Introducing CAS evidence - very confused

[Serene]

I am very confused. I have in my possession an 18 page summary of our CAS file. The allegations were on us wrongfully. We were fully cleared of all the allegations after an investigation. The worker determined that this was a custody and access issue, and that the mother's conduct was less than appropriate. There are words to this affect in the 18 page summary.

We asked the judge to Order the CAS file for our trial that is to take place very soon. He refused. He said "the trial judge would need to deem if that was appropriate". That doesn't make a whole lot of sense given the trial judge would not have the file unless we subpoenaed it and had a chance to review it before the trial... I'm not even sure what the judge was talking about that day, but I think it is safe to say he was just disinterested and not well informed of the situation and the file.

So I've talked with the CAS worker to understand what she will say in court when we subpoena her. We need to provide will says for our witnesses soon (reason for my call). The worker is very cooperative and I believe really feels for our particular situation. She said that we don't need to subpoena her, and that we can introduce the CAS file summary as evidence. I've been told by others though that I cannot introduce other's evidence, that they must introduce their own.

I'm very confused. I can't see why I can't attach the summary to an affidavit and have it introduced to our file that way. It is no different than attaching a school report card, etc. as evidence?

Can someone assist me in understanding this?

The worker also said that the CAS worker would likely fight her appearance in court as there is no open protection issue (our file was closed since there were no concerns for the children after the investigation). She also said that the information she can share, even in court, is already in the summary we have on hand.

[ByMyself]

Have you had your trial conference yet? This is when the matter would normally be addressed.

In the mean time, follow the family court rules. Summons the cas worker and pay the nominal fees.

(I have read somewhere recently that if the person being called is scheduled for work that day, and being called to testify is part of the scope of their work (police officers, social workers, etc), that they do not need to be paid the fee - double dipping principle - will try to find that when I have some time).

Require them to bring the document with them. The author of the document needs to be the one to be called. Have them verify the document on the stand, and then you may question them.

Have you asked the other party to sign a consent to get the documents from cas? Check with your cas, they may have a form that they want used for that purpose. Send it to the other party, asking them to fill it out and return it to you, within x days. If they fail to do so, you will have stronger footing to request the judge to order the disclosure.

Side note- disclosure from some CAS agencies can take 6 mos+ with consent orders for private parties. When ordered from a judge, it is usually a couple weeks. Call your cas, ask to speak to disclosures, and they should explain the timelines for you.

[Serene]

I have no idea how to quote the above in my reply. The little box that says "quote message in reply" doesn't work either lol.

TM already took place. Judge basically ignored the request to Order the file, and it was in the TM Brief.

Other party refused to Order it on consent (no surprise there as it doesn't help their case any).

We actually don't even need the file. We have the summary and that is enough for us. The CAS worker can verify the document (the file summary as it pertains to us) that we have in our possession. That would be sufficient for our purpose. The worker could then I guess be questioned by both sides. She wasn't too impressed with mom in this case... that would easily come out.

Btw, I confirmed with CAS that there are many different documents in a case: a file summary for each family AND the file itself. It is important to note that the file summary for each family is only as it pertains to that family. Meaning that the file summary I have in hand speaks moreso about US and not about mom. Whereas, mom's summary would speak moreso about her, and not about us. The interesting part is, is that there is information about mom in our summary. And I believe this was intentional. It is not an invasion of privacy nor a slip of privacy per legislation. This was intentional on the part of CAS I believe to discredit the allegations and further substantiate how future allegations would be handled about our family.

[ByMyself]

I managed to get full file disclosure from cas. There are some names of third parties (people who called in with allegations) crossed out, but the rest is intact. It includes supervisor discussions with worker, verification conferences, collateral interviews, notes from referral calls (when the complaint is first called in).

There is a lot that goes on behind the scenes at cas, and some is potentially of value in the cas handwritten and typed notes, depending on your case. If nothing else, it's good to see sometimes what other allegations the other party is making, that the cas worker doesn't bother to include in the summary.

If you believe there is anything in the cas notes that you wish to bring up during trial, include the worker's notes in the documents listed in the subpoena. The worker should bring their notes, to back up their summary. If the other party gets the worker to stumble in remembering why they mentioned something in the summary, it could harm their credibility, reducing the value of their report.

Having their notes ahead of time allows you to guide the worker through their testimony, giving you the opportunity to show the court how you would like the court to perceive how the worker came about their opinions in the case.

And take a really objective look at their report - look for bias from the worker - are their opinions based on facts the judge will have access to? The notes taken at the time of interviews are the best evidence of what either party said at the time. You need to carry your best evidence into court every time.

Fight for the entire file disclosure. Go through the proper channels now - and when your trial is ready, explain that you need these documents in the interests of having a fair trial. Have your arguments ready, show that you have tried in other ways to get the information. The judge will likely make the order, but often they won't unless other avenues have been exhausted first. They tend to not like it if you run to them first.

I wouldn't feel comfortable proceeding into trial without the full disclosure of the cas files to back up your case. It may mean a short delay in your trial, but you only get one chance to do it right.

[OrleansLawyer]

The judge may be stating you need to have the evidence introduced at trial, or else have a voir dire to be able to introduce more.

[Serene]

Orleans lawyer - How do we do either of the above?

[OrleansLawyer]

Go to the courthouse and have a talk to duty counsel about it. Then go to the library of your nearest law school and look into books of evidence.

How you introduce evidence depends on how you can get it into the record (request to admit facts, by witness, etc) and your litigation strategy.