Q: Can I adjourn a trial case if my court appointed attorney hasn’t responded back to my calls or emails?

A: You need to contact both the Judge and the court appointed attorney to explain your situation. If their is sufficient time, the Court may grant you an adjournment. However, the Court may state that it is too late to get an adjournment. A lot of this depends on the Judge and all the circumstances.

A: There is an ongoing misunderstanding about the procedures involved in family litigation in a family court and a divorce court. The parents surrender their rights when they ask government for help to resolve their differences, and one of the rights they lose is the rights over their child.

One misunderstanding centers upon the court's assigning professionals to investigate the family. Such professionals can include social workers, child protection specialists, psychologists, and attorneys for the children. The parent's input matters for nearly nothing. Tugging at one's attorney's sleeve is not what matters in such a court during such a proceeding. The investigation of a family by the court's professionals occurs between appearances in court. Communications take place between appearances and few of those involve input by the parents.

Assigned attorneys handle hundreds of these cases: cases involving ordinary parents living with children in ordinary circumstances. A lawyer will not gain a huge revelation by constantly calling and talking to a parent. There is also the high likelihood the court will force a settlement of the underlying petition.

As for the asker's question, one never knows when the court will grant an adjournment or deny an adjournment. The best course is to follow one's attorney and do as one's attorney does. The asker must not second guess her attorney.