Flying East--No Vacation!

Well, the custody hearing is TOMORROW! As I blog, my husband, son and grandson are flying east to participate in this most important hearing. There has been lots of last minute legal maneuvering (which I hate), depositions, conference calls, and anxiety this week. Steven's doctor and psychologist were both deposed over the phone yesterday. On the other end of the phone was Keith's attorney, Patty's attorney, and Gloria Winston--the guardian ad litem. The depositions were scheduled to take approximately 1/2 hour each but ended up running over five hours. Naturally Patty's attorney attempted to discredit Steven's doctor and therapist but was unable to do so. This new attorney is still under the assumption that her client is telling her the truth. Can't wait to see what happens there. One of the newest stories to come from Patty's attorney is this: Patty told her that when she brought Steven back to Utah this summer she fell on an escalator in the airport. Although others gathered round her and insisted that she go to the hospital to be checked, she knew she had to get her son to his dad so she continued on her way. We happen to know this is bogus because there is NO escalator in the area of the airport in which she supposedly fell. Had this happened Steven would surely have told his dad--he was upset at having to "leave" his mother because she had no one to take care of her. (He's 10 years old and feels he needs to take care of his mother.) Patty lays a heavy dose of guilt on Steven's shoulders each time she sees him--verifiable by Steven's psychologist. The hearing starts at 9:00 a.m. eastern time on August 20, but the judge doesn't have to make a ruling until the middle of October. It's frustrating I know, but we want to make sure he has all his "ducks in a row" because this will certainly go to an appeals court. Thanks once again for your interest.

BTW: On the latest poll, Patty said ALL of the items on the right. She promised her son that if he said all the things she wanted him to say, she'd buy him six Siberian Huskies and they would race them. When asked if he really thought she would do that he said, "No, I don't think we have enough money to do that." It's coming--very slowly! Where does she get this stuff?

Custody Hearing "POSTPONED"

Well, I have lost track of the number of motions flying around for this upcoming custody hearing. But the BIG ONE is the motion to remove Judge Hartert from the case. This motion has to be heard by the Florida State Supreme Court. ERGHHH! As of today, three days before the hearing was supposed to have taken place, we just received word that the hearing will be postponed until the Florida Supreme Court has had a chance to rule on whether or not Judge Hartert will be removed from the case. Once again, Patty has a slew of people "on hold" while she spins, manipulates, maneuvers and plays her little games. This could have been filed months ago but she waited until the last minute--putting everyone on hold. Judge Hartert, Gloria Winston, Tess Woodward, Deena Gooding, not to mention Keith, dad, and Steven (who have already purchased plane tickets totally over $1800.00) are all now left wondering when this hearing will take place.

Without realizing it, Patty unintentionally also postponed her month-long visit with her son. Judge Hartert had previously ruled that Steven would be allowed to spend one month with his mom AFTER the custody hearing. Since that has been postponed, so will Steven's trip to Florida. He was really disappointed as he was anxious to go "home" and see his family and friends. But what does that matter? Nothing matters but the fight. Optimistically, we're hoping that the supreme court will make it's ruling quickly and that the hearing will be scheduled within the next month. But who knows? Just try to figure out how much money, time and effort will be wasted on the legal maneuvers. Where does she get the money? I will never understand it! Keith and Beth are barely able to keep their heads above water with their legal bills mounting. Steven will never know how hard his father has fought to protect him. Nor will he ever understand the amount of money time and effort has gone into protecting him from his mother. Is that a good thing or not? I don't know.

FYI: Keith's attorney has filed approximately SIX "contempt of court" charges against Patty; including failure to pay child support, failure to refund Keith's "overpayment" of child support, and others regarding her complete disregard for Judge Hartert's court orders. Don't you hate it? I'm thinking a little jail time would go a long way in teaching Patty that rules ARE for her! Our legal system is a complete mess and you and I are paying for it! But that's just MY opinion!

And so it begins--again

Things have been relatively quiet since Steven's last visit with his mother during Spring Break in March. Since that visit Steven has not received one package from his doting mother. Patty also decided to terminate her phone calls with Steven as they were costing her too much money. (True situation: She was court ordered to make the phone calls from the Visitation Center where she cannot manipulate Steven or the staff. What's the point in that?) But now that the custody hearing is scheduled for July 6th & 7th, she has requested that the phone calls begin again. She has set up her first phone call for next Monday afternoon (even that was not without a battle with Tess at the center). Here's the real story: The custody hearing is in three weeks. She's hired a new attorney (femi-nazi--hates men) who practices in Miami (Patty's no longer able to hire within the county--must travel 1.5 hours to find an attorney who's never heard of her). I suppose this attorney has informed her that she must at least "appear" to take an interest in Steven. They've filed a motion that the judge appoint an attorney to represent Steven. Apparently they feel that the G.A.L., Gloria Winston (an attorney herself) is not able to adequately determine Steven's best interest. She also filed an emergency motion with the court that Patty be allowed to retrieve Steven by June 11 in order for him to attend a family reunion. Some emergency! Motion denied--the judge ordered Keith to bring Steven to Florida with him for the hearing the first week in July. Are you confused? You should be! You should also be outraged. This is the kind of garbage that ties up our courts and costs you money! Who has an emergency family reunion? No one!

Yes, the battle lines are being drawn and things are definitely heating up. Each day there's a new development, each day some ridiculous claim or request, and the attorneys representing both parties are gearing up for the fight ahead. Naturally, Keith feels he has the best chance at full custody, but you never know what a judge will do. The facts regarding Steven are these: Steven's weight is down from 125 to 104 (that's a lot of weight on a 10 year old). Steven is doing well (three A's, one C) in the 4th grade--no longer in resource. Steven is no longer on any medications and has never once had an attack of any kind. Steven's psychologist says there's no need for her to keep seeing Steven as he's doing amazingly well. Steven enjoys being part of a larger family and loves to do things with his sisters. I could go on but those are the most important facts. Keep posted as I'm sure there will be new updates from now until the custody hearing. Thanks for your interest!

C.B.

An "interesting" sidenote: Steven's Uncle James (a corrections officer and husband to Patty's sister Mandy) was arrested for "gross sexual imposition" with a 5 year old girl. He's pleaded innocent and the pre-trial hearing is set for the exact same day as the custody battle. Who would have guessed?

Grazie!

I just have to say THANK YOU to all of you who are following this story on a regular basis. The blog is getting hits several times a day, as well as my website. So thank you, thank you, thank you and keep up the good work. I hope you're telling your friends about the book and talking it up. We've got a long ways to go before the June custody hearing. A thousand blessings on your home!
C.B.
http://www.carolebarker.com/

Third Time "Isn't a Charm"

Since the middle of October when Keith was granted custody of Steven, Patty's new attorney has filed a motion once a month to try to overturn Judge Hartert's ruling. The first and second petitions were "denied" based on the fact that Keith was only given temporary custody--the custody issue will be readdressed in June. In other words, courts are unwilling to overturn a temporary order. But Patty, having received that response twice just filed a third petition claiming the same "poor me" issues. This time the court ruled that they would NEVER hear this motion, and to stop petitioning. They ruled to leave the order as it stood until the scheduled hearing in June 2009.

Einstein said it best when he stated, "Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results."