Judicial Disqualification in Indiana - Assault on Judicial Integrity by Child Custody Evaluators - Part II

In a stunning new development, Judge Heather Welch has recused herself from further proceedings in Moore v Moore – 49D12-0810-DR-44790. But before I provide more details, because of its importance, here again is the first paragraph of the Indiana Code of Judicial Conduct. [1] An independent, fair and impartial judiciary is indispensable to our system of justice. The United States legal system is based upon the principle that an independent, impartial, and competent judiciary, composed of men and women of integrity, will interpret and apply the law that governs our society. Thus, the judiciary plays a central role in preserving the principles of justice and the rule of law. Inherent in all the Rules contained in this Code are the precepts that judges, individually and collectively, must respect and honor the judicial office as a public trust and strive to maintain and enhance confidence in the legal system.

In Part I of this series I wrote about Del Anderson, a GAL for Child Advocates, Inc. He had been assigned by the court to conduct an investigation of the parents and file a report to the court detailing his findings and recommendations consistent with the best interest of the children. Mr Anderson filed his report with the court on 05 November 2012 which contained numerous lies in an effort to disparage father in the eyes of the court. On 05 February 2013 during a hearing in this cause he then proceeded to repeat and embellish the lies during his sworn testimony in open court.

The proceeding abruptly ended when the father presented documentary evidence of Mr Anderson's lies. Judge Heather Welch, Del Anderson, Cynthia Dean – attorney for Del Anderson, Petitioner Kristy Moore, Jonathan Deenik – attorney for Kristy Moore, and Brian Moore then had a half hour conference about the evidence impeaching Mr Anderson's testimony and the Report. Welch then continued the hearing until 27 February 2013.

Three days later Welch dropped a bombshell on this case by suddenly disqualifying herself without providing a reason. I am not going to speculate as to why she chose to recuse but am certainly going to continue pursuing this matter so that everyone can become fully aware of how Del Anderson and his attorney, Cynthia Dean, acted in a manner consistent with their objective of removing the children from father's custody and equal parenting time.

Come back again for more details which are soon to follow.

If you need assistance in selecting an Indiana child custody attorney or evaluator then please visit my website and contact my scheduler to make an appointment to meet with me.

If you would like to follow my activities more closely then send a friend request to my Political FaceBook page.

Subscribe to this blawg.

More information about child custody rights and procedures may be found on the Indiana Custodial Rights Advocates website.

©2008, 2013 Stuart Showalter, LLC. Permission is granted to all non-commercial entities to reproduce this article in it's entirety with credit given.