Two Days in Court Because of a Missing Form

I went to court yesterday - Tuesday - for the supervised visitation petition that I filed against Paul, my ex-husband. Ty insisted that he wanted to go with me to speak to the judge so I allowed him to go. He'd never been in a courtroom before so I schooled him on proper behavior before we got there: no talking in the courtroom, when you go before the judge only speak when you're spoken too, politely, clearly and not like you have marbles in your mouth. He said he understood so we were good to go.

As we waited for the judge to arrive we watched people come in and go out, some were attorneys others were people who were their to have their cases heard. I explained to Ty how the system would work once the judge arrived and began. The attorneys' cases would be heard first so they could get out of the courtroom and on to other things they had to do for the day. Then the pro se cases would be heard. We were one of the latter.

The judge arrived, we all rose and sat, then she began by immediately calling the first case. Attorney after attorney went with their client before the judge. Ty wondered why nobody was having to sit in the big witness chair that was at the end of the bench. I told him that family court in real life isn't what he sees on TV. The attorney and the client stand directly in front of the judge on the outside of her bench and say what needs to be said. The judge makes a ruling, the case is signed off, and the next one called.

We watched, at least, a dozen couples get divorced yesterday. All were amicable with the exception of one which had domestic violence charges attached against the husband. The majority of the divorces had only the plaintiff there, generally the wife, with her attorney. The judge went over the basics: names, address, duration of marriage, assets acquired, etc. Ask a few more questions, everyone agrees and - Woo Hoo - congratulations, you're divorced. It was just as easy with the couples that arrived together. Too bad mine couldn't have been that easy.

Ty and I sat there watching, waiting our turn to see the court clerk who would go over my paperwork with me before I went before the judge. About two hours into the session the judge called me up. I told her I hadn't seen the clerk yet. She told me that was because there were a couple of forms that hadn't been completed. She showed me which ones and I explained that I didn't complete them because I wasn't requesting any changes on those portions; I was just requesting sole custody and supervised visitation for my ex, and I gave her a few reasons why.

She had no problem with that but did say that I hadn't filled out the judgment portion, the part she has to sign off on. Shit!! I don't even remember seeing that section. She gave me the option of running home to print out the pages, fill them out and return, or I could leave and return Thursday morning. I chose Thursday since it would be easier. So I came home, printed the pages, completed them, and returned to the courthouse to submit them in the Records Office. The lady there told me they'd be ready for Thursday.

Believe that? One fucking section of the packet that I wasn't told to complete. Had I been notified beforehand the entire issue could have been settled yesterday. Instead, now I have to get up in the morning, get dressed in my court clothes - YUCK! - and go back to sit in the courtroom for another two hours. Maybe I'll get lucky and the judge will call me up first thing just to be done with me. Fingers crossed. If not, I'll make sure I have something to do while I wait so I don't have to watch another dozen couples get divorced. At least I'll get my case heard, right? Right. That's all that matters. I'll let you know how it goes.

Until next time... peace to all.