Court with Kim

Time to pull the cookies out of the oven.

I haven't updated my court progress for a while because I succumbed to fears I'd taint my court proceedings if I posted anything. However, I keep waking up at 3am wanting to write so I'm gonna give in to my gut. I believe it is important to continue to offer truth no matter what the consequences are. We live in a country that claims we have the freedom of speech so I'm going to hold on to that. And hopefully, after I yap a bit, I'll get more sleep...

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I would like to put a disclaimer here about the following information: some of my terminology may not be perfect... I'm not a lawyer.

In December 2022, a visiting judge (see the drama unfold here) agreed with the contested magistrate's decision from November 2021. My x appealed the visiting judge's decision. I followed with an appeal as well. That means we didn't agree with portions of the visiting judge's support of the previous decision. You can reread that slowly. This is confusing.

***Sidebar: An appeal is an application to a higher court for a decision to be reversed. In Ohio, when you appeal a magistrate's and a judge's decision over the same topic, the next step is to request the appeal's court to review your case. Attorneys write an in-depth reason for the appeal, and then, if one wants, you can request permission to also offer an oral argument. Oral arguments give attorneys 15-30 minutes to verbally offer additional information and answer clarifying questions for the three judges reviewing the case.

My x requested an oral argument in conjunction with the written argument. Because of his request, I had to do the same. Our attorneys presented oral arguments in October 2023. Three judges explored all the evidence presented in our past case so they could decide if they agreed or disagreed with the previous magistrate's decision (November '21) and the visiting judge (December '22).

On February 20, 2024, two and a half years after our first hearing, I received their decision.

(An "assignment of error" means we believe the magistrate and judge were wrong in their previous decisions.)

·       Father's first assignment of error is overruled.

·       Father's second assignment of error is overruled.

·       Father's third assignment of error is overruled.

·       Father's fifth assignment of error is overruled.

·       Father's sixth assignment of error is overruled.

·       Father's seventh assignment of error is overruled.

All the complaints father submitted were overruled, except one. That means the magistrate and the judge's original decisions were supported. The courts ruled in my favor.

However, at the end of the document, I read this:

·       Mother's single assignment of error is overruled.

I filed 1 appeal. It was overruled because I used the wrong words. I know legally there is a better way to say this but I feel like I lost because I failed to accuse him of "frivolous conduct". I innocently thought that if he was found in contempt, he should have to pay my attorney fees.

That assumption cost me almost $20,000.

It's a semester of college for my kids.

It's a new car for my daughter.

It's new carpet in my house.

It's an insanely cool vacation with my 4 kids.

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While I appreciate this win, I'm apprehensive about celebrating.

I mourn the lost the hours and days with my children because I was preparing for court.

I'm disgusted I had to spend thousands of dollars defending myself.

I have a persistent dread in my core because I know I'll be in court again soon.

Weirdly though, after nearly 7 years in and out of court, I see hope. It's like smelling the chocolate chip cookies in the oven verses tasting that first bite when they come out... the gooey way the warm chocolate melts in your mouth contrasting with a little bit of crunchy from the cookie.

I think the cookies just came out of the oven. I can't wait to see what they taste like.

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