I just got a call from Raven Harris at CPS. She was returning my call about viewing the CPS file on me. Comm. Joseph advised me in court that I had a right to view the file. He used that as an excuse to postpone the hearing. I had told the Comm. Joseph that I had the CPS narrative report on me, and that there probably isn't much else in the file anyway. He said no, and that the report is probably only 10% of the file.
Ms. Harris now says that CPS cannot let me see the file now, because the Commissioner has requested the file. The file is now with the family court, and CPS does not have it. She also didn't see why I was so interested in seeing the file, since I had gotten a copy of the narrative report. I explained to her that I didn't expect to find anything interesting in the file either, but I was just trying to comply with the judge.
I asked her if the family court realizes that they are sitting on the only copy of the file. She assured me that the family court knows what it is doing, but there is no predicting what it will do with the file.
She said that she would have someone call me next week when and if the family court returns the file. I told her that I have a court hearing on Jan. 4, and that I was hoping to view it before then. At this point, she admitted that it was all on a computer, and that she could just print out another copy if necessary. I still would not get to keep a copy, but I could look at it.
Now I am wondering what Comm. Joseph is doing with the file. In a real court, the judge is not supposed to see any evidence unless the parties to the case first get copies. Usually, judges do not solicit any evidence directly; one party must try to get the evidence admitted, and the other party is allowed to object before the judge will even look at it.
Now I've got the problem that the judge or his clerk has probably read false allegations about me, and I don't even know what the allegations are. There could be raw bogus anonymous allegations in the file that no one has bothered to check. I really don't see any excuse for the court to bypass the regular rules of evidence. There are reasons for those rules that avoid prejudicing the judge with one side of the story, or with accusations that don't amount to any admissible evidence.
1 comment:
Just curious, who said the commssioner "solicited" the CPS file? In court there are proceures for third parties to proffer evidence.
It seems the Commissioner has provided you the opportunity to review and challenge the report. Prejudice doesn't occur simply because information is offered by another source. If the commissioner were completly convinced by the report he would not be concerned with whether or not you review the CPS file.
CPS procedures provide for them to forward reports to family court, if there is a pending action there. If there is one parent available for safe custody there is no need for CPS to maintain an action in juvenile court. CPS is mandated for the protection of children. Does it make sense to you that they would investigate allegations of neglect or abuse, generate a report and then simply file it without taking any action?
It seems that you have a somewhat myopic view and characterize everything in order to consistantly solicit pity and portray yourself as a martyr. I have read your blog and others like it where accused fathers (and not infrequently, mothers) simply go through meaningless motions, all while complaining in an endless screed wherein they only reveal what bolsters there own victimhood. You portray the famly court system as a gaggle of evil boobs yet you do not seem to be taking any action or searching for any information that will assist you in actualizing even your own definition of the welfare of your children.
What is the point of your Blog? You have the opportunity to use this forum to accurately protray what has happened to you and your children and craft a strategy using the collective wisdom of myriads of people with countless points of view and an unimaginable variety experiences pertinate to your problem, and all you do with it is whine.
You are not even applying what appears to be your reasonably educated and developed mind to combat your problem. For instance let me point out that the family court system has not the slightest interest in whether or not you get a dog. There are millions of households without pets. They are interested in how you respond to the issue. You don't respond with any meaningful answer like: you don't think the chidren are mature enough to care for a dog, or that your custody situation would mean that the dog would have to spend extended periods without the children and vice versa, or even with something like, you just haven't gotten a dog yet. In short you don't defend your decision not to get a dog. Instead you simply declare yourself right, the issue as trivial, and the court system as rediculous. This was the same defence you mounted for the Frog incident. How do you see that helping you.
Before you dismiss me as just another dupe of the family court system, let me tell you that my brother and I are the now adult victims of family court. For years I wondered how the courts could prevent me and my brother from seeing and living with our father, instead of our well meaning but intellectually limited mother and her endless parade of hapless and hopeful would be stepdads. When we were no longer minors, my brother and I sought out and re-united with our father, only to learn that he never wanted to assert himself in court. He wanted rid of his son and daughter. He wanted rid of the responsibility of parenting children. He never wanted to learn to be a better parent. His only desire was to send their mother as small a support check as possible while constantly complaining that her evil lawyer and the misguided courts took us away from him. All through the proceedings he constantly conplained that any real action on his part was futile in the face of a court system constructed to deprive Dads of thier children. Sound familiar.
Parenting isn't easy. I know, believe me. It is however, a learned skill and you may find, if you try, that there are plenty of people and resorces to help you learn the necessary skills. You just might find that sharing the lives of your daughters will more than make up for all the hard work and heartache.
One more thing, when I first began to run across your blog a year or two ago, the "comments" were more frequent and thoughtfull. I myself offered a few comments. There was to some degree, genuine debate. Now I notice a distict drop-off in frequency and quality. I also notice that the only comments you disply on your blog are those of synchophantic whiners like yourself. I have posted slightly critical comments in the past and when following up to see what discussions insued, I noticed you do not diplay critical comments. If you do not have the courage to foster spirited real debate and to post this and other critical comments, prehaps you will give your blog another more accrate namelike :ThePosturingReluctantDad.com
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