Pittsburgh, PA asked in Family Law and Child Custody for Florida

Q: There was no evidence of texts supposedly sent, yet the judge accepted them and took their word over lack of evidence??

So what happened was during a custody trial, the father had claimed the defendant was trying to keep the daughter away from him (he’s behind on child support and has lied on who was watching over their daughter among other relevant things) and had said he had evidence that he wanted thing to work out and that she wasn’t interested, but has no text evidence of it. The mother had plenty of evidence over texts of the concerns she had, yet the judge had favored the father over the mother under the impression that the father was something he wasn’t. The lawyer didn’t bring up the fact that there was no evidence, and he has ended up with majority custody and the mother has to now pay child support, even though he was behind on his payments. I feel this is an injustice and he has abused the legal system to hurt the mother financially and take the daughter away from the mother. I want to know if there is any validity to what I feel is wrong and if there is anything they can do about it

Related Topics:
1 Lawyer Answer
Terrence H Thorgaard
Terrence H Thorgaard
Answered
  • Freeeport, FL
  • Licensed in Florida

A: If text messages were offered as evidence, presumably someone testified about those texts being sent. That would be sufficient evidence of the texts. There might be hearsay problems, but that would depend on such matters as what exactly was intended to be shown by the introduction of each text, who was offering it into evidence, etc.

Justia Ask a Lawyer is a forum for consumers to get answers to basic legal questions. Any information sent through Justia Ask a Lawyer is not secure and is done so on a non-confidential basis only.

The use of this website to ask questions or receive answers does not create an attorney–client relationship between you and Justia, or between you and any attorney who receives your information or responds to your questions, nor is it intended to create such a relationship. Additionally, no responses on this forum constitute legal advice, which must be tailored to the specific circumstances of each case. You should not act upon information provided in Justia Ask a Lawyer without seeking professional counsel from an attorney admitted or authorized to practice in your jurisdiction. Justia assumes no responsibility to any person who relies on information contained on or received through this site and disclaims all liability in respect to such information.

Justia cannot guarantee that the information on this website (including any legal information provided by an attorney through this service) is accurate, complete, or up-to-date. While we intend to make every attempt to keep the information on this site current, the owners of and contributors to this site make no claims, promises or guarantees about the accuracy, completeness or adequacy of the information contained in or linked to from this site.