Can I Refuse a Placer County Family Court Commissioner or Family Law Judge?

In some Placer County family law cases, a complaint we hear is that one parent will believe that the assigned family law judge or family law commissioner is not listening to their case.  Sometimes the parent will believe the Placer County family law judge or commissioner is actively biased against them and they will never get a fair outcome no matter how good their facts are. 

Placer county judges and court commissioners are required by law to be fair and neutral to all parties and to apply the law equitably.  In our experience, the Placer County judges and commissioners work very hard to do justice and rule fairly.  It must be recognized that they are only human and sometimes make mistakes.  Another issue we have noticed is that parents who are rude and offensive to the Placer County judges can hurt their cases unintentionally.  Passion in the courtroom is good so long as it is respectful and courteous to the court officials.  Placer County judges have feelings and if they are being disrespected by an overzealous parent, the judge may not be inclined to rule that parent’s way on a debatable issue. Thus, we always recommend parties treat the judge with professional respect and courtesy and to utilize the services of a Placer County family law attorney to help them.

In cases where you fear that the Placer County judge is truly not listening to your case, and hiring an attorney is unlikely to help get the judge to listen, you can issue a challenge to recuse or strike them from hearing your case.  This challenge does not require you list a reason for the striking.  You simply get to use the challenge as a matter of right under the law.  However, we strongly recommend you speak to a Placer County family law attorney before deciding to undertake this action.  There are legal and strategic considerations before issuing a challenge to a sitting Placer County judge or commissioner.

If you believe your judge or court commissioner is not listening to you and is biased against you, please call us immediately.  We offer a free half-hour consultation in which we can discuss your case and how to address any possible challenges to the judge or commissioner.  Please contact us today.