6/23/95
Valery is still under a gag order and is not allowed to talk about the
case yet, so I am going to do her talking for her.
Today we went to court to fight against CPS keeping our daughter in a
foster home for another 6 months.  Valery had just hired an attorney a
few days before court and he didn't have time to prepare for the case
so he asked for a continuence.  The Judge did not want to give it to him,
but the other FOUR attorneys (mine, Michelle's, my ex-wife's, and CPS's)
were not opposed to it, so she didn't have much of a choice.  Besides, 
if the Judge had turned down Val's attorney, my attorney would have asked 
for a continuence, so it would have been a done deal anyway.  :)  
The continuence was set for August 2nd.  That's a lot further away than 
any of us wanted (including the Judge) but it was the first date that 
everyone had open.  With five attorneys and a court calendar, it is not 
easy to find a mutually compatible date.  
We have a full day in court and probably won't need more than that because
our evidence clearly establishes that CPS has NOT been providing adequate
services to our daughter in a timely manner and that all of our efforts 
have been timely.  We can also PROVE that CPS has been actively trying to
keep our daughter from us, rather than reunifying the family as required
by law.  In essence, we were given 40 days for my attorney and Val's 
attorney to build one hell of a case against CPS, and there is no doubt 
between the two attorney's that not only will Michelle be returned home 
to us after the trial, but CPS will be out of the picture completely.
(As in ... case dismissed.)  This is a big plus for all of us.  If we 
had done the trial today, even if the Judge had said that Michelle 
could come home, CPS would still be in our lives for another 6 to 12 
months.  This way, they will be out of our lives in August.  
Also, Michelle's attorney stood up in court and said that Michelle wants 
to come home NOW and that he is in full agreement with her on this issue.  
YES!!!!!!  Her attorney didn't have that attitude a few weeks ago, so we 
don't know what happened, but whatever it is, we'll gladly accept the 
support.  
Valery's attorney was recommended by VOCAL and we are VERY pleased with 
him.  Her attorney, Tom, is from Sacramento so the court system here isn't 
familiar with him and they have no idea of what to expect from him.  That 
is a good thing!  :)  In fact, we had been having doubts about my Public 
Defender for various reasons, but Tom was very impressed with him and said 
"He is a good man and will do a good job.  Don got lucky.  Most Public 
Defender's aren't like him."  Considering the situation that we have all
been in, I think Tom is right.  My P.D. is also impressed with Tom, and 
they seemed to hit it off really well.  They are going to plan their 
strategy together.  My P.D. needs to have some VOCAL education anyway, and 
it looks likes he's going to get it.  :)  I know he won't mind though 
because he has expressed an interest in VOCAL and supports our activity 
with it.  
It's funny in a way because at one point my P.D. and the attorney for CPS 
were trying to play "Let's make a deal" and the attorney for CPS was all 
for it, but, CPS would not back down one inch.  The attorney for CPS was 
not too thrilled about that.  I have a feeling that when it comes time to 
fight, the attorney for CPS is just going to put up a small fight, but 
we're going in with the big guns.  :)  Hope you all enjoy this info.
Val and I really appreciate all the support that everyone has given us.
Thank you.  It has been such a big help.
Don Frosty
~~~ ReneWave v1.00.wb2 (unregistered)
--- Mankind = One Family
---------------