What May I Do?

Good judges know their limits.  That knowledge is more important than knowing the law.  Judges can only do what the statutes say they can do, or what the appellate court says is OK in written opinions.  That's it.  They can do no more than that.  If it's not written in one of those two sources, the Judge can't do it.  Period.  A good judge knows that.  A really good judge knows when a case needs more than that.  That's when a really good judge stops the trial and URGES the litigants to rethink settlement.  When a judge does that, a good attorney (or two) listen - really well.  You need an example?  Happy to oblige.  Some cases, especially custody cases, really need the input and opinion of a licensed mental health professional.  Some cases need those mental health professionals to help the parties make decisions by actually making some of the decisions, like whether and when a parent and child are ready to have more contact or whether a parent is emotionally healthy enough to make decisions.  How a custody arrangement progresses may need a mental health professional to make some decisions to help the parties move forward.  The judge doesn't have the knowledge to help.  Unfortunately, there's nothing in the statutes that lets a judge order that.  There's a written opinion that says a judge may not delegate decision making authority to a third party - without the express consent of the parties.  That means the judge can't order litigants to let a mental health professional make any custody decision.  The litigants have to agree, and the judge is not allowed to order them to agree.  In those cases, if the judge decides, the decision won't be as practical, fluid and workable as one with the mental health professional involved.  A really good judge knows that and pushes settlement.  We love a really good judge.  Here in the Trenches.