[jeavesmom]

I am working on my letter to our Judge, could someone help me out . HOw should I start it ?
Would some one that has written one before mind looking at mind ?

[Robbin]

What are you writing to the judge for? I'll certainly proofread it for you, either post it here or pm me.

[jeavesmom]

I am writting him to let him know how are little ones are doing and such .Just need some one that has done it to help me out!

[Singlemom619]

Are you sure about this?

I was told by my attorney that you were not allowed to write a letter to the judge. Anything that had to be said had to be presented to everyone on the case. Writing to the judge was illegal (basically, although he used another word) and was not allowed.

[athikers]

We wrote a letter to our judge in our daughter's TPR case... it certainly depends on where you live whether or not you can submit anything to the judge, but I would advise you to do so if you are allowed.

In our case, since it was addressing the pending TPR we used our state statutes and the items that are considered when deciding whether to TPR and where to place the child(ren) afterwards. So, we addressed her schooling, her medical needs, her development, what she enjoys doing, how she is bonded to us, our commitment to her now and in the future, etc.

[carlychan]

In California there is a form you fill out and can add to if needed. I believe it is called a caregivers statement. I has questions about the fc educational needs, medical, and such.

[Hadley2]

A letter just to the judge is called "ex parte" communication and is not allowed. That would put evidence before him that the other parties would not have a fair chance to refute.

A letter addressed to the judge and copied to all parties has a better chance of being read. You can contact the court clerk on how to accomplish that.

[2momsinGA]

I'm a writing professor, so, if you need advice on the letter (content, clarity, grammar and mechanics, please let me know.

[buttascotchbaby]

In my state it is perfectly acceptable (and I have heard from a number of family court judges: wanted) to write a letter to the judge. It is not ex parte, it DOES however need to be copied to all parties involved in the case. I have written a number of letters to different judges in different cases. I either give the letter to the kids' GAL or to the SW who then makes sure that everyone who is supposed to get a copy gets a copy

Too long to go into here (there are whole threads about it elsewhere!), but I have had really good luck with my letters to the judge of my current foster (soon to be adopted) kids. The judges really do read the letters, and in my case, I truly believe that it had a very positive effect on our case.

Here are a few tips, based on my experiences as well as a workshop I attended that was taught by a Family Court judge, on writing letters to judges :

Just remember all who will be reading it.

Make sure that you stick to the FACTS, not emotions or feelings, but strict facts.

Keep it brief -a page, page and a half -judges are busy!

If you are interested I would be happy to PM or email you a copy of a letter that I have submitted to the judge, or I would be happy to read yours.

I hope that helps! Good luck

[AmahMama]

We've also written many letters to the judge, I address it to Your Honor. I send it directly to the court and they distribute copies to whomever. We are asked to keep it strictly one page and to documented facts; how the kids are after visits, medical issues, development issues etc. The only thing is that if you write it, you may be called into court so the other "parties" can question you about the contents. It can be tricky but if you stick to documented facts - it is usually in the kids best interest. You know these kids - no one else involved knows them on a fresh 24/7 basis!! I've written several - but I'm not an adoptive parent (foster only) so there has never been any question about it being "skewed" or "prejuduced" (for lack of better words). On 1 tpr I actually was asked to go to court and I took my little notebook with me (document, document, document!!!), was asked questions by the judge, thanked, and excused. Most hearings are rather informal (I was shocked) but the trials are regular sworn in and formal.

Many states allow (or even ask) for a statement to the judge. I really believe it is a good thing. Go for it and good luck!

[greenrobin]

I didn't write a letter. I visited.

The visit was for Bubba who wanted to make sure that there really was someone named Judge who made decisions--not just a fictional character I conjured up.

As it turned out, I did most of the visiting. Judge wanted to hear about the kids, what I thought, what I wanted. I told him I didn't want to influence him in any way and he said I would not. So, I told him.

He was completely charming, and charmed by my kids as well.

Ex parte or not, some judges just want to hear and some states allow it.

[jeavesmom]

Thank you all for the replies.This is very important to us as we want everyone involved to know how good the kids ARE doing!!!

[scandi]

As someone has already said it is different everywhere. Even though Athikers and I are in the same state the Judges where I work will not accept anything that is sent directly to them. They will not look at it until copies are distributed to everyone. It is called ex-parte communication. The best way is to send it thru the GAL/CASA or SW.

[jeavesmom]

Our Sw has said that she will make sure it gets to everyone ! It is just hard when you have never done this before to make sure you say wht you want to say without going on and on.

[stevenstwin]

Originally Posted by jeavesmom

Our Sw has said that she will make sure it gets to everyone ! It is just hard when you have never done this before to make sure you say wht you want to say without going on and on.

The biggest thing to remember is to stick to the facts, simply stated. Be careful to leave all bias out, and do NOT offer any opinions! For example:
"Kate is getting straight A's in school and participating in Girl Scouts."..NOT "Kate's grades are doing so much better since she has been with us."
or...
"On July 22 when Charlie returned from his supervised visit with his mother, he screamed at me, and tried to bite and kick his sister. This continued for approximately 2 hours." and NOT "Charlie seems upset by visits with his mom and acts angry afterwards."

Just the facts, ma'am ...Might help to think of yourself as an impartial observer recording what you "see" and with no connection to any of the poeple in the case - including yourself!