The CFI in my divorce case is biased. What can I do to prevent her from influencing the Court? A: Seek unbundled Attorney help.
We have a CFI because my husband was arrested on DV. The DA dissmised the case becuase she said she could not prove my case. I had two witnesses. The CFI prepared her interim report and she even minimized the DV case. She didn't address my concerns about domestic abuse.I just got the report and nearly EVERYTHING i told her is missing! I'm smeared across the page and he's getting off scot free and I'm afraid its not whats best for our child. I feel very strongly that to make an educated decision on child custody, ALL the information needs to be presented. I'm concerned for our son! My husband has severly abused me (I have one recording of his verbal abuse of me. Can I show these to the CFI to prove my point? Can I use that in court as a proof to obtain full custody? Please advise!
Answer:
Some CFIs have biases, but most of them are looking exclusively from the child's perspective. If there is some form of allegation that does not involve the child, it doesn't always make it into a report. It sounds like you are pretty deep into your case. If you are doing this without representation from an attorney, or without confidential guidance from an attorney, you are probably not on the right track.
In Colorado you can legally tape any conversation in which you are a participant or for which you are physically present. Clearly if the tape is of him abusing you, then you are present and the tape is both legal and admissible.
You do need an attorney, if only to help you prepare proper paperwork to respond the CFI report and ask for appointment of another CFI, or to hire your own expert. In Colorado, as in many states, lawyers can now provide "unbundled" legal services, which means that they can write your pleadings for you, give you advice, including how to handle a hearing, but not actually enter the case. This is usually much cheaper than hiring a lawyer to handle the whole matter.
