| I hope you never need this article. Very rarely does it | | | | other parameters or limitations...without having to |
| happen, but there are times that one parent goes off | | | | traumatize a child with a ride in a police car. |
| the deep end and decides that the Orders of the | | | | If there is no remedy that will truly keep the child safe, |
| Court are not meant for them. Children are taken out | | | | in the event of escalating obvious mental health issues |
| of school, hidden at relatives' homes, and secreted | | | | and increasingly bold violations..the Court can enter a |
| from the "custodial" parent. (In this context custodial | | | | Pick Up Order. This court order will describe the child |
| means the parent who should have that child during | | | | and the parent who has them wrongfully, and it will |
| that time frame or the parent with the majority contact | | | | authorize the police to pick the child up. The Order |
| time.) | | | | should be drafted to include all the places the child |
| The first step is to make sure that the current Order is | | | | could reasonably be, with the most obvious listed first. |
| clear and specific enough to be enforceable. Whether | | | | The Order may indicate that law enforcement is |
| law enforcement will assist when one parent violates | | | | authorized to enter a home in order to find the child, |
| a court ordered contact schedule has a lot to do with | | | | and that they can do this at any hour. Without this |
| how clearly written it is. Even with the most clearly | | | | provision, most law enforcement agencies are going to |
| written order there are times that law enforcement will | | | | "stake out" a home only. If the person has taken the |
| not want to get involved. This is when the Court needs | | | | child to other locations, it may be necessary to hire a |
| to be contacted. Emergency Motions are some of the | | | | PI to attempt to find them and then call in law |
| most overused motions around. | | | | enforcement to pick up the child..many police agencies |
| Judges hate them because 1) everyone wants to call | | | | are just too overworked to spend days or even hours |
| every bad situation an emergency and domestic | | | | trying to hunt up parents who have stolen their children. |
| cases are nothing but bad situations and 2) because | | | | Ultimately, there are remedies in these situations, but |
| they are being asked to make decisions without letting | | | | the process can take a while and can be scary in the |
| the other side tell their story. If there is a remedy for | | | | meantime. It is important to understand that long term, |
| the violation (if that parent should not have had this | | | | the parents who follow court orders, who show |
| two weeks of summer, but the judge could take other | | | | respect to the Judge's determinations and work within |
| time away from the offender without harm to the | | | | the system will long term get much better results. |
| child) short of asking the Judge to take the child via | | | | Once a parent pushes things to the point of requiring |
| police, that is the road to go down. Judges can punish | | | | this type of action, they have usually lost the Judge's |
| violations with Orders for attorneys fees, extra time | | | | trust and are working against themselves. |
| for the other parent, moving to supervised or having | | | | |