Evidence | The Better Chancery Practice Blog

You Can’t Break a Dog of Sucking Eggs

September 10, 2015 § 9 Comments

In April, 1940, in Leflore County, C.G. Hull shot and killed a dog belonging to W.W. Scruggs. By Hull’s account, the errant canine had been misbehaving on his land for several weeks, howling at night, chasing and harassing Hull’s fowl, growling at children, and — worst of all — sucking the eggs laid by Hull’s chickens and turkeys. That combination of malfeasance earned Fido the Hull death sentence.

Scruggs saw his animal differently. To Scruggs, the dog was a harmless, loveable family pet who wouldn’t hurt a flea. Even if the poor creature wandered over to Hull’s property every now and then, he was not guilty of any acts such that he would need killin’. Scruggs sued Hull in Circuit Court, and, based on a peremptory instruction, the jury awarded a verdict in his favor against Hull, who appealed.

In the case of Hull v. Scruggs, 191 Miss. 66, 2 So.2d 543 (1941), the MSSC reversed. Justice Griffith wrote the following for the court:

It is a fact of common knowledge that when a dog has once acquired the habit of egg-sucking there is no available way by which he may be broken of it, and that there is no calculable limit to his appetite in the indulgence of the habitual propensity. And generally he has a sufficient degree of intelligence that he will commit the offense, and return to it upon every clear opportunity, in such a stealthy way that he can seldom be caught in the act itself.

When a dog of that character has for three weeks taken up his abode upon the premises of one not his owner, or else from time to time during the course of such a period and from day to day as well as often during the night, has returned to and entered upon the premises of one not his owner, and has destroyed and continued to destroy all the eggs of the fowls kept by the owner of the premises, what shall the victimized owner of the premises do? Nobody will contend that he shall be obliged to forego the privilege to own and keep fowls and to obtain and have the eggs which they lay; nor will it be contended that he is obliged to build extra high fences, so high as to keep out the trespassing dog, even if fences could be so built. The premises and its privileges belong to the owner thereof, not to the dog.

He must then, as the most that could be required of him, take one or the other, and when necessary all, of the three following courses: (1) He must use reasonable efforts to drive the dog away and in such appropriate manner as will probably cause him to stay away; or (2) he must endeavor to catch the dog and confine him to be dealt with in a manner which we do not enter upon because not here before us; or (3) he must make reasonable efforts to ascertain and notify the owner of the dog, so that the latter may have opportunity to take the necessary precautions by which to stop the depredations. It is undisputed in this record that the owner of the premises resorted in a reasonably diligent manner and for a sufficient length of time to each and all of the three foregoing courses of action, but his reasonable efforts in that pursuit resulted, every one of them, in failure.

What else was there reasonably left but to kill the animal? There was nothing else; and we reject the contention, which seems to be the main ground taken by appellee, that admitting all that has been said, the dog could not lawfully be killed except while in the actual commission of the offense. This is a doctrine which applies in many if not most cases, but is not available under facts such as presented by this record. After such a period of habitual depredation as shown in this case, and having taken the alternative steps aforementioned, the owner of the premises is not required to wait and watch with a gun until he can catch the predatory dog in the very act. Such a dog would be far more watchful than would the watcher himself, and the depredation would not occur again until the watcher had given up his post and had gone about some other task, but it would then recur, and how soon would be a mere matter of opportunity.

There is actually a West Key Number, Evidence 157k13, “Phenomena of Animal and Vegetable Life,” that incorporates the heart of this case: “It is common knowledge that when a dog has acquired habit of sucking eggs there is no available way by which he may be broken of it, and no calculable limit to his appetite in that regard.”

You can add to the already-imposing list of things of which Mississippi judges may take judicial notice the fact that “you can’t break a dog of sucking eggs.”

The concept behind this holding is enshrined in Mississippi folk wisdom, and is familiar to anyone who grew up in a small town or on a farm. It’s only fitting that it should be imbedded in our jurisprudence as well. I am sure many of you will find imaginative ways to incorporate this case into some of your chancery court arguments.

The Unanswered Divorce Complaint

July 21, 2015 § 14 Comments

You have filed a divorce complaint for your client and had the defendant personally served per MRCP 4. Intelligence from your client leads you to believe that the defendant will not participate, so you put the file away and let the thirty days tick down.

On the twenty-ninth day, you receive a handwritten letter from the defendant neither admitting nor denying the allegations of the complaint. The defendant filed a copy of the letter in the case with the Chancery Clerk. You set the case for trial and, exercising prudence, give notice to the defendant of the day and time. You are still convinced that there will be no opposition since no bona fide answer or counterclaim has been filed, and, as your client indicated, the defendant is not likely to participate. You think it best to forego the trouble and expense of discovery.

On the day appointed for trial, you appear with your client and a single corroborating witness. The defendant, however, is there waiting for you, accompanied by competent counsel and a dozen or so supportive witnesses. The defendant is insisting on going forward with a trial right then and there. What to do?

Can the defendant present evidence contra the grounds for divorce, even though he did not file an answer? Yes, according Rawson v. Buta, 609 So.2d 426, 430-431 (Miss. 1992). The lack of an answer does not confess the allegations of the complaint per MRA 93-5-7. Because the allegations of the complaint are not taken as confessed, they always require adequate proof to sustain them, and the defendant may offer proof to rebut the plaintiff’s proof. The defendant may not, however, go outside the scope of the complaint, and may not put on proof supporting any affirmative relief.
You should ask for a continuance — on the record — and explain to the judge in detail why you need one and what were the presumptions on which you based your lack of discovery and other preparations for a trial. Bring to the attention of the court your lack of notice that the defendant would be represented, and what effect that had on your readiness for trial.
Don’t assume if you get your continuance that the 90 days for discovery per UCCR 1.10 has been extended. Ask for additional time and get a court order to that effect.
Was it ethical for that other lawyer to sandbag you like he did? I don’t see a specific ethical provision that was expressly violated, but it just seems to violate the spirit of RPC 3.4, as well as the preamble to the RPC. That kind of conduct does not pass the smell test, and would more than likely tip the scales in your favor for a continuance. In my experience, it’s the kind of conduct that causes hard feelings among attorneys in small communities and should be avoided. Defendant’s lawyer should have notified you when he was retained, or at least he should have filed an entry of appearance in the case and served it on you.
[Added after publication] As a last resort, you could just move to dismiss your client’s complaint per MRCP 41(a). That would stop this unpleasantness, but your client would have to start over, and there is an off-chance that she could be assessed some expenses of the defendant for showing up.

Admitting a Document into Evidence, Step by Step

July 20, 2015 § 6 Comments

It can be daunting for young lawyers to tiptoe through the evidentiary minefield of the courtroom, but perhaps the most intimidating of all is to get a document into evidence, a process fraught with objections and roadblocks.

If you can understand the process, step by step, you can plan it out to navigate the expected hurdles. For purposes of this post, the term “document” used here includes all objects identified in MRE 1001 (1) and (2), as well as all tangible items that can be offered into evidence.

Here is the procedure, step by step:

Hand the document to the witness, and, at the same time, hand a copy to counsel opposite. The attorney on the other side has the right to examine anything you hand to a witness. It’s also required that you furnish him or her a copy per Uniform Chancery Court Rule (UCCR) 3.5. Some judges prefer that you hand the document first to the court reporter and have it marked for identification before handing it to the witness, but I have found that to be a minority. Sometimes counsel opposite may object to admission of the document before you have even offered it. The simple response is that the objection is premature because you have not yet offered the document into evidence.
Ask the witness to identify it. The witness must know what the document is and be able to identify it. MRE 602. The answer is merely an description of what the document is (e.g., “This is one of my bank statements,” or “this is an invoice I received”). At this stage, it is not proper for the witness to testify as to the content or meaning of the document; the witness can only testify to what the document is. lf the witness does not know at all what it is, then attempt to refresh or restore recollection, via MRE 612, 613, 801(d), or 803(5), If your efforts are unsuccessful to have the witness identify the document, proceed to Step 10.
Establish how the document is relevant. Ask whether this document relates to the mortgage debt, or the parties’ income and taxes, or hospital bills, or whatever is at issue in the case (e.g., “This is my March bank statement for the joint account that Kevin wrote the $10,000 check on”). MRE 401 and 402. If relevance can not be established, proceed to Step 10.
Establish authenticity. This can be convoluted, but the rules are pretty clear on how to do it. MRE 901 and 902. You can avoid difficulty with this part by sending Requests for Admission (MRCP 36) asking the other side to admit the authenticity and admissibility of the document(s); if they deny, then file a motion asking the court to get them to admit it, and for your resulting costs. Most competent, ethical attorneys will recognize the futility of making you drag someone like a telephone company or bank employee to court only to establish authenticity when it is clear that the document is what it appears to be. If you can not establish authenticity, proceed to Step 10.
Establish any hearsay exemption or exception. Probably the most-objected-to area. If you know in advance that there will be hearsay objection(s), prepare in advance to meet them with specific exceptions to cite and, if possible, case citations. MRE 803 and 804 offer a multitude of ways around the rule. If you can not find a way around hearsay, go to Step 10.
Satisfy the “Best Evidence Rule.” An explanation of the Best Evidence Rule can be found here, and some suggestions for dealing with it can be found here. In a nutshell, the rule provides that, if you are trying to prove the content of a document, you must produce the original, unless you can establish that the original is lost, not obtainable, or is in the possession of your opponent, or relates only to a collateral issue. MRE 1002, 1003, 1004, 1005, 1006, and 1007. Again, you can avoid some unpleasantness with this via Requests for Admission (MRCP 36). If you trip and fall here, proceed to Step 10.
Offer the document into evidence. “I offer this document into evidence, your honor,” is all you need to say. Be prepared to meet any objection. If the court overrules the objection(s) and orders that it be admitted, proceed to Step 8. If the court rules that it is inadmissible, proceed to Step 10.
Hand the document to the court reporter and stop talking. Hand the document to the court reporter and be quiet while the court reporter marks it as an exhibit. You do not need to instruct the reporter on what exhibit number to give it, or how to mark it; that is the judge’s prerogative. The court reporter will either hand the exhibit to the judge or give it back to you when he or she is finished, and you may then proceed to Step 9.
Continue with questioning the witness, if desired. If you need more testimony from the witness about the document or its contents, you can go on from there. The witness will need to have a copy of the exhibit from which to testify. But remember that if you take the original from the judge, the judge will not know what you are talking about. You had better either leave the original with the judge and provide the witness with a copy, or have a copy to provide the court to follow along with your examination, per UCCR 3.05. Remember, too, to always refer to the exhibit’s number when questioning a witness about it, or your record will be hopelessly unintelligible.
If the court rules your document inadmissible. If the court sustains a hearsay objection, for example, first offer another exception as an alternative. If that fails, offer another. If you feel the judge is wrong based on a specific case, offer that case and ask the judge to reconsider based on that authority. If your efforts are unsuccessful, ask that the document be marked “for identification purposes only,” per MRCP 103(a)(2). That request will never be denied if you made a bone fide effort to get the document into evidence. You may still be able to get the document into evidence through the testimony of another, later witness, but if you cannot, the document is in the record for appeal purposes; if you do not have it marked for identification purposes only, it will not be in the record for appeal. You may try later to file a post-trial motion to supplement the record if you neglected to get the document in at the trial, but you will not likely get any relief if the trial judge is not satisfied that there was sufficient testimony of the witness about it, or the judge did not have an opportunity to examine it and rule on it.

Be prepared and be successful. A selection of other helpful posts on topic:

A Few Housekeeping Hints

July 16, 2015 § 1 Comment

Mostly for young lawyers, but some of you old geezers may need a reminder:

The first question to ask any witness by the party calling that witness is to identify himself or herself. “Would you please state your name for the record?” And then follow with any other helpful identifying information. “Where do you live?” “You are the aunt of the defendant, are you not?” (hint: leading questions are okay in preliminary matters). It seems lately that I’ve had a rash of lawyers in hearings neglecting this important tidbit of evidence. It’s not enough to say, “We call Ethel Mertz as our next witness.” You have to ask Ethel to identify herself, and it helps for her to be asked if she is Lucy Ricardo’s neighbor and landlady.
You need to sign the pleadings you file. It’s required by MRCP 11(a). Failing to do it can get you sanctioned, per MRCP 11(b), and repeated failure, particularly after having it brought to your attention, can be considered intentional.
Remember that a non-collusion affidavit per MCA 93-5-7 is required in all divorce cases except complaints seeking a divorce on the sole ground of irreconcilable differences.
It’s always within the discretion of the chancellor whether to require personal appearance of one or both of the parties in an irreconcilable differences (ID) divorce. And the chancellor decides what is sufficient in the record to support a finding that the parties have made adequate and sufficient provision for the support of minor children and for division of the marital estate. You need to contact the court administrator and find out what the judge requires before you go traipsing off three counties distant to present your ID divorce.

Lay Opinions

July 15, 2015 § Leave a comment

Back in the day, before the MRE, lay opinion testimony was objectionable on the basis that opinions are not facts, and the fact-finder is able to draw its own inferences and conclusions

Nowadays, however, MRE 701 specifically allows lay opinion testimony if three elements are present:

The testimony is rationally based on the perception of the witness; and
It would aid the fact-finder in understanding the witness’s testimony or the determination of a fact in issue; and
It is not based on scientific, technical, or other specialized knowledge within the scope of MRE 702.

In family law, we customarily hear the grandparent asked something like, “Who do you think is the better parent?” followed swiftly by a dreary objection, which should be overruled if the grandparent had the opportunity to observe. The weight of that kind of testimony is most often light as a mote of dust, but it is nonetheless admissible.

But what about the fact that the grandparent is being asked to comment on the ultimate issue? That was verboten in the common law. MRE 704 abrogated that rule, and testimony otherwise admissible is not objectionable now merely because it embraces an ultimate issue to be decided by the trier of fact.

Of course, the chancellor may always exclude lay opinion testimony on the ground that it would not be helpful, but I think it’s better to let it in and give it the weight that it deserves.

Lay opinion testimony is a subject we’ve touched on here in a previous post. As a practice matter, your best approach is to limit lay opinion testimony and focus your case on developing facts. Facts, after all, are what you need in the record to provide a substantial basis for the chancellor’s ruling. Some lay opinion testimony, however, can be mighty powerful. For instance, you are representing the father in a custody case, and the parents of the mother testify that, in their opinion, based on what they observed, the children would be better off with the father. That can be pretty persuasive.

Whose Burden of Proof is it, Anyway?

July 7, 2015 § 6 Comments

There must be a gazillion cases that stand for the proposition that the proponent of a position in a case bears the burden of proving every element of the position by competent evidence. It’s not the opponent’s job to do that. And it certainly is not the judge’s, because for the judge to step in and make sure that one party or the other is meeting his or her burden would — or should — subject that judge to sanctions by the Judicial Performance Commission. When the proponent fails to meet the burden of proof, dismissal is appropriate. That’s what R41(b) is for.

The above principle has me scratching my head over a recent COA decision.

Sharon Harris filed a complaint for a TRO and preliminary injunction against the National Oak Park High School Alumni Association, Inc. (NOPHSAA), seeking to prevent the organization from removing her as president because it had not followed its own bylaws. After reviewing legal memoranda submitted by the parties, the chancellor dismissed her complaint, relying on MCA 79-11-277(2), which authorizes a board of directors to remove any officer at any time with or without cause.

Sharon appealed, and asked the MSSC to supplement the record with the national organization’s bylaws and Roberts Rules of Order, which the court granted after the chancellor confirmed that those documents had been before him at the trial level, even though they were not made a part of the record. Nowhere in the record, apparently, were the organization’s Mississippi bylaws.

The COA, in Harris v. National Oak Park High School Alumni Association, Inc., decided June 30, 2015, reversed and remanded, saying this:

¶14. The record on appeal fails to reflect what NOPHSAA’s Mississippi bylaws require regarding a quorum, voting-eligibility requirements, the Board’s meeting procedures, and the validity of telephonic meetings and telephonic voting. Accordingly, we must remand this case for the chancellor to provide findings as to whether the Board followed applicable bylaw requirements for a quorum, meetings, and voting when the Board voted to dismiss Harris in a meeting where some members attended and voted by telephone. [Footnote omitted]

Now, I may be missing something, but if the record fails to reflect what the Mississippi bylaws require, and the case turns on what the Mississippi bylaws require, is the COA saying that the judge is required to make sure that they get into evidence? That’s a novel approach as far as Mississippi jurisprudence is concerned. Indeed, it’s a novel approach as far as American jurisprudence is concerned. Anyone who has ever tried a case, or sat as a trial judge, can tell you that, in the USA, it’s up to the parties, not the judge, to make a prima facie case. That’s what the term “adversarial system” means.

The COA’s decision cites Speights v. Speights, 126 So.3d 76, 82 (Miss. App. 2013), to support the above-quoted language. Speights reversed a chancellor’s award of attorney’s fees because there was no evidence in the record of its reasonability. Using that logic, the COA should have affirmed in this case, because, if the chancellor had granted Sharon her relief, his ruling would have been unsupported by any evidence at all.

The COA noted at ¶ 12 that the chancellor “provided no factual findings for appellate review.” What factual findings are required when the proponent fails to meet his or her burden of proof? The COA’s own decision states repeatedly that the key evidence is absent from the record. So even without the judge’s findings of fact the COA was able to see clearly the failure of the plaintiff to make a prima facie case, as did the astute chancellor.

In my opinion, the chancellor did exactly what a trial judge is supposed to do: dismiss this case for failure to meet the burden of proof. Does the COA think it is the chancellor’s job to investigate and make the record complete? The COA reversed a chancellor for that very thing last year.

Oh, and just for lagniappe, Sharon now has the recipe on remand for a do-over that will get her a W at trial and on the next appeal.

I hope either the COA or the MSSC fixes this lest it become precedent.

The Expectation of Privacy

May 4, 2015 § 4 Comments

The MSSC last Thursday published a new MRCP 5.1 that imposes some important privacy protections to all filings in chancery court — both electronic and paper. Here is the new rule, which went into effect April 30, 2015:

RULE 5.1. PRIVACY PROTECTION FOR FILINGS MADE WITH THE COURT

(a) Redacted Filings. Unless the court orders otherwise, in an electronic or paper filing with the court that contains an individual’s social-security number, taxpayer-identification number, or birth date, the name of an individual known to be a minor, or a financial-account number, a party or nonparty making the filing may include only:

(1) the last four digits of the social-security number and taxpayer-identification number;

(2) the year of the individual’s birth;

(3) the minor’s initials; and

(4) the last four digits of the financial-account number.

(b) Exemptions from the Redaction Requirement. The redaction requirement does not apply to the following:

(1) a financial-account number that identifies the property allegedly subject to forfeiture in a forfeiture proceeding;

(2) the record of an administrative or agency proceeding; and

(3) the record of a court or tribunal, if that record was not subject to the redaction requirement when originally filed.

(c) Filings Made Under Seal. The court may order that a filing be made under seal without redaction. The court may later unseal the filing or order the person who made the filing to file a redacted version for the public record.

(d) Protective Orders. For good cause, the court may by order in a case:

(1) require redaction of additional information; or

(2) limit or prohibit a nonparty’s remote electronic access to a document filed with the court.

(e) Option for Additional Unredacted Filing Under Seal. A person making a redacted filing may also file an unredacted copy under seal. The court must retain the unredacted copy as part of the record.

(f) Option for Filing a Reference List. A filing that contains redacted information may be filed together with a reference list that identifies each item of redacted information and specifies an appropriate identifier that uniquely corresponds to each item listed. The list must be filed under seal and may be amended as of right. Any reference in the case to a listed identifier will be construed to refer to the corresponding item of information.

(g) Waiver of Protection of Identifiers. A person waives the protection of Rule 5.1(a) as to the person’s own information by filing it without redaction and not under seal.

These same restrictions, in slightly different form, are in Section 9 of the Electronic Courts Administrative Procedures. This amendment to the MRCP extends the existing electronic filing privacy protections to paper, or conventional, filings.

From a practice standpoint:

Tax returns need to be scrutinized carefully. It’s not enough to redact the taxpayers’ SSN’s at the top of the returns. The children’s names and SSN’s are also on the return. Schedule C may include a taxpayer ID number.
On 8.05’s, use the initials of the children and their ages rather than their full names and birth dates. As for the parties, again, use their ages and not birthdates. For financial accounts, use only the last four digits. Do not include taxpayer ID numbers anywhere.
If you slip up and include any of the proscribed information, you will be deemed to have waived the protection of the rule for your client. If that results in any damage due to identity theft or other misuse, you could be called to account.

The obvious purpose of this amendment is to prevent identity thieves from trolling for SSN’s and birthdates. Keeping the children’s names out protects them from predators.

This rule is in effect right now. School your staff in its requirements and begin observing them yourself. Discovery, particularly voluminous discovery, is typically chock full of this kind of private information. You need to be diligent to protect the interest of your clients.

In Evidence

March 30, 2015 § 2 Comments

Have you ever stopped to ask yourself what the phrase “in evidence” means? We toss it around all the time. “Is that in evidence?” “Your honor, I object because that document is not in evidence.”

The phrase simply means that the judge or the jury can look at the document or hear the testimony, and can consider it in reaching a decision.

The meaning is simple, but the ramifications can be profound.

If something is not in evidence, it is not part of the record. If it is not part of the record, the judge can not consider it.
If you offered something into evidence and were denied, you must make the proffered evidence part of the record. If it was oral testimony, you must make an offer of proof (MRE 103(a)(2)). You can do this by requesting to make an “offer of proof,” or a “proffer.” The judge will then allow you to state on the record what the testimony would have been, or will allow you to do it in question-and-answer form (MRE 103(b)). If the ruling was one denying entry of a document in evidence, then you must ask that the document be marked for identification only, which request will always be granted. Remember that neither a proffer nor a document marked solely for identification may be considered by the judge in ruling on the merits; however, they are part of the record on appeal.
Pleadings are not evidence. Just because you pled something does not mean it is proven.
Never fail to put on proof based on your assumption that the judge will connect the dots and draw the conclusion favorable to your client. The judge might not. Or the judge might, but there will be inadequate evidence in the record to support the judge’s conclusions, which is the formula for reversal on appeal.

Make sure that every element or factor that you need to prove is supported by proof in evidence. A graphic illustrating this vital concept is here.

A Higher Duty

February 4, 2015 § 5 Comments

Many lawyers get into the mindset that winning is the most important thing, and it shows up in their take-no-prisoners, no-holds-barred, Rambo-ish approach to litigation. Discovery is adversarial and contested, sanctions are threatened at the slightest slight, and aggressive motion practice is used like a jousting match of yore.

Those lawyers point to the duty in our professional rules to represent the client zealously, within the bounds of the law. The emphasis, though, is on zeal.

Consider, however, this scenario:

You are representing a young mother in a custody contest. Her former husband is trying to get custody of their 3-year-old son, who has had bruises on his legs, and who has nightmares and is a bedwetter. The father knows something is wrong, and as discovery proceeds it is apparent that he does not have enough solid information to make a case of change in circumstances and adverse effect. The court has not appointed a GAL because the allegations to this point do not warrant it. You, however, learn as the case goes on that your client had a live-in boyfriend who did, indeed, whip the child. The boyfriend is a convicted felon with a violent history, and your client is afraid of him. The other side knows nothing about this, and has not even asked anything in discovery that your client had to lie about to conceal the information. When you confront her with the new-found information, she admits it, but assures you that she made the boyfriend leave during the litigation, although he has made it clear that he will return when the case is over.

What do you do? On the one hand, if you voluntarily disclose the information without a specific discovery request for it, you will have violated your client’s confidentiality. And the Rambo in you has to acknowledge that it will surely send the case plummeting from its heights as a sure winner to the depths of loserdom. On the other hand, it certainly does not seem like it’s in the best interest of the child to be in the mother’s home with that violent boyfriend, and you know your chancellor well enough to know that if those facts came to light, she would not hesitate to protect the child.

The highest and most serious duty of a chancellor is to do what is in the best interest of a child. The best interest of the child is always the “polestar consideration” in every custody and child-affecting decision in chancery court. The rules of evidence do not trump that responsibility, nor do considerations of winning and losing, attorney-client privilege, or anything else.

As an officer of the court, you may not do anything that thwarts the court in its duty. You may not stifle the truth in such matters, or suppress evidence, or do anything that will result in compromising the safety of a child.

So how can you act and still maintain the confidentiality of your client? If I were the attorney, I would file a motion for appointment of a GAL. No details need to be pled. You could recite that the father’s suspicions should be investigated for the best interest of the child, and leave it at that. A competent GAL will ferret out the truth.

A chancellor told me recently of a case he had in which he overruled the father’s petition to modify custody. It was unquestionably a case in which the father was unfit, and the mother’s situation was better for the child. It was not a close case. Seven months later, however, the mother’s live-in, convicted-felon-boyfriend shot and killed the four-year-old son because he wet the bed. No one hid the information that the mother had someone like that living with her from the judge; it was a situation that developed after the case was concluded. Had it been part of the facts existing at the time of the modification, the judge could have taken other measures to protect the child, but only if someone made it known.

In my opinion, in cases involving the best interest of a child, you have a higher duty.

The Iceberg of Proof

January 20, 2015 § 1 Comment

Where Am I?