#Texas Attorney

[tiana-martinez]

All ready 😏

[casstars]

Little Ace Attorney doodle dump, some sketches I did while replaying rfta and Calisto Yew for anon :p

[clonerightsagenda]

Missouri politics is always a caricature but as we roll up to election day two particular standouts are:

There is a ballot measure to raise the number of allowed casinos so corporations can build one at the Lake of the Ozarks. ~*Coincidentally*~ the Osage nation (former residents of the area) have been trying to build a casino there. This is not something most people are aware but jfc it's blatant.

Our attorney general tried to sue about abortion pills, got tossed out for having absolutely no standing, and so tried again claiming that the state has standing due to lost federal funding caused by fewer teen pregnancies. I am not making this shit up.

[lefunnymoncey]

im really deep in the hyperfix soup. texas chainsaw massacre. sofia the first. ace attorney. danganronpa. wordgirl. all of it at once. yes. this is beautiful. life is beautiful.

[trexalicious]

Seriously Texas? Don't you have enough to worry about at the border without persecuting a young mother of five for returning her books a month late due to pregnancy complications? A $570 arrest warrant has been issued for her and the judge compared returning her books late to stealing merchandise from Walmart...🤯🤬👎

[aslightaddity]

I have learned about a Texan specific accent/dialect of German (due to immigrants) and although only about 2000 people speak it (I think), I feel like it would be a good back story for Klav and Kris. Kris doesn’t have a German accent as he more has a Texan (or now japanifornian accent) while Klav did end up keeping his Texan German accent, that’s also why his German isn’t always the greatest!!

[filosofablogger]

A Brief Update

Earlier today I wrote about Kate Cox and her struggle to obtain an abortion despite the fact that the fetus she carries is not viable and her very life is in danger.  I wrote that late last night, and when I woke this morning, it was to this headline in the New York Times … Texas Supreme Court Temporarily Halts Court-Approved Abortion   The court, responding to an appeal from Attorney General Ken…

[mars-pastel]

doodle rqs i got from twitter :3

[memenewsdotcom]

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton impeached

[ladylakebees]

Alexa, play Country Girl Shake it For Me

[dizzybevvie]

♡ Online call me Beverly or Calliope :3

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Currently hyperfixated on Slasher movies & Ice Nine Kills

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[attorney-anon]

On Recalcitrant Judges and Disappointed Clients

TL;DR: An AJ decides to make the lives of my same-sex clients harder, so I spend my day telling her all the ways in which she's wrong. If you can vote in your judicial elections, do so!

Storytime under the cut for the sake of your dashboard.

I had a prove-up scheduled this morning for one of my favorite types of cases, a second-parent adoption (2PA).

In case that term is unfamiliar to you, in short, a 2PA is essentially a form of litigation-as-prophylaxis for same-sex parents to ensure that both parents have full parental rights to children born during their marriage, by having whichever parent isn't already an undisputed legal parent under Texas law adopt the child. I won't get into the reasons that it's considered necessary amongst attorneys who handle LGBTQIA+ family law cases, but suffice to say that it's the best form of protection that same-sex parents can have.

It is, absolutely, infuriating that it's a thing that we need to do 2PAs under Texas's legal scheme, but they're also a little fun to do because everyone is consistently happy about the litigation. Procedurally, they resemble step-parent adoptions, as 2PAs don't actually exist as a separate cause of action, but most judges in my usual county of practice are happy to work with us once they understand what's going on, since I live and work in a blue county. I actually file most of my 2PAs in this county by choice, because the judges are, by and large, either LGBTQIA+ themselves or allies.

Here's how my day went:

When I get up and get ready in the morning, I'm already a little nervous because I haven't done a 2PA in this particular court before, and because my usual preparation process was disrupted by me having to go depose an opposing party yesterday, so I had to condense my usual prep into less time. It's via Zoom, though, so I'm at least going to be sitting comfortably in my office about it.

When I get to my office, I sign on, and my first disappointment of the day is that, apparently, the District Judge isn't even the one handling the docket - it's her associate judge (AJ), who is well-known in this area for her irritability and temper. To explain, an associate judge is not elected - they are, essentially, assistant judges hired to help the elected judges (District Judges) manage their dockets. Associate judges don't have court reporters in their courts, so I won't have a record of anything that happens today.

So anyway, I wait, and my case gets called. I greet AJ while my clients get their Zoom camera set up and all that jazz. AJ is already upset because her prove-up docket is running later than she expected. That's great, but I'm still optimistic. She asks the procedural posture of the case; I explain we're here on a 2PA. AJ asks, "Where's your ad litem?" I am immediately flabbergasted, and concerned.

See, in most cases involving kids in Texas, the court has the authority to, on motion of a party or sua sponte (on its own), appoint an attorney whose sole job is to argue in hearings and trials about the best interest of the child (an attorney ad litem). I have never once been asked to hire an ad litem for a 2PA.

I explain we didn't request one. AJ asks where my waiver order is. I explain that I have never been asked for a separate waiver order for an ad litem, and AJ says, "Well, I don't waive the ad litem anyway unless I can see that the parent can represent the best interest of the child, so let me assign you Jane Doe as an ad litem and I'll reset you." I am flabbergasted at this point. Not only have I never been asked for an ad litem on a 2PA, but I have absolutely never had a judge outright tell me that my clients could not act in the best interest of their child without me so much as introducing my clients to the judge.

It takes me a second to regain my composure, but I proceed to confirm just how problematic this court is going to be moving forward. "Judge, we also requested a waiver of the home study under the new statute; would the Court prefer to sign a standalone order to waive that?"

For context: In Texas, adoptions typically involve an adoption evaluation/home study conducted by a mental health professional. Due to recent legislative changes, this requirement can be waived when the parties are married, subject to the court's discretion. Since that statute passed, I've had no problems with most courts agreeing to waive the adoption evaluation for 2PAs. Waiving the adoption evaluation saves my clients about $2,000, because adoption evaluations are expensive.

The AJ shakes her head, and tells me that she's utterly shocked that I would ever ask her to waive a home study on any adoption, ever, no matter what the legislature has said, because what if this step-parent has problems with the child?

At this point, I realize, the judge may not understand what a 2PA is. It's not a formal cause of action, I recall, and she may simply not understand the lingo. She may be thinking this is just a regular step-parent adoption, and perhaps she's had problems before and is being overly cautious. I begin to explain that, actually, the adopting parent is already a presumed parent of the child under the Texas Family Code, and that this is only to formalize that relationship due to the current political climate and whatnot.

I get about a sentence in before the AJ quips that she's not sure why I'm arguing with her and then tells me to shut up. I shut up.

AJ proceeds to ignore me and continue writing. It's clear she's looking at the pleadings so she can get the parties' names right, and then she pauses and asks me: "Hold on, where's the child's father? He should be a party."

I explain that the child was conceived through an anonymous sperm donor, so there is no legal father. "Okay, well, do you have proof from the sperm bank that it's an anonymous donor?" I'm asked, in a tone that implies that AJ thinks I'm actively lying to the court. I explain that I have a letter from the sperm bank about the issue and am prepared to admit as an exhibit right now.

AJ finally relents: "Well, I guess, get that on file with the Court, then submit your waiver orders to me and I'll look at them. Don't contact Jane yet, I'm going to have to research this." She dismisses us.

When I first sign off of Zoom, I am embarrassed for getting my prove-up shot down (and for getting chastised by the judge for 'arguing,' as if arguing isn't my actual job for which I receive money) for a couple minutes, and then I am angry.

I am angry because my clients shouldn't have to do this in the first place just to get the same respect from the judicial system that opposite-sex couples get by default.

I am angry because AJ said that my clients couldn't look out for the best interest of the child they have raised since birth, together, as if she has any understanding of who my clients are or what their family is like.

I am angry because AJ cut off my attempt to tell her the information that did, in fact, change her mind once that information was explained.

I am angry because my clients will now have to spend even more money for me to protect their interests.

I am angry because the judge is letting her lack of understanding of queer families get in the way of what should be, and what typically is, a quick, easy process to provide same-sex parents with a little peace of mind while the Great State of Texas continues to assault common decency.

So, bristling with anger, I talk to the Partner to confirm that the plan that is forming in my brain will work, then I talk to the clients.

My clients express that they are are humiliated, blindsided, and convinced that AJ hates them, though they have no idea why AJ would. Once of them is initially convinced that this is somehow my fault because I must have spoken to the judge beforehand and said something amiss (I assure them that I was, similarly, gobstopped by AJ's behavior, and that I had never spoken one-on-one with this particular judge).

Once I get the clients calmed down, and explain the plan, they are on board.

Then, I draft a twenty-page bespoke motion in under 4 hours, because I am angry.

The motion cites 8 different provisions of the Texas Family Code, and contains an 11-item appendix, as well as a detailed timeline of the parties' marriage, their reproductive journey, and the procedural history of the case up to the current date, including a detailed account of the hearing. The motion also points out that, despite the judge's demand that I ask her to "waive" the ad litem attorney, no such waiver is needed for the ad litem attorney, because the Court isn't required to appoint one and no one asked the Court to do so.

Is most of my day now gone? Yes. Did I have other things to do today? Yes. Am I still pissed off at AJ? Absolutely I am, and I'm considering no-billing everything from this point forward just so my clients can afford for me to go to court and teach AJ how to read the laws she's supposed to be applying.

Happy Pride, y'all.

If you're a registered voter in a state with elected judges, remember to vote in judicial elections!

A steady push for statutory change in the legislative branch, or a steady push for policy changes in the executive branch are both good, but the only way to fix the judiciary branch is to vote out biased judges and vote in fair ones.

Fixing the judiciary can get queer families in red states the relief they need from oppression and discrimination now. Same-sex couples get divorced, just the same as opposite-sex couples. They have kids and argue over custody, just the same as opposite-sex couples. And they should be able to do that without facing a judge who assumes that two women or two men can't both be parents.

[shutinlear53]

Saul Goodman this, Texas Hammer that, my boy Sebastian Stark will wipe the floor with them while eating Edgeworth and Wright for breakfast

[beatriceportinari]

so it wasn't just my perception... more and more american tourists are coming to switzerland. and we asked for it.

[realsugarmummy]

I need an honest and trustworthy sugar baby that will be able to keep my company