Q: what form is appropriate for use in a child support case to express the undisclosed conflict of interest
my children's mother has a new child with the relative of a judge believed to be in the family law division.
A:
Sounds rather nebulous at this point. If the Judge is only believed to be in the family law division; I do not see where that would cause a conflict.
If the case ends up being assigned to the Judge in question and you raise the issue with the court it would seems that the judge might consider the issue significant and recuse himself/herself from hearing the case.
Should that not happen you have the right to claim what they call a 170.6 affidavit indicating a conflict, without stating the reason and the Judge will be disqualified. This is only good once so choose your battles carefully.
Finally, if the bench officer in question is a Commissioner and not a Judge you merely can refuse to have him/her hear the case; as long as it is done within the time parameters required. Each court has their own local rules regarding such action so you need to be aware of what they are.
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