The The Family Law Judges roles are to interpret the law or family law codes as it was intended , and also when neccessary refer to case precedent (a past court decision that is cited as an example or analogy to resolve current similar cases ). Family law court houses do not follow the same rules or laws as other courts governed by the Federal Goverment of the United States. For instance, If you ever had to fight a traffic ticket and go into a court room the Court Deputy states the court rules and by law asks you to raise your right hand and pledge to tell the truth, or they say if you can not afford and attorney you can fill out a financial statement and the judge will if you qualify appoint a public public defender.) As it is stated in the 6th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. In the Family Law courts you do not have that right. Did you also know that at no time are you under oath to tell the truth during your family law court case , only when making Declarations ( Definition for a Decloration is: A statement in writing in the witnesses own words about what he or she saw , heard, smelled, felt or tasted and when and how he or she did so. The witness must declare under the penalty of perjury acording to the laws of the State . or if your case goes to trial.. In most family law cases you never make it to trial, instead it is the job of the Attorneys to settle the disputes. Why ? it is time consuming , and costly for everyone. It is also important to know that all Judges where Attorneys at one time. Most Judges practicing Family law where not family law attorneys. Each State varies on how Judges are elected and below you will find a link, that will take you to a URLM of a site that once clicking on to can enter your State to see how that State elects Judges. A judge will take into account many variables when making decisions, the legal forms and in each State they vary, ( which all these forms are made by Attorneys and Judges). The judge will read the information on the legal documents (forms), which were prepared in advance they then listen to each Attorneys Plea on behalf of their clients, then with his or her knowledge of the law, and what he feels is in the Best Interest of the Child ( In wich there is no Real definition ) or the law of other situations in Divorce cases not involving children , he or she makes decisions. He or she can order custody evaluations, assign mediators to a case or with his or her own opinion , decide what is best for the individuals, which is soley based on his or her ethics, moral behavior, backround, upbringing, religous backround , influences by there schools teachers when in law school, past experiences the list could go on and on it all sums up in a persons moral Character shaped by his or her past experiences that influenced him through out his life. For the most part that is the way cases get decided upon, of coarse their is more to it but general knowlege of how it works this sums it up. With all due respect that is quite a responsibility for one person to have over a families future.
Attorneys they come from all backrounds too. They aspire to be an Attorney usually by choice and for a reason. They spend up to $100.000 or more for their education, and sacrifice lots years of attending school to become one. There goal is to have a private firm, work for a prospering Law firm to get the experience, a name and reputation they worked so hard for, what ever the reason it does not matter. What does matter is how they get paid Attorneys bill by the hour for their services and knowledge, and the first couple of years out of school they have high monthly student loan debt to repay. I think most all Attorneys mean well, work with integrity and truely care about their clients. But as in all people in all professions there are some that are not looking out for the best interest all the time for their clients, or they see the system and see how broken it is and with their own needs having to be taken in account they over time get sucked in to the $ 50 Billion dollar a year Divorce Industry. Today most attorneys want a lump sum up front before they will represent you. The average is 3-5,000 just to start. They then have you fill out a Income Expence declaration, this is where they size you up to see how much you can afford if need be , they also have the power to delay cases , make more accusations, file more filings , more time in the court means more billing hours. When your deposit runs out, you wont always be notified, you by right should have sent to you in the mail a billing for hours incurred but chances are unless you ask them for that you will not recieve one. As long as you have the ability to pay, liquid cash first , credit cards, then equity of homes as long as there is money they will keep representing you. When the case comes to a resolution you will recieve a bill, and if you dont pay it they can and will go after you, they will put a lien on your home, and when your homes sells they will get their monies. A judge acts as their collection agency. I am not implying someone does not deserve to be paid for there services at all, what I have learned by experience is 9 out of 10 Attorneys do not send a monthly bill you have no idea how many hours you are accumulating unless you make a point to be informed everystep of the way. Why would they mentioned it ? Think about it, it causes conflict or it stops representation. You think the little time you spend talking with them on the phone is free, most times not. Every act by the Attorney, the receptionist, the paralegal all are billing hours , you have no way of knowing a honest bill from an inflated bill just FYI Attorneys are also granted unique protections against civil liability under a variety of State and Federal Statutes . Lawyers and Judges work together day in and day out in time each one knows the others standards of practice and over time their can be some partiality when cases are brought to the same judged over time.
check out the laws for all legal professionals by Clicking Here just click your State and find the state code that fits your interests
A very good Documentary called Divorce Corp is a must see you can download on Netflix for free or order a book or movie online
Divorce Corp
A Documentary on the Family law court System, how it works, how it is different than other courts, the roles judges and attorneys play, is available by book or Dvd
Family Law in a Nut Shell
