Legal Question in Family Law in California
Contested Adoption
Is it legal to alter the "date filed" stamp after a motion has been filed?
Is it legal to deny plaintiff a copy of a transcript from a particular court date that is in the file?
Is it legal for opposing counsel to provide a non-redacted copy of the adoption decree to plaintiff?
1 Answer from Attorneys
Re: Contested Adoption
Who altered the date stamp? A clerk can correct an error. Other people
cannot legally alter the court file.
The court can refuse access to the court file in an adoption since the files by
law are confidential. If you need to appeal, the transcript will be provided to you. Your
question is very unclear about your connection with the case, your need for the transcript, and
the basis on which the transcript is not provided. If the transcript, for example, is not
relevant to your rights in the matter, the statutory confidentiality of the court files of an
adoption would justify the court's decision.
The court files of an adoption are confidential. This does not necessarily bind attorneys for a party,
although in some instances they are officers of the court. The order of adoption is a "judgment" which is
included in the "judgment roll" which is a public document (although access is sometimes restricted). By law,
certain material is not supposed to be in the order of adoption. I would not think providing this document to another party,
with the consent of the lawyer's clients, would be illegal.
Jed Somit
Jed Somit, Attorney at Law
1440 Broadway - Suite 910