Expert: Dan Bachert - 4/23/2008

Question
My ex while in our emergency hearing for temp custody perjured herself in court by stating she was not living with an individual who was at the time wanted for several crimes in 2 counties. When asked who she was living with she stated another name. The judge said 1. that it was out of his jurisdiction & 2. that we could not prove my son was in danger. If we couldve proved it , the court wouldve called DSS in SC and opened a case. a week after court i went to SC and had police go to my childs mothers home and they found the felon, but he evaded police. They wrote in the report that the felon was living with my ex and she was warned about harboring a fugitive. After that incident she fled with the felon and we caught them again in another city. This time police caught him and wrote again in the report that she was living there. The house had crack in it and was infested in fleas. DSS was never called though and by the time they did go, she was out of house. I took the official court transcripts to my state attorneys office to file a pergury motion, but they now state that its not material to the case and that I have to reopen it with the family court judge. What I want to do is file charges on her for lying in court. Something couldve happened to my son because of her lies and exposing my child to this man. I already filed a police report. What can I do next?? Thank You........................

Answer
Hi Mr. Cardozo, from what you have stated I would recommend that you file for a change of custody based upon the crack cocaine incident. The case should be filed with the court that originally granted the dissolution of marriage and child custody order assuming another court has not taken jurisdiction over the matter. When proving your case remember that you must bring the actual witnesses to court not the police reports of affidavits. As for the perjury this is probably a poor use of your efforts because you would have to show that she was living with this individual at the time she gave her testimony not ten days or even ten minutes after she gave that testimony.

I hope this information was helpful to you.
This answer is based solely on the information you have provided in your question and as always, I would advise that you arrange for an in person consultation with an attorney from my firm or another Family Law attorney familiar with Florida Family Law who can analyze the specific facts and circumstances of the case more closely to better advise you.

Sincerely,

Daniel Bachert, Esq.
The Bachert Law Firm, P.A.
330 Clematis Street, Suite 222
West Palm Beach, Florida 33401
(561) 653-3951