Parents faced with contentious child custody cases are often highly emotional. It can be easy to let those emotions take over, but it’s very important to try and avoid that outcome. Emotion tends to easily overpower reason, and that’s when things can quickly take a turn for the worst, especially for Florida parents who take their custody battles before a court of law.
An example is found in a man from another state who now faces prison time after he decided to break the rules in a county courthouse. During a child custody conference with his former wife, he decided to use his cell phone to record the meeting. There were signs posted in the area stating that cell phone use was not permitted.
A court employee noticed the recording and told the man that his actions were illegal. A sheriff’s deputy was called, but the man was able to exit the building before the deputy arrived. He then posted the recording on Facebook before being arrested and charged with wiretapping.
A jury convicted the man on that charge, and he received a sentence of between 11 and 23 months in prison. He appealed, but the higher court also found that he had broken the law by using his phone to record the meeting. It appears that he will have to serve time behind bars for that lapse in judgment, which certainly does not help his custody matter.
Parents in Florida who are preparing for their own child custody case should make every effort to work things out through their legal counsel, outside of a court of law. Going to court can yield any number of outcomes, many of which are far different from what either party envisions. As this case demonstrates, the consequences of a misstep in court can have lasting effects.
Source: pennlive.com, “Dad deserves jail term for recording child custody hearing, Pa. court says“, Matt Miller, Jan. 4, 2018
