Legal Question in Family Law in Alaska

I am a father in the state of Alaska, as of aug. 4, 2010. I have been fighting a long term restraining order brought forth by the mother of our child. The domestic violence proceeding is in the final stages when the mother died last Tuesday. The state stepped in and took custody of our child and filed a new action child in need of aid which I understand. I hired an attorney in the onset of the Domestic Violence action and she has progressively become distant and hard to get a response I think this is because of my financial status (i am a college student). Even though I have paid her $6000 and owe 1200 she seems to think I would be better of with a public defender so she filed a preemptory challenge on the presiding judge without telling me and contacted the public defender�s office to affect counsel for me earlier that morning and then notified me as I was waiting for her outside the court room by phone. That is right, I called to see where she was 15 minutes before the cina hear was to start and she notifies me that she had filed the motion to original judge say that she thought that is what I would have wanted because it would give me a clean slate to start off with and that some the evidence I thought was unfair could be challenged this time around. I told her that I didn�t want to go through this again and that the judge already has heard in the months of hearings and a lot of time and effort was expended to all got to waste. she said it would have to be done all over again even with the same judge because the original petitioner was deceased. She reminded me of the damaging testimony of the child therapist and I reminded her that were just getting the chance to present our expert testimony. She said had to go so she could get here and then said she would remain on in the dv hearing as my attorney and provide consult for the public defender, mind you this is still over the phone. by the time she got there she the judge already read the motion and a new judge was being assigned and the parties were moving. She waited around to introduced me to my new counsel and the just excused. I have been a little out there since the mother death on Tuesday but I really felt I was abandoned and betrayed when the new judge broke out the record of the dv hearing and said he is a quick read but not that quick and held up a huge file he said from what I gather this is a hotly contested case and you all would probably like to be brought up to speed before we proceed with the probable cause hearing. Does she have a point or can i file a motion to reconsider the preemptory challenge with the argument of ineffective counsel.

1 Answer from Attorneys

Related Questions & Answers

More Family Law, Divorce, Child Custody and Adoption questions and answers in Alaska

Looking for something else?