You have been charged with something. Your petition for custody can be affected. You are facing robbery charges. You are facing accusations of driving while intoxicated or even unpaid traffic tickets. You have a name that is quite common or well-known, and it appears on a charge sheet or citation. It’s an identity error. You have another case on your side instead of concentrating on your custody case. Now you are preparing for a case of mistaken identity in a custody hearing.
Click here to watch the video on Preparing for a Case of Mistaken Identity in a Custody Hearing – Michigan Law
You’re now telling the judge that it isn’t you. A mistaken identity case means you bear the burden of proof. The court won’t let you leave. You need to conduct your research. You must do that for your custody case to proceed.
If the other parent of your child has requested custody, they are the Plaintiff in the child custody case. The Defendant is you. A defendant in a custody dispute is not the same as a defendant in a criminal proceeding. That doesn’t imply that you messed up or are in danger. That does not imply that all the decisions in your custody dispute are made by the other parent. It simply indicates that the other parent initiated the custody case. Your co-parent filed the necessary documents first.
What to do in a custody case?
Consider speaking with a lawyer if the other parent of your child has made a complaint about custody. The other parent of your child may have verbally, emotionally, or physically abused you or your children. You cannot rely on the attorney for the other parent to represent your best interests. Even if you and the other parent generally agree on matters. A lawyer cannot represent you if they have represented the other parent in court. Or, the lawyer has filed documents on their behalf.
You are considering attempting to delay the service (delivery) of the custody documents. You are aware that the other parent of your child has filed for custody. Avoiding having custody documents served will not help you and may even get you into trouble. Avoiding duty does not prevent the other parent from obtaining a custody judgment. You might not be aware of what’s happening in the case as a result. It might cause a slight delay. The judge might decide on important matters involving your child without consulting you.
The “home state” of your child should be the location of the custody dispute. Your child should be a resident of Michigan. Your child must have lived there with a parent for at least six consecutive months. This should be before the filing of the case (or since birth). Michigan can also be the child’s home state if a parent still resides in Michigan and the child was born there. This is so even if the child is residing in another state. Talk to your attorney if this issue on residency is confusing you.
What happens if you cannot participate in a custody case?
In a custody dispute, there are tight time constraints. Submit your Response and Counterclaim within the time specified in the Summons. This is 28 days from the date of service if you were served by mail. You have 21 days from the date of service if you were physically handed the papers. The same time frame applies to serving your answer. It applies as well to your counterclaim if you are submitting one.
A hearing will be set if the other parent files any motions in the custody dispute. You can attend the court hearing and submit a response to the petition. The court must receive your answer at least three days before the hearing. The other parent receives your response at least five days before the hearing. This is if the papers are served via mail. It is at least three days before the hearing if the other parent is physically served.
The judge may declare a default against you if you fail to submit an answer by the deadline. You submit a motion to have the default set aside. The judge then issues an order setting the default aside. You are not permitted to take part in the case if a default has been entered. The judge can decide on matters involving your children without consulting you.
You are the defendant in a child custody dispute. Do everything in your power to avoid a default judgment. Make sure that you answer any questions the court may have after the initial hearing. You are permitted to refute any allegations the plaintiff makes against you. This is true as long as your response is submitted within the allotted time frame.
You might be wondering why a parent or you might not be able to take part. Or why you can’t show up in a hearing to respond. Or you are tied up in another case. A criminal one. You got arrested. Maybe they got the wrong person or a case of a facial recognition glitch.
What can you do with a mistaken identity case?
PBS.org published a report on their investigation of the impact of eyewitness testimony on a jury during a criminal case. In the first scenario, circumstantial evidence of a crime was offered to the jurors. The defendant was convicted of the offense by about 18% of the jury. The same circumstantial evidence was offered in the second scenario. The defendant was identified as being present at the crime scene. The identification was by eyewitness testimony. 72% of the jury voted in favor of finding the prisoner guilty.
The Innocence Project reported that 329 people have been released from prison. It was a result of presenting genetic evidence proving their innocence in the case. Almost 75% of instances that were later overturned were due to eyewitness misidentification. Procedural errors in the system led to eyewitness misidentification. It led to people being falsely convicted of heinous crimes. such as rape and murder, and they lost a significant part of their lives.
If false charges are made or a mistaken identity is committed, you cannot just wait for things to happen. Speak to your attorney as soon as possible. A lawyer can protect your interests. Help you defend the charge being made against you. Find out more about the case even if you are confident that you are innocent. A criminal charge can have ramifications even if it doesn’t stick. It leaves a paper trail. A criminal record of arrest.
Inform your lawyer of any pertinent information upon calling him or her. Ask questions or concerns about the case you may have. Keep him or her informed of any developments following your meeting. Contact family members and friends. Ask coworkers, neighbors, and other people. Find anyone willing to testify on your side. Their cooperation may be requested by your attorney. Do not also admit to any wrongdoing.
Sometimes, it may seem easier to admit to a lesser charge than to defend yourself. You cannot take a chance holding up your defense if you are wrongly charged. The crime they are charging you might be a sex crime. A sex offense conviction has many long-lasting and far-reaching consequences. It can affect your future employment, friendships, and family relationships. It can affect your child custody case and your parenting time. Worse, you could spend up to thirty years on the sex offenders list. This is not to mention prison time before that.
Your attorney has successfully dealt with your mistaken identity or false charges. Your next challenge is removing the criminal record trail left by your arrest. As long as it is an active police record, it can be linked to other crimes in their database.
Your criminal history can include a case involving someone else. Those who share a name, a birthday, or who provided a false name when they were detained may all be at risk for this. Corrections can be made to any errors in your criminal record.
Knowing the location of a mistake on your criminal record is necessary before you may correct it. There are many places to find criminal records:
[ a ] A local police department or court
[ b ] The Michigan State Police
[ c ] The Michigan Department of Corrections
[ d ] The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)
[ e ] Private investigation companies
The location of the error will determine how to correct your criminal record. Your employer, bank, or landlord can reject your application because of your criminal history. Ask what criminal record search was performed. This will make locating the error simpler. You can uncover an error on your criminal record somewhere. It probably exists elsewhere as well. An error that is fixed in one location won’t necessarily be fixed in others. Each record’s information needs to be corrected independently.
The sooner you fix this mistaken identity issue, the sooner you can get back to your child custody case.
Subscribe to our YouTube channel today for more advice on Family Law!
Goldman & Associates Law Firm is here to with information about Child Custody and Divorce in the State of Michigan.