11 Dec What is hearsay and why would a family or juvenile dependency court judge allow it in as evidence?
Hearsay is essentially rumor.
For example, I testify that I heard your neighbor say that you forgot to pick up your child from kindergarten at noon. Judges usually don’t allow hearsay in as evidence if that neighbor isn’t there to substantiate what I just testified to. Also, if I didn’t summon your neighbor to court, to be questioned by you. Maybe you did forget, maybe you only forgot one day, maybe you never forgot, maybe you came after school one day to pick up your child because you forgot that kindergarteners get out of school at noon.
You get the picture.
Even though there are already at least 30 exceptions to the hearsay rules, the California legislature took it a step toooo far and reduced the standard of evidence in family and juvenile dependency courts soooo low, that all hearsay (and double hearsay, triple hearsay, etc. ) is allowed in these courts, to be used as evidence against you. Hearsay is also used against you to take away your legal custody of your child away from you. The California legislature introduced a vague, thus unconstitutional, “best interest of the child” standard of evidence, aka, “fair” preponderance of the evidence standard which no other state allows to be used in their dependency courts.
As a witness against you, I could even testify in one of these courts that the husband of a neighbor of your mom, heard her say, that you told her, that you forgot to pick up your child from kindergarten at noon. Most likely you won’t hear anyone on your side tell me to stop talking, or even raise an objection, even though my testimony is triple hearsay. What you most likely will see happen, is that the judge will look at you and ask you why you forgot to pick up your child from kindergarten at noon, #PreventUGI (unwarranted governmental interference).
The members of the organization that controls the family and juvenile dependency courts, the AFCCnet, or the “Association of Family and Conciliation Courts” is made up of judges, attorneys, psychologists, social workers, child custody evaluators, etc. who thrive on hearsay in these courtrooms. Hearsay allows more litigation which equates to more money for almost all of them.
I guarantee you, that if your judge ordered you to use and pay for one of these AFCC psychologists… their written hearsay report submitted back to the judge can and will be used against you as evidence. In addition, the double or even triple hearsay contained inside of their report can and will be used against you. If you try to subpoena the AFCC psychologist to court so you can question him/her? Most likely one of the numerous attorneys for the AFCC will appear instead and the judge will refuse to allow you to do so. #NoAFCC