Negotiating the Two Hour Rule in the 16th Judicial Circuit: Part I

Imagine this…you’ve been married fifteen years.  You have two children, one age 9 and another age 13.  One or both see more than one doctor.  Each have two teachers.  There is a history of family abuse by your husband.  Your husband has multiple substance abuse issues.  You are now separated and cannot agree on what the custody and visitation schedule must be.  You are headed to court.  You have volumes of school records and want to call the doctors to talk about the special needs of the children.  You want to call the teachers to testify about all you’ve done.  You want to get into evidence your husband’s substance abuse records.  You appear in court after having filed your custody and visitation petitions and the judge is going to set the case for a trial date.  Your husband has hired an attorney.  A guardian ad litem has been appointed for your children.

There are a ton of witnesses and a bunch of documents you want to get into evidence and you know your husband is going to fight you tooth and nail.How long do you think the court is going to give you to have this hearing? 

a. one week?

b. three days?

c. half a day?

d. two hours?

Correct answer: d.

Two hours!!!!!  That’s right.  In the juvenile and domestic relations district courts for the 16th Judicial Circuit, custody and visitation hearings are limited to two hours.  And that isn’t two hours to present just your case.  That is two hours for both sides and the guardian ad litem to present their cases.  This means you have one hour to make your opening argument, put on all your witnesses, get all your documents in, do all your cross examination, and make your closing arguments. Imagine how difficult that would be in a case as complicated as that described above.  In the coming days and weeks, I will explain how it can be done and how one can do it and win their custody and visitation cases in the Juvenile and Domestic Relations District Court.