I have a procedural question concerning Contempt of Court on a Consent Order. I have written the Motions myself and I am acting pro se.
I have the Motion for Contempt ready to go. It offers a list of infractions (4), each one coupled to the corresponding condition as written in the Order. I didn’t elaborate on each thinking I would save the finer points for the trial. Or do I elaborate because of Discovery issues?
This gets confusing with the timing issue. I am sending my Motions to be filed in a Courthouse 4 hours away. I am filing them with a calendar request. I will have to be at the calendar call on a Tuesday before the trial week. Do I write a Motion for Show Cause that is a mini-version of the Motion for Contempt, file them both, send both to her within the allowable time frame? If I get a date for trial at the calendar call…how does a judge sign a Show Cause Order prior to the trial day, or does he sign it from the bench on trial day, with both of us there and my Motion for Contempt to be heard since she had previously received a Show Cause Motion.
Do I need to have a pre-prepared form complete with case number, etc for the judges’s convenience so that all he does is sign it. I ask all of this because in the old court district I had a Contempt case heard without a Show Cause Motion…this is a new venue and I want it done right.
Also are subpoenas filed at the time the Motions are filed and how can I supply a date to appear if I haven’t been to the calendar call yet? Or do I have the subpoenas ready at calendar, lacking only the trial date, fill that in and send them off with one week for the recipients to prepare? I also need to send a subpoena to the other side and I think that needs to be done sooner rather than later.
One more concern…I have a solid case for Modification based on case law, primarily Woncik v Woncik. The same elements I am using for the Contempt Motion are applicable for the Motion for Modification and Custody. If I use them for the Contempt motion, can I use them again on the same day for the Modification. In other words, can the same evidence used for the Contempt of Court trial be used again for the Motion for Modification? Also how much detail do I need in the Modification Motion as making the necessary case for the Filing of the Motion. She has multiple infractions, do I list them all as to include them for her Discovery. For instance, if she has interfered with my visitation 6 times over the past year, do I list all 6, or just 3 and save the other three for trial?
And last but not least. Based on her corrupting influence on my kids, I stand a good chance of winning my Modification. However, I am not employed and I live in a different town then my teenage girls. The judge will not likely grant me Custody due to my financial condition and the high school, social advantages they currently have. Not to mention their poisonous attitude towards me. I am willing to relocate to their town but that is still not set in stone. My purpose is to show the Court that she is psychologically unfit, get her into counseling along with my girls and to get my kids back on a program of visitation that is not being constantly undermined. The original Order is also fraught with ambiguity that a previous trial judge already admitted to and I need those issues addressed as well. What alternative rulings can I expect?