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  1. #1
    Join Date
    Jun 2009
    Posts
    20

    Default Called Cops and Nothing Happened

    In Arizona.

    I have a court order that specifies custody from Friday to Sunday. I called the police on ex WIFE because she would not let me see the children over the weekend. The police officer said there is nothing he can do because it's a civil issue. So, every time she violates the order, I have to go to court and talk with the judge about it. That takes months to get in front of the judge. What's the use of a court order if one of the parties goes won't agree to it?

    Thanks all who read and respond.

    Have a fantastic day.

  2. #2

    Default Re: Called Cops and Nothing Happened

    I called the police on ex WIFE because she would not let me see the children over the weekend.
    Police deal with criminal law enforcement matters. Family law is a CIVIL matter.


    So, every time she violates the order, I have to go to court and talk with the judge about it.
    Yep. And it'll take multiple times before the judge gets annoyed enough to do much more than shake a finger and talk loudly. However, without going through those steps, you don't build any history of her disregard for the court's order, and you need that history if you're going to ask for tougher enforcement, make up time, or for the court to take custody away from mom and give the child to you based on mom's repeated actions of failing to foster a relationship between you and your child.

    That takes months to get in front of the judge.
    Unfortunately, the disintegration of families occurrs at a pace faster than tax payers are willing to pay to hire thousands of court personnel and judges to oversee cases. That means there's a backlog of hundreds of cases where people are asking the courts to adjudicate problems like these. You are always free to write to your elected officials and ask them to raise taxes and hire more judges and clerks, build more courtrooms, etc. - but families without these sorts of issues tend to not vote to approve such expenses.

    What's the use of a court order if one of the parties goes won't agree to it?
    Because without a court order, and a court system, even a slow one, you've got NOTHING to enforce, and mom could simply up and disappear with the child or deny you visitation forever. The sad reality is that the court's didn't cause the problem of the child being raised by separated parents, and most of the time, the court's can't fix it either. Our family court system is based on thousands of years of English common law that supports the idea that parents raise children together - not apart - and the whole concept of custody and visitation with two living parents who are not co-parenting, is in reality, only a few generations old. When the courts can and will take action, it's after a process that isn't fast, often isn't cheap, and generally only comes after repeated violations of the court's order and after a series of the judge saying "now don't do that again" until the judge gets fed up enough to throw some teeth into the mix by holding the other parent in contempt and giving them some jail time, or, at the extreme, taking the child away from the non-cooperative parent. But none of that happens fast.

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Sep 2005
    Location
    California
    Posts
    20,594

    Default Re: Called Cops and Nothing Happened

    To add to Catherine's excellent response, let me add that it is likely that her violation of the order may well also be a criminal violation. However, it is the common practice of prosecutors at least in my state NOT to prosecute these matters and to refer them back to Family Court. If the DA was to pursue every allegation of a violation of a visitation order, they'd be overwhelmed with what are often nitpicky violations ... yes, we get calls asking fro a report when a party is 10 minutes late!

    So, even if the violation is technically criminal, it is likely the practice or policy of the agency and the prosecutor not to address violations of these Family Court orders in a criminal court.

  4. #4

    Default Re: Called Cops and Nothing Happened

    Exactly. It comes down to the government having to figure out how to expend available resources (resources which are shrinking since most tax income used to pay for government services is also shrinking). If the courts pursued even one in a thousand custody cases as criminal matters, the entire court system would screech to a halt very quickly.

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Oct 2011
    Posts
    145

    Default Re: Called Cops and Nothing Happened

    that first response was awesome....... sad fact but awesome.

    I believe what was left out however, is that if a father were to violate the order the cops would assumingly be more effective and proactive in enforcing it. This is so depressing sometimes.

    I'd love to say "Give her a taste of her own Medicine" but that wouldnt be right and OP seeems to be bigger than that.

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