“I lost my lawyer’s number”Practical and Low-Cost Interventions

to Assist the Populations Often Present in Family Court Cases

 BB Liu, Esq.Lauren McSwain, Esq. Direct representation in over 1,000 NYC Family Court cases

The Children’s Law CenterNew York City

Litigants arriving late or forgetting court date

Not knowing lawyer’s name or number Not bringing pen Unrealistic expectations – e.g. same day

custody

Family court observations

Better education Better health care Better social safety net Better economy and more jobs

The “real” solutions

Do not require legislative action Require no or minimal funds Non-controversial (not political and

ideological)

Seeking “small fixes”

“Pick battles big enough to matter, small enough to win.”

National

Hidden “rules” of middle class culture Fewer economic and familial resources Distrust of authority More focus on the present, less on planning

for the future Different priorities from Court’s priorities Shifting job schedule

Culture of generational poverty

No jurisdiction over divorces No filing fees - “The People’s Court” High volume of eligibility for assigned

counsel Lower education Lower income Racial minority Non English-speaking

Brooklyn Family Court

What is your Family Court like?

Vast differences across the country

Troy (staying organized)

Lisa (understanding court process)

Manuel (behavior out of court)

Three case studies

Troy’s manager at the store made him work late again and Troy was so tired that he almost forgot about the court date today. Luckily, he remembered and rushed his way to the courthouse, still wearing his Nikes and his “Trust me, I’m stoned” tshirt. As Troy waited on the long security line in the courthouse lobby, he remembered that someone saying he was Troy’s lawyer had left a voicemail but Troy hadn’t had the time to call him back. Troy picked up the phone to explain to his lawyer that he’d be late, but then he remembered that his lawyer’s voicemail had been lost when Troy ran out of minutes last week and his phone had been turned off. Troy had since gotten a new cell phone, but hadn’t yet started to give the number out to people.

Finally through security, Troy is looking in his pockets for the slip of paper they gave him last time, which told him the room number where the case would be heard, but Troy is unable to find it. Later, when he makes his way to the right room, the lady with the clipboard outside tells him that his case was dismissed and he’d have to file again.  Troy is immensely frustrated. He had almost lost his job by needing to take off days to come to court the last two times. All he wants to do is see his 4 year old daughter Jolyn, but Jolyn’s mother is impossible to talk to. He is concerned that he’ll lose his job if he needs to keep on returning to court.

Case study 1: Troy

Failing to arrive or arriving late to court appearances and appointments

Losing names and contact information for significant players in the court case

Failing to inform court and attorneys/case workers of changes in phone numbers or residences during the pendency of the court case

Dressing inappropriately for court appearances

Behavior during court appearances and staying organized

Computer generated text messages to a party’s cell phone of dates/times/locations of court appearances and court-related appointments

Computer generated text messages to a party’s cell phone that contain the names and numbers of court-related professionals and agencies

Texts to someone else in the family ( Robo texts or robo calls)

Suggested solutions

Things were okay for the first few years. Although Lisa and Brad had broken up, they still got along well enough. Brad would come see baby Andrew most weekends, and he’d drop by to give Lisa extra cash or food when she needed it. But, it was always Lisa who did the heavy lifting. She was the one that was there 24/7 with their son, the one who took him to the doctors, the one who did all the cooking and cleaning for the baby.  Then, Brad got that new girlfriend, who had bad manners and liked to smoke and caused Brad to change. Lisa had to protect Andrew and couldn’t let her baby be exposed to stuff like that. Lisa is utterly shocked when the guy hands it to her – what is this “Petition for Visitation and Joint Legal Custody”?? Lisa’s cousin consoles Lisa, telling Lisa that she would end up getting custody because Andrew is hers.  Two weeks later, when Lisa appears in court, the Judge (that for some reason calls herself a “Referee”) tells Lisa that she won’t be able to get custody today and that the case will be adjourned. Lisa is confused and tries to clarify: “Your honor, I do everything. I do all the work, everything! Why does he even have the right to ask for custody? What do you mean I have to file for custody? He doesn’t even pay for the baby anymore!” Now the Judge is telling Lisa that she can have a lawyer, but not today and that she has to bring some papers to court, and that the entire thing would take many months, if not years. This entire thing makes no sense at all. Why should custody be taken away from Lisa just because Brad got together with that no-good girl?

Case study 2: Lisa

Not understanding court process Not understanding court procedures Not understanding roles of players in case Using casual and non-sequential patterns of

discourse

Realistic expectations and understanding of court process

In the court house waiting areas, playing short videos that explain the basics of the court process and provide an overview of the different key players and institutions

Literature handed out at door

Suggested solutions

Manuel still remembered the last time they went to court, two years ago. After many court appearances, the Judge had finally told them that he’d give them an order where Manuel was supposed to see his son Peter on Sundays and Mondays, Manuel’s days off from work. But when the order came in the mail days later, it was pages long and had a bunch of other stuff about “Relocation” and “Disparaging,” written in really difficult English.

In any event, Manuel’s hours at the cleaning service also changed shortly after that court case ended, and he and Angelina had agreed to make a new schedule. The problem was that she never wanted to talk about letting him see his son and she only let him see Peter when it was convenient for her, instead of convenient for him. She is also always sending him texts that make him really upset, where she claims that he is late and that his home is too crowded. Angelina knows that he can’t help when he gets off from work and that he has to live with his brother because his brother is the only person with a house. He only curses at her in his text messages when she is being particularly unfair.

The day that Manuel goes to court, the guy hands him some form with the word “Petition for Modification” on the top. He goes his best to explain on the form that Angelina never lets him see his son and that she doesn’t give him any holidays. Later, after Manuel has gone home, he wonders if he should have put anything on the paper about Peter failing school or about how Angelina goes out partying and leaves Peter alone at night. But the guy at the court never asked Manuel about this stuff, so it probably wasn’t necessary to write it.

Case study 3: Manuel

Misunderstanding or being unable to decode court orders

Communicating in an inappropriate manner with other parties about case-related issues during the pendency of the case

Failing to differentiate between important versus more minute issues

Failing to take minimal steps to work out problem prior to coming to court

Prior to filing a court case (recidivism prevention)

In the intake waiting area, providing to a party blank timelines and calendars, so that the party waiting to create a new petition can organize his thoughts about past events.

“Translation” of common orders Blank journals or diaries Give out folder to encourage collection of

documents Place pens and notepads in front of litigant

Suggested solutions

Not one solution – a “patchwork quilt”

BB Liu, Esq.718-522-3333 x. 160bbliu@clcny.org Lauren McSwain, Esq.718-522-3333 x. 151lmcswain@clcny.org

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