Summer's new placement trial was scheduled for April 23, 2010.
By this time, Summer had been in foster care for 6 months and she would be turning 1 on April 19th. We had been reading the rules and regulations for CPS and it said that a baby under the age of 2 had to be permanently placed by their 2nd birthday, so as slow as everything seemed to be moving, the process was actually moving along much faster than it would for a child over the age of 2.
CPS had just one year to transition Summer out of her current foster home, put her in a new home, rehabilitate her parents and then place her permanently with a family.
By the morning of April 23rd, Sean and I were a nervous wreck. All of our prayers and the prayers of others had brought us to this day and after today, we would finally have an answer..or closure.
I made sure to bring all my documentation, the letter mom had written me originally, and all the dates and events that had happened. I had no clue what I would be testifying about or what questions they would be asking me, but I knew from watching Judge Judy that I would probably have to show receipts and documentation and maybe even photographs of the damages!
Once again, Cristal came with us and we sat in the waiting room with Summer's dad. He was showing off pictures from Summer's 1st birthday party and talking about all the toys he bought her. He talked about how the foster mom let him have the party at her house and he just couldn't say enough great things about the foster home Summer was staying in. He told Cristal that he had a car once but he sold it to a guy for $40 to buy diapers. (!!) He said he was now in a rehab house and as soon as he got out, he was taking Summer. He said foster mom was going to keep Summer for a few more months until he got out. Even though I knew he was full of it, my heart kept falling as I heard him talk about getting Summer back. It was too hard to imagine him taking her and the life that she would have in his care.
Summer's mom wasn't even there and her lawyers kept coming out looking for her. We didn't see any other relatives. I wondered why the lesbian aunt wasn't there to appeal for custody of Summer too.
A CPS lawyer came out and called Sean and I into the hallway.
He was a fairly young guy and he was quite self-assured. He minced no words when he asked us who in the world we were and where did we come from. I tried to briefly explain how I knew Summer but he kept interrupting me. By the sardonic look on his face, I could tell he didn't believe my answers and the more I talked, the more he scoffed at us. What possessed you to take this baby home? You have only known her for 5 days and now you are claiming a relative status? What is your personal interest in this? Do you already have kids? Do you think that she is up for adoption? Don't you know that her father is probably going to get custody of her soon?
The lawyer told us that he represented CPS and he would be making his decision today based on the best interest of the child, so he just wanted to meet the "relatives" who were being considered for placement so he could make a recommendation on behalf of CPS. The lawyer told me that he would be calling me up to testify and to be ready.
Back to the waiting room.
Another hour and we were all called into the courtroom.
I saw that we had the same judge as before.
He is an older man, as most judges are, but we heard that he was a very bad judge for birth parents. In fact, birth parents did not like him at all because he was extremely strict and he didn't give too many second chances. We were thrilled to see that he would be deciding our case but he was still very intimidating. He didn't seem to possess a lot of patience and he was very short in his responses to the lawyers too.
After everyone had given their names and reasons for being there, non-family members were asked to leave. Sean, Cristal and I got up and trudged out into the hall.
We tried to be really quiet so we could hear what was being said but the walls were too thick. After a long time, the bailiff opened the door and called me, and only me, into the courtroom to testify. Sean and Cristal had to wait outside!
I somehow made it up to the chair on the right side of the judge and I swore to tell the truth. I looked out into the courtroom and there were so many people! I saw reporters, lawyers, social workers, stenographers, and bailiffs along with Summer's dad and other people on phones and computers. Everyone's eyes were on me.
CPS began the questioning.
They asked me to tell the court my name and how many children I had.
I told them, "My name is Jacquelyn Gavin and I have 4 children".
Silence.
Papers shuffling.
The stenographer stopped tapping and looked over at me with her eyebrow in the air.
Gasp!!
"I am a mother of 3!!!!" Not 4!!!...3!!!! Oh my gosh...I can't believe I said that" I said.
I began to panic.
I swore to tell the truth and my first answer was a lie! Would they have to strike this from the record or something??? Was the stenographer writing all this down? Was she going to type O-M-G? Was CPS even going to consider giving me another child now when I didn't even know how many children I had!???
Just as I began to faint, the judge looked down on me and said, "Were you including your husband, Mrs. Gavin? Men sometimes act like children".
Everyone in the room laughed and that wonderful judge signaled CPS to continue their questioning.
They asked me to tell the courtroom how it was that I came to know Summer.
I shuffled through my papers to get my dates correct and I took a deep breath and then I just started from the beginning.
As I began to tell the story, my nervousness went away and I felt really calm. A hush seemed to settle over the courtroom as I told everyone how I found Summer. I was able to be completely honest without feeling awkward because Summer's mother was not there. Part way through the story, Summer's dad put his head down and began to sob. He did not know any of this had happened because he was in jail. I could hear other people sniffling in the room and I saw tissues passing around.
When I finished the story, CPS had no other questions for me.
However, the dad's lawyer had some questions and she was not sniffling.
A Condoleezza Rice wanna-be stood up and asked me to look at her client, (the blotchy, blubbering man at her left?) and to tell the court if he looked like the type of man that would do all the horrible things Summer's mom allegedly accused him of in my story.
"Uhhh..."
Talk about being put on the spot! How could I even answer that!?
I hesitated, choosing my words carefully, and then I told her that he didn't seem threatening but I still did not know him and so I could not possibly know if he had done all those things or not.
Deep.
She then began to challenge my intellect even further by asking ask me irrelevant questions until I was completely confused.
Just in time, the judge got annoyed and put a stop to her questioning.
I was dismissed and escorted back outside the courtroom.
I collapsed next to Cristal and Sean in the hallway, berating myself for my faux pas in the courtroom. I couldn't believe that I blew the whole thing.
Sean and Cristal said they could hear my voice through the thick wall and I sounded very calm and collected.
This was about the time that mom came strolling in. Her irritated lawyer came out and briskly escorted her into the courtroom, almost 3 hours late.
After a while, we were all called back in.
The judge asked Sean and I to stand up and he asked us if we were trying to adopt Summer.
I said no.
He asked us if we knew that the best place for a child to be is with their biological parents?
I said yes.
He then asked us what would we do if Summer was placed with us and then taken away again to live with her parents?
I said that everything happens for a reason and we don't always know why and if Summer went back home, then we would be happy for her, but until that happened, we just wanted to keep her safe.
The judge told us to sit back down.
He had already asked each party's lawyer to stand up and give their recommendation so now it was time for the judge to give his verdict.
In front of the entire courtroom, the judge said that he could not imagine a better placement for Summer than in the Gavin's home. He can see that the parent /child relationship will be supported and encouraged and he feels confident that Summer will be loved and well taken care of. Right?
We both quickly nod. We heart birth parents.
The judge then ordered that Summer be removed from the foster home and placed with us that very day.
Then he looked directly at Sean and I and he said with such tender kindness, "I wish you and your family well, and in the end, if this doesn't turn out the way that you want it to, and if Summer is reunited with her birth family, I will be crying with you."
No comments:
Post a Comment