Legal Question in Family Law in Connecticut
Trial Transcripts Altered
My brother is currently in divorce proceedings in family court.
At the beginning of the process, his wife accused him of molesting the children. A criminal trial followed, and he was eventually fully acquitted.
There is however, a lingering stigma in the court system, and many in the system firmly believe in his guilt. The state appointed Attorney/GAL in the criminal case has continued on in the civil case (in violation of ethics standards and CGS 46b-129(a)). The court has refused to remove this GAL.
The case was bifurcated and the parties reached an agreement on custody issues. The matter was then transferred to another Judicial district for trial on the financial issues. The judge refused to allow testimony on whether the wife had made false allegations (proven in the criminal case), however the judges Memorandum of Decision referenced and incorporated the allegations from the sealed criminal case. This information was inaccurate, and certain detail was not in evidence or in testimony in the civil trial. We protested the ruling and the incorporation of information outside of the case.
Court transcripts have now been altered to include this outside information. How should we proceed?
2 Answers from Attorneys
Re: Trial Transcripts Altered
If you disagree with the ruling, your remedy is to file an appeal. You cannot protest a ruling. In addition, there are certain time restrictions with this appeal. If you need further help, you can email me at [email protected].
Re: Trial Transcripts Altered
I am not sure what you mean when you say you "protested" the ruling. You usually have 20 days after the Memorandum of Decision to file an appeal to the Connecticut Appellate Court because the Memorandum of Decision is considered the final judgment. There may be exceptions, if, for example, you filed a motion to reconsider or something similar. If you fail to appeal on time, then you are stuck with the decision set forth in the Memorandum of Decision. You should immediately speak to a lawyer about filing an appeal if you have not already done so. Feel free to contact me if you wish as I do handle appeals. Incidentally, a court "transcript" is a typed booklet of what has been said in court. I would be extremely surprised if anyone altered a transcript. Perhaps you may mean there are exhibits or other documents included in the "record," which is a list of the documents proposed for an appeal. The "record" does not necessarily include only the evidence that was admitted at trial. In any case, call me (or another lawyer) if you would like to discuss this further, but do not let time go by.
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