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Difference between revisions of "Enforcing Orders in Family Matters"
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Enforcing Orders in Family Matters (view source)
Revision as of 22:18, 13 June 2019
, 22:18, 13 June 2019→Some preliminary comments
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You sometimes hear people complaining about how the court didn't help them do this or that, or how the court failed to protect their children or their car or their chihuahua. A popular misunderstanding about the court system is that it monitors and enforces its own decisions. It doesn't. That's up to you. | You sometimes hear people complaining about how the court didn't help them do this or that, or how the court failed to protect their children or their car or their chihuahua. A popular misunderstanding about the court system is that it monitors and enforces its own decisions. It doesn't. That's up to you. | ||
In a very narrow sense, the job of the court is to hear the court proceedings brought before it and to make decisions about what is fair and appropriate in the circumstances of each proceeding. The person who begins the court proceeding, the ''claimant'', is responsible for managing their case and ultimately convincing the judge why the orders they are asking for are fair and appropriate. The person against whom the proceeding is brought, the ''respondent'', is responsible to defending themself and explaining why the orders the claimant wants are unfair and inappropriate. The job of the judge is to manage the trial, listen to the parties and their evidence, and then decide what a fair and appropriate result is. | In a very narrow sense, the job of the court is to hear the court proceedings brought before it and to make decisions about what is fair and appropriate in the circumstances of each proceeding. The person who begins the court proceeding, the ''claimant'', is responsible for managing their case and ultimately convincing the judge why the orders they are asking for are fair and appropriate. The person against whom the proceeding is brought, the ''respondent'', is responsible to defending themself and explaining why the orders the claimant wants are unfair and inappropriate. The job of the judge is to manage the trial, listen to the parties and their evidence, and then decide what a fair and appropriate result is. | ||
The judge's decision is a ''court order''. It is binding on the parties and they risk being held in contempt of court if they do something different than what the order requires. | The judge's decision is a ''court order''. It is binding on the parties and they risk being held in contempt of court if they do something different than what the order requires. Remember that the order takes effect the moment the judge says it (not its stamped date which can often be considerably later). | ||
Once the decision is made, the judge's job is over and it is each party's responsibility to see to it that the order is followed. The court is not responsible for supervising its own orders and monitoring people to make sure that they're obeying each term of every order it makes. If the respondent notices that the claimant isn't living up to a term of an order, the respondent is responsible for enforcing the order, whether the steps taken to enforce the order include asking the court to find the claimant in contempt, garnishing the claimant's wages, or something else altogether. The claimant has the same rights against the respondent. | Once the decision is made, the judge's job is over and it is each party's responsibility to see to it that the order is followed. The court is not responsible for supervising its own orders and monitoring people to make sure that they're obeying each term of every order it makes. If the respondent notices that the claimant isn't living up to a term of an order, the respondent is responsible for enforcing the order, whether the steps taken to enforce the order include asking the court to find the claimant in contempt, garnishing the claimant's wages, or something else altogether. The claimant has the same rights against the respondent. | ||
