Hey Bro, Sorry to hear of your tribulations. I have been thru a divorce but no kids involved. I can't speak for the child custody laws but I can relate a little court experience. Going against most opinions I went solo in a Supreme court lawsuit leveled at myself. I did initially have a team on my side. I decided after 30-35k thet were just padding their own bill. I cut them lose and represented myself. The Plaintiff had three lawyers, a Barrister and two legal secretarys. I appeared before the judge and stated that I was my own counsel. The air changed immeadiatly, the judge explained everything to me and they will give you a hell of alot of leeway. His Barrister and team was costing him aprox 15k per day. I kept my wits simply told the truth and promptly turned his Barrister into a fucking idiot. I won the case and sent the plaintiff to the wall. My take on this is, evryone has some compassion in them, beit judge jury or executioner. I played on that but more over I went to court with the absolute truth. I knew the other side would not be able to maintain the lie. It came undone in court.
You need to keep your wits and think outside the square. Do not let lawyers badger or intimidate. Keep your cool big time!!! Let them make the mistakes. I got the feeling from the judge that he was actually enjoying my performance. He gave me lots of help and even dissed the barrister a couple of times. You need to find the judges soft spot. I am reasonably well educated and I'm sure the plaintiff told his counsel that I was a Drug fucked BBer. Biiig mistake.
You need to play on emotions. With or without a lawyer you must convey your outright love for your child. You must make them all believe that your child is your world. You cannot be left out. No judge wants to seperate a child from parents. When you do not understand things do not be afraid to ask for clarification. It is the courts' obligation to see that you understand everything going on. No court anywhere can deny you your right to represent yourself.
It is so important that you try and find any dirt on the other half and make it stick. I did a little checking into the tax status of the plaintiff in my case. Very interesting what you can dig up. May not have been relevant to the lawsuit but was able to prove that he had been filing taxes as a sole trader when his wife was listed as a full partner in the business. Was not completely relevant but instantly destroyed his credibility. Then made his wife take the stand and actually got her to commit purgery on the stand. She's a cop. So I destryoed her credibility as well.
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Point is this, Follow your heart, trust in God, do not be afraid to ask for help, and stick to the fact that there is a special bond between you and your child. Your love for your child and belief in what you are doing must come to the front. You must make everyone believe that you are acting in the childs' best interest and not your own. Reading your post and some replies here sounds like she is a professional at throw away husbands/fathers. This point needs to come out big time. It's about credibility and confidence.
I feel for you bro, I only wish there was more I could offer. Keep your head up and screwed on straight. I think you'll come through this AOK.
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