The 6th Amendment to the Constitution guarantees you the right to an attorney and a speedy trial, but this is concerning Criminal prosecutions…NOT divorce.
In divorce cases and most Family Law cases you do NOT have the right to a court appointed attorney.
The exception, Termination of Parental Rights cases, is only after a showing of financial inability.
The other time there’s a Court-Appointed Attorney, a Guardian Ad Litem, the parties still typically have to pay for that person from their own pockets and they represent the child, or more often are an investigative arm of the Court.
Do you need an attorney? Yes. Will the Court give you one? Probably not.
Matthew Thompson is a Family Law attorney in Mississippi.
A:No. I don’t know whose writing this is…I don’t know what those circles mean…
Attorney: Objection. It’s obviously not a true copy, as the original does not have writing and circles on it.
Court:Sustained.
Court rules can be tediously picky. If something isn’t phrased the right way, authenticated sufficiently, or previously produced, if requested, you may not be able to use it. This is true even if it is something important, reliable and tangible to the issues before the Court. This is just one reason why Court is so frustrating.
I had a case where the witness highlighted certain portions of an email. When the time came to testify about the email, the other party pretended to not recognize it, nor remember it. He wasn’t sure if he used that email address at that time. He certainly knew he didn’t highlight it and wasn’t sure he had seen it before. It was a dance of avoiding the obvious.
Ultimately, the email came in when the sponsoring party testified and I believe the other party lost credibility in feigning ignorance, however it was a good lesson on the rules/tricks of Court.
Matthew Thompson is a Family Law attorney in Mississippi and encourages you to practice, with your attorney, your testimony and how to authenticate an exhibit and get it into evidence.
With back-to-school comes the end of the summer schedule, loose routines and late bed times. Along with the return to school comes “Meet the teacher,” “Back-to-School Night,” & “Meet the (insert mascot of your school here).”
Regardless of your “Custody” arrangement, both parents are free to attend any and all events. It matters not whose “time” it is. I routinely advise clients that if our children attended school or events together, if I can go, you can go.
Additionally, Mississippi law specifically provides that a parent, even a non-custodial parent, shall have “access to records and information pertaining to a minor child, including but not limited to medical, dental and school records, [and] shall not be denied to a parent because the parent is not the child’s custodial parent if such parent’s parental rights have not been terminated by adoption or by a termination of parental rights proceeding.” MCA 93-5-26
So, parents, go to these events for your child. Meet their teacher, meet the other parents, their classmates and school administrators. Stay plugged in. It will benefit your child.
Matthew Thompson is a Child Custody attorney in Mississippi and encourages you to be an engaged parent.
For divorced parents, or parents operating under a custody order, summertime is a change in the standard schedule. The summer is full of activities that start and stop at different times. There are camps and visits to grandma’s house. There are trips out-of-town, out-of-state and last-minute opportunities that could be amazing. Be a reasonable parent.
Think about putting the children’s needs ahead of your own. Think about encouraging a good, healthy relationship between the children and the other parent. Think about “what is the right thing to do?,” as opposed to “how can I get the other parent?” By the way, if you do not know what the “right thing” is, you are part of the problem.
Matthew Thompson is a family law attorney in Mississippi and wishes we all could just get along. He also recommends you be a reasonable parent year-round, not just in the summertime.
The Mississippi Supreme Court has reversed a Lowndes County Chancery Court Judge’s Order which essentially banned firearms from all areas of the courthouse.
The Judge- by Taurus, a revolver capable of firing a .45 long colt or .410 shotgun shell. It is legal for Judges to carry guns, even on the bench in Mississippi.
This is somewhat controversially in light of several recent MS law clarifications on where one could and could not carry a firearm. A resident of the local community challenged the Court Order, alleging it contradicted state statutory law which limited broader restrictions to the wisdom of the legislature.
The law currently provides that if you have a concealed carry license and enhanced carry license endorsement you may carry in most public places, including Courthouses, so long as it is not in the Courtroom while Court is in session.
The Family law judges thought that did not go far enough and entered an Order, declaring the entire Courthouse a Courtroom, effectively banning firearms from the entire building.
The challenge was successful in having the Judge’s Order reversed. The Mississippi Supreme Court declared the Order an unconstitutional infringement on the rights of citizens to keep and bear arms.
“One of the clearest delegations of legislative power in our Constitution is found in
Article 3, Section 12. It provides: “The right of every citizen to keep and bear arms in
defense of his home, person, or property, or in aid of the civil power when thereto legally summoned, shall not be called in question, but the Legislature may regulate or forbid carrying concealed weapons.” (Emphasis in original.) Without equivocation, the Legislature is the branch of government that the citizens of Mississippi chose to regulate or forbid concealed weapons.”
Justice Mike Randolph, Mississippi Supreme Court
The Lowndes County Chancellors have filed for a Rehearing and made several compelling arguments on why the Mississippi Supreme Court may have gotten this one wrong. Stay tuned for more.
Also, you may be wondering why the title says Don’t take your Gun to the Courthouse, even though the Supreme Court says you can, well, it’s just good advice.
Matthew Thompson is a Family Law attorney, gun enthusiast and practices in Lowndes Chancery Court and does not think family law litigants having guns at all times is a great idea.
Depression is a common and serious medical illness that negatively affects how you feel, the way you think and how you act. Fortunately, it is also treatable. Depression causes feelings of sadness and/or a loss of interest in activities once enjoyed. It can lead to a variety of emotional and physical problems and can decrease a person’s ability to function at work and at home.
Depression symptoms include:
Feeling sad or having a depressed mood
Loss of interest or pleasure in activities once enjoyed
Changes in appetite — weight loss or gain unrelated to dieting
Trouble sleeping or sleeping too much
Loss of energy or increased fatigue
Increase in purposeless physical activity (e.g., hand-wringing or pacing) or slowed movements and speech (actions observable by others)
Feeling worthless or guilty
Difficulty thinking, concentrating or making decisions
Thoughts of death or suicide
Depression affects an estimated one in 15 adults (6.7%) in any given year. And one in six people (16.6%) will experience depression at some time in their life. Depression can strike at any time, but on average, first appears during the late teens to mid-20s. Women are more likely than men to experience depression. Some studies show that one-third of women will experience a major depressive episode in their lifetime.
Depression is a common side effect of being involved in a family law case. Experiencing depression as part of a divorce and/or custody case is normal. It does not mean that you are crazy, weak or broken. Also, being a part of a case can exacerbate symptoms of depression.
Below is a simple “test” that is available online. It is the Beck Depression Inventory. It is the standard in helping diagnosing depression.
The Beck Depression Inventory (BDI, BDI-1A, BDI-II), created by Aaron T. Beck, is a 21-question multiple-choice self-report inventory, one of the most widely used psychometric tests for measuring the severity of depression.
Matthew Thompson is a family law attorney and reminds you that an online test is no replacement for an evaluation by your physician, counselor or healthcare professional.
Going to the Dr. is not what we most look forward to.
However, it is a good idea. Getting a check up is a part of a healthy life and if you are dealing with the stress and anxiety of a Family Law matter it is all the more important to live a healthy life.
In custody cases your physical and mental health matters. It is one of the Albright factors that the Court must consider in determining custody of children. It is one of the Armstrong factors; health and earning capacity are used to determine whether or not to award Alimony and these factors impact how much and how long the award may be for.
Health insurance coverage and expenses is an issue in almost every case. Pre-existing conditions, insurability and availability of health coverage matter.
Get a check up and get checked out.
Matthew Thompson is a family law attorney in Mississippi and recommends that you get a medical health check up.
Your information is not safe, protected or private.
Regardless of your settings on FaceBook, someone has access to it. I’ve posted numerous times about what NOT to put on FaceBook and warned against oversharing. Now, it turns out that much of our data has been mined, sold and then used to trick us into believing things we saw on FaceBook. It allowed Russians to infiltrate the American Dream, somehow. It likely is still occurring.
There’s even a trend of deleting FaceBook going around, or at least threats of deleting it. However, a lesser position is to just to continue posting pics of your dinners, dog and artistic black and white shots of inanimate objects. Doing this will not allow the Russians to gain the upper hand.
Matthew Thompson is a Family Law attorney in Mississippi and reminds you, Blizok lokotok, da ne ukusish!
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