Chapter 6: Liar's Club...Meet the Judiciary

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Part I
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Certainly any Attorney reading this would complain my writings concerning the Judicial System, especially Family Law, are bogus, bitter and without merit. I say bunk! Of course they are protecting their professional turf, rationalizing, and justifying their own existence. The laws in many states are bias, out of date and in most cases not properly enforced.

Based on my experience in and out of court, attorneys have left me with such a distaste, my opinion may seem one-sided, prejudice and only contentious. Lawyers, Judges, and everyone associated in the legal system know the game is played based on Capitalism. Fair enough, I'm a Capitalist but I work on the premise of win-win. Law is adversarial, especially in divorce and children easily become pawns of uncaring, and unrelenting adults.

Law is adversaries despite mediation avenues are set up but these are extremely costly and I have never had them brought to my attention. The experience I had is Lawyers are lazy and are only motivated by the size of their retainer and one's future ability to keep the cash flowing. Lawyers are not expedient, not efficient; they are slow and wasteful time, therefore, your money.

My case presents another twist of fate because my ex-wife was dating, and then married her attorney. No attorney on my payroll was willing to fight this in a petition or in court; in fact, I was told they would not go after this highly unethical issue. As one attorney I hired stated after I asked him about filing a petition or disciplinary action, "I don't do that." So much for policing your own profession.

Anything in my case that would have brought up an ethics problem for the attorney/husband was set-aside at my peril. Immediately after the Thanksgiving weekend "kidnapping" I was still on board as "Pro Se." If the first hearing after that, December 5th, I turned the attorney/husband into a witness in the case. Now he was forever linked to this cause as attorney, husband, stepfather (legally) and witness. Quite a full plate of deceit!

During this ordeal I have retained five (5) different attorneys. The first one did a fairly good job for a while but lied to me in another personal/business matter, which cost me dearly. I dumped him in favor of an attorney referral from a friend having his own fun with Indiana Injustice. This attorney was rude and as obnoxious as they come. I put up with him because this was his nature and he was efficient and knowledgeable. I'm not sure exactly where the wheels came off but on the day of the "impromptu" hearing the attorney/husband et al told the magistrate he was informed over two months prior my "attorney" was no longer that. News to me. Another ethics violation but let's not stop counting now.

The Guardian Ad Litem was attempting to keep me informed but the attorney/husband got wind of this and protested to the magistrate and fellow attorney. Suddenly I was out of the loop. I sought more legal counsel and hired an attorney with a cutesy logo of a man, woman and two children holding hands and walking. This fellow resisted doing anything that may cause the husband/attorney any difficulty. He took my retainer and blew it chasing the court file around town, which was taken from the clerk’s office by the magistrate and was lost in a pile of other documents in the magistrate’s offsite legal office. Another ethics violation. My new attorney copied the whole case file, six years worth, billing me accordingly at his rates instead of a secretaries or clerks rate. He ate up my whole retainer.

This lawyer wasn't finished squandering my money or time. He wanted to meet in his office and asked payroll records and me to bring him all my financial documents as well. Keeping in mind this was another 150-mile trip, one-way and taking time off, I was out in lost billable wages. Do the math! When I arrived to his office I spent 2.5 hours waiting on him to get off the phone. Then he decided all the paperwork I provided wasn't necessary so he didn't want it. Nothing was accomplished so back in the car for the trip home.

Months went by before we finally had our hearing. Mr. attorney/husband filed a motion to find a new judge because the magistrate did not properly attend to orders in the required time, therefore, he qualified for dismissal. The state Supreme Court provides for a new judge but this takes time. My attorney never sought to file for an emergency hearing, which would have been a fair and reasonable request. Removing the magistrate was the right thing to do; he should have been sanctioned for abuse of discretion. The odd thing is my attorney didn't file for the change; the attorney/husband did simply to delay matters. It's a tactic of delay not of justice. My attorney could have moved things along with a request for an emergency hearing but these people don't see a father/son relationship as important. They only see time, which is money, as important.

I will discuss the hearing of hearings in another chapter; let's move on to the final lawyer I will ever retain concerning family law. Simply put this fellow was also excellent at allowing my retainer to evaporate. Attorney's justify this by filing the initial paperwork of making their appearance, some phone calls to the opposing counsel, filing for a hearing and then silence. Heavy, deafening silence! When you telephone the law office it's becomes difficult to actually speak to the person who so readily took your money and your case. Now either boredom sets in, laziness has taken it's toll or maybe they realize the opposing counsel is married to the other client! A matter of an ethics violation but remembering club members are to be protected and this falls far above the ethics to work in your client's best interest. Suddenly your own lawyer is not anxious to bring your case to court. Keyword: Silence! No answers to questions, simply silence. When we did get to court, more silence. Not by opposing counsel, he was very talkative, my attorney sat there without briefcase, without pen, without legal pad. Without any preparation except to allow me to wither on the vine.
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