to tell me that and I won't do it again.
No. Don't delete the efforts of the volunteers. The advice provided is not just for you, but for others who may have a similar situation as well.

You should not post anything that makes you identifiable to anyone.
 

stealth2

Under the Radar Member
2. This is not a new issue - anything BUT. Is has been brought up in court before, only to be denied on record by the opposing party. Their statement to the judge was that they had quit gambling altogether. I had no documentation to back up my claim. The judge believed the opposing party. Through information and investigation, I learned and confirmed that the opposing party has, in fact, INCREASED the number of hours spent gambling as of the current date, but WAS spending in excess of 50 hours per week at the casino at the time of their statement of denial of any gambling activity to the judge at the last hearing.
Then it may not be allowed to be heard again. I would discuss with my (an) attorney.

And yes, we prefer posts not be deleted.
 

Ohiogal

Queen Bee
You are blocked by res judicata by rearguing things at a new hearing once the case has been closed. It was your failure to have the records to prove your case the last time around.
 

Taxing Matters

Overtaxed Member
In other words, I don't want to file the motion without already having supporting docs in hand for fear that I may end up in front of a judge, unable to support my claims, if the case scheduling moves faster than the subpoenas/documents being sent to me do.
You can't issue subpoenas without first having a case open in court in which those subpoenas would be relevant. So you'd need to file for the change in custody first, then do your discovery and issue subpoenas. If you need more time before the hearing to do it, you can always try asking for a continuance of the hearing.
 
You can't issue subpoenas without first having a case open in court in which those subpoenas would be relevant. So you'd need to file for the change in custody first, then do your discovery and issue subpoenas. If you need more time before the hearing to do it, you can always try asking for a continuance of the hearing.
Thank you. That's really helpful... I appreciate your time. (y):)
 

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