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Home My WebLink About94-05093 , , " , c ~ \J ~ " , ' . -;J I I it " ,', " J ,fiJ "~ ,tV) ./1 , , Ii' i " I, ,I I' , , ,t I, ;1' 'i " .~ a I,' " 1/'[,1 " ':1;1 <,i J~ 1':-IY '1.'.1 II\tj " ':{1 ',i"l! 'I' ';'1 'j "~I 'I ;; " , I, " ! , I' I, , , ," , , i " 'I "1 I~ , I " \II~ .-1' ! -~ .11 I-~ " " iL! '~I ! ': ';l~ \ ".\1 .,1" I 'I II " I , Ii I, Ii , I I THOMAS B. STBPFBN, Plaintiff ) ) ) ) ) ) ) IN THB COURT OF COHHON PLBAS OF CUHBERLAND COUNTY. PBNNSYLVANIA NO. 94-5093 CIVIL TBRH CUSTODY I' , va. : I GBRALYN H. STBFFBN. I, Defendant II :'JUDGB PRBVIOUSLY ASSIGNBD: The Honorable J. Wesley Oler, Jr. (in divorce action) " CONCILIATOR CONFBR$NCB 8~Y_ RBPORT IN ACCORDANCB WITH CUHBBRLAND COUNTY RULB OF CIVIL PROCBDURE 19l5.3-8(b). the I,undersigned Custody Conciliator submits the following report: 1. The pertinent information concerning the children who are the sUbject of this litigation is as follows: NAME Kathryn L. Steffen Michael T, Steffen BIRTHDATE l6 June 1989 4 July 1991 CURRENTLY IN ~UBTODY OF Both (parties not yet separated) 2. A Conciliation Conference was heid on 9 Hay 1995 and the following individuals were present: the Plaintiff and his attorney. Edward J. Weintraub. Esquire; the Defendant and her attorney. Lawrence F. Clark. Esquire. 3. Items resolved by agreement: None 4. Issues yet to be resolved: Both p~rties continue to reside in the marital residence and neither one of theM will leave voluntarily. There was a hearing scheduled on the father's petition for exclusive possession and the result of that may determine whether the parties are together or separated. Once the parties cease to reside together in the home (either because one is awarded exclusive possession or because one VOluntarily moves out). the court will have to decide the issue of custody and set a schedule tor both parents. Ii II I, 'I I, !! , Ii 5. The Plaintiff's position on custody Is as follows: The father contends that I ,Ithe IOther has a continued and consistent probleM with alcohol abuse and that that ,probleM prevents her (rOM functioning properly as a ~ther (or the children. He feels strongly that he should be awarded priMary physical custody and that the Mother's ,custody of tbe children should be li~lted until she gets her probleM under control. 6. The Defendant's position on custody is as follows: Tho MOther acknowledges a probleM with alcohol (she claiMS she abuses Listerine MOuthwash to drinking it to the .:point of intoxication) but claims that she has sought and ac~epted treatment for that and claiMS to have the problem under control. She denios that that probleM prevents her frOM being the proper custodial parent of the children. 7. Need for separate counsel to represent children: the conciliator sees no need for independent counsel for the children and neither party Made such a request to the conciliator. 8. Need for independent pSYChological evaluation or counseling: the parties agreed to have Arnold 8hienvold perform a psychological evaluation in an effort to ,provide the court with the information it will need to evaluate the mother's condition , , and the relationShip of both parents with the children, The order attached provides '.for that on the terms to which the parties agreed, 9. Other matters and comments: The fatber is a COmMander in the V.S, Navy and works at the facility in : Hechanicsburg, In July of 1995 he will start a 9-Month course at the War College in Carlisle. His assignMent dfter the spring of 1996 is not yet known. His work schedule is approximately 8:00 a.m. to 4:)0 p,m, Honday through Friday. His plan is to reMain in the Marital h~e and he claiMS that he can properly care for the children without any assistance from the ~other. The mother ls currently eMployed on a part-time basis . . I I! :Ias a casbier for Giant foods in CaMp Hill. She works approxiMately 32 hours a week, working svery afternoon Honday througb Friday plus one shift eacb weekend. Prior to January of 1994 she worked as a secretary for the federal governMent for 19 years. She does not want to be separated troM the Plaintiff and her plan is for both of them to re.ain in the bouse with the children and try to make the marriage work. The older child, Kathryn, currently attends .orning kindergarden, after which one of the parents takes her to the Navy Base daycare center where she spends afternoons. Ii 'fhe younger child, Hichael, routinely spends all day Honday through Friday at the Navy Base daycare center. Both parties are apparently satisfied with that daycare and would ,probably continue it regardless of who had custody. 1 do not think the parties are likely to resolve this by agreement and I expect the hearing will take a full day, The order directing the psychological evaluation 'also provides a time and date tor a hearing and requires the exchange of witness I information 20 days prior to the hearing, I suggest the hearing be held sometime during the second halt of JlIl~l, if possible, to give the parties time to complete the ,evaluation. By then I expect the parties will either be separated or be ready to separate, either because ot an order of exclusive possession or because of the 'voluntary act of one of the parties. 18 Hay 1995 Samuel_L. Andes Custody Conciliator THOMAS E. STEFFEN, ) IN THE COURT OF COMMON Plaintiff ) PLEAS OF CUMBERLAND ) COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA VS. ) ) NO. 94-5093 CIVIL TERM GERALYN M, STEFFEN, ) Defendant ) CUSTODY Q!Jl!lR AND NOll. thi s day of , 1995, upon r~ceipt of the conciliator's report, it appearing that the parties agreed to the terms and provisions of thiB order which was dictated in their presence and approved by them and their counsel, we hereby order as follows: 1. Both parties and the children will cooperate to obtain a psychological evaluation of their present custody situation from Arnold Shlenvold. Each of the parties will meet with Dr, Shlenvold or members of his staff as many times as he requires to prepare that evaluation and will make the children available for interview or testing by Dr, Shienvold or his staff and will otherwise cooperate with the evaluation process, None of the information provided to Dr, Shienvold or his staff by either of the parties. or by any other party if used in the evaluation process, will be deemed privileged and Dr, Shienvold and his staff will be free to testify at any subsequent hearing as to all the information obtained from the parties or any other source. The cost of the evaluation will be divided 50 that the father, the Plaintiff, Thomas E, Steffen, pays ninety 190\) percent of the cost and the mother, the Defendant, Geralyn M, Steffen. pays ten (10%) percent of the cost, The payments by the parties will be divided as provided herein after applying the proceeds of any insurance or any other source of payment for the evaluation or testing prOCISS, 1 IN THE COURT OF COMMON PLEAS CUMBERLAND COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA THOMAS E. STEFFEN, Plaintiff vs. NO. '/4 :5 () 13 ,II l /.-l( ~. ) l C!+,,- GERALYN M. STEFFEN, Defendant IN CUSTODY Q.RDER AND HOW, ~(' ;-'1. () 1994, upon consideration of the attached Complaint, it is hereby directed that the parties end their respective counsel appear before <")." ,. ,\, I L. I~" (.'I. <;J> ,,1 I:lf/, ~I , Esquire, the Conciliator, atCumberrand ' J l: , h ~),/ , h CouRty ceurth&u&er-~~houee &quar~&rliele, Pennsylvania, on ~. the I\f""ih day of Ct!.'!}If ,1994, at o'clock ~.m., for a Pre-Hearing Custody Conference. At such conference, an effort will be made to resolve the issues in dispute; or if this cannot be accomplished, to define and narrow the issues to be heard by the Court, and to enter into a temporary order. Either party may bring the child who is the subject of this custody action to the conference, but the child I s attendance is not mandatory. Failure to appear at the conference may provide grounds for entry of a temporary or permanent order. FOR THE,~!T: ! /1 By:~. ,-~ </>/,I( , ' ':.J,I)I.) t '-'t Custody Conciliator . .'~/ YOU SHOULD TAKE THIS PAPER TO YOUR LAWYER AT ONCE. IF YOU DO NOT HAVE A LAWYER OR CANNOT AFFORD ONE, GO TO OR TELEPHONE THE OFFICE SET FORTH BELOW TO FIND ou'r WHERE YOU CAN GET LEGAL HELP. Date of Order: (/'!'; (II! OFFICE OF THE COURT ADMINISTRATOR COURTHOUSE, 4TH FLOOR CARLISLE, PA 17013 - (717) 240-6200 IN THE COURT OF COMMON PLEAS CUMBERLAND COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA THOMAS E. STEFFEN, plaintiff vs. NO. GERALYN M. STEFFEN, Defendant IN CUSTODY COMPLAINT FOR CUSTODY AND NOW, Plaintiff Thomas E. Steffen, by and through his attorney, Edward J. Weintraub, Esquire, files a complaint For Custody against Defendant Geralyn M. Steffen, and in support thereof, avers the following: l. Plaintiff is Thomas E. Steffen, Father, who currently resides at 432 Lamp Post Lane, Camp Hill, Cumberland County, Pennsylvania 17011. 2. Defendant is Geralyn M. Steffen, Mo':.her, who currently resides at 432 Lamp Post Lane, Camp Hill, Cumberland County, Pennsylvania 17011. 3. Plaintiff seeks custody of the following children: HA!1E. Present Address lmi Kathryn L. Steffen 432 Lamp Post Lane 5 Camp Hill, PA Michael T. Steffen 432 Lamp Post Lane 3 Camp Hill, PA .1 , , ..",.., ccn - ,..~ ,j~ I . ;: .~~, 'It.: ...1- W b~1 )~ j,', " t' ,..-, t:; = )' 1 ' "::r::':;t;'7Pr:;"'~f't.:1 I I.., . ;\'P:,;U.(\~'.J\~j\':r,'r'.: 'i, I",:i \1 ;'( ') i 'I\r':,'i~' ,J " Ji,- ~ !<', l~'n!'_ ;""'.' .;,;, i, :lil,,','.\'!';",\, "'," "'1 " ',"j'l !, i;',. q ,! ',I 'lit 'jOl~,' ,",""",',""',"'(.1 t, """.....':.',[.1.'11 ; '. ' " '\, ~'I" ."',' ; ~ ' i ,OJ ;.r " -( " 11'<" ~<o:'~:"-~""\-':;:,l.', 'I, 'i:':':,,"~ --~-nT' ';, '-;',1'. It, " !, r' "~"~;"~ IIi,'!';;! ,.., , ",/?':':i:::::I,:::(\::',!r.,/".' :;;"'1'1 .1." f "j',-'" . ,t " " , , " ,', ,'Ii 'I 'j " " , I .i( ,\ 'I" " ' .' ., , ,".'1: , '! I',; ,:,:!.,' ~'L'I , '..I ".' . I. I " ',' ,,' II,'" ~ "I", 'j', , ' . ' LAW OFFICE , ED\U\RD d. WEINTRAUB 130 W~UT STRUT In^ HAlllUSBURO. PENNSYLVANIA 11101 · ~ 3 , 1l1!M. " 17171 238.2200 Ffl)l 1'1171 231,9no . Jt.A. . IN THE COURT OF COMMON PLEAS CUMBERLAND COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA THOMAS E. STEFFEN, : Plainti.ff : VS. NO. 94-5093 CIVIL TERM GERALYN M. STEFFEN, Defendant IN CUSTODY AND NOW, o R D E R A rr\ \ 6 1995, upon consideration of the attached, Motion For Custody Conciliation, it is hereby directed that the parties and their respective counsel appear before C:c'''""{,, \ l (-"1.).1.. J Esquire, the ~<>~ l'i '.0'\" C,\ (\",'llIil/" Conciliator, at eumserlaha Countyrnllrtlleue6i 1 Conrth0\186 Sql1a~., o..dl..-l:e, Pennsylvania, on TL to..,,(',-/ the <1 (/-., day of , ('1")"'( ,1995, a~1 clock t--.m., for a Pre-Hearing Custody Conference. At such conference, an effort will be made to resolve the issues in dispute; or if this cannot be accomplished, to define and narrow the issues to be heard by the Court, and to enter into a temporary order. Either party may bring the child who is the subject of this custody action to the conference, but the child's attendance is not mandatory. Failure to appear at the conference may provide grounds for entry of a temporary or permanent order. FOR THE COURT: By: ~,>,,(,f!.da~Lt'~ Custody Conci ia~or ~~~/ YOU SHOULD TAKE THIS PAPER TO YOUR LAWYER AT ONCE. IF HAVE A LAWYER OR CANNOT AFFORD ONE, GO TO OR TELEPHONE SET FORTH BELOW TO FIND OUT WHERE YOU CAN GET LEGAL Date of Order: q-G....'h' YOU DO NOT THE OFFICE HELP. OFFICE OF THE COURT ADMINISTRATOR CUMBERLAND COUNTY COURTHOUSE, 4TH FLOOR 1 COURTHOUSE SQUARE CARLISLE, PA 17013 - (717) 240-6200 'I' I.) " , , l!R ). ~- . " ::a:: , ., C\_ 'jj, , '-' . :!l L, (H, . " ,. ,', "" ~ Ji " " C " '~. Ilf'inIN?'l~,\\;~,\}lll' , \m\;,1%rl~iS\~);Ii!';J':' "r:':" ~ )/~;11J" .~ll}>\ ";r. .J."'] 1,_,_1, ,.1._., 1 ~,1<"4~.~,"''r1",,1, i_,~LL;,_\ , ":i1,'.v:, I ,'ii.;1 \'1/' >,j -lir.,:'" "I' \ 1 I' ',! ~,U, J'-', '1,\ r, ll':' I ,l, , ,j, I, 1;;.---,jTI-'~l\I:\\I' i;,I:-'l A:;J;r-'.h:'.';- ;'-It./,b\'~h':i I~'I ~ dki!l,'l ' .I.\'i:q'j_,' , /,' , ," ,J ". f-iVII';\-,,'! "'-,1."i '::,'.~,,\,:;:I\i,\-~'];!\:'.:-: I.it",,;_ --.,', il-!~::'l ,',': .',' I, ,. );,1'1'" ""'-.'0' " ,,~_:~..!, ,I " ";'1"',:';; I" 1'_'" ,,'"""1 \' , '" " " " , ," , ,-<-- , {,'e:, ;', r ~ \ ,,, .'1';'1 ',"'":Ii' I 'If' ""0 ~ \01 j."" Ii' , , ';;"/ :,' " ;;!\~.:};" :i,!. ,. '-',' " " .... , CBRTIFICATE or SERVICE I do hereby certify that on this day I served a copy of the foregoing document by causing the same to be deposited in the U.S. mail, postage pre-paid, and addressed to the following: Edward J. Weintraub, Esquire 130 Walnut Street Harrisburg, PA 17101 Respectfully submitted, Dated: tr///'15 , ?~. <h /::; 7 K't~_" Evan J. Kli~: III, Esquire GOLDBERG, KATZMAN & SHIPMAN, P.C. 320 Market Street Strawberry Square P.O. Box 1268 Harrisburg, PA 17108-1268 (717) 234-4161 Attorney I.D. No. 70283 \ . ... to the position of either party with respect to the ultimate issue of custody in this case. j ,I The parties are directed to communicate with ,; I, il 'I each other with respect to any changes that may be I, , necessary as to partial custody. By the Court, , I, P. Richard Wagner, Esquire For the Plaintiff ~ Paul Esposito, Esquire ~ ~J~~ fl)' V For the Defendant f..J1".,;) . . CR" S wcy 4. As of Novcmbcr 12,200 I, thc childrcn were in the primary physical custody ofthc Dcfendant hcrcin. 5, On Novcmber 12, 200 I, the Plaintitl' hercin was contacted to pick up his children at the neighbor of the Defendant. 6. Plaintitl'has since leanted that the children have been absent from school all extraordinarily number of times due to the condition of the Detendant, their mother, as an alcoholic. 7, On or about November 12, 200 I, the Defendant was involved in an autt.llllobile accident for which shc has becn charged by the Hampden Township Police tor driving under the intluence as well as other charges, This is not her first offense tor DUL 8, On or about October 3, 200 I, the Defendant was also charged with attempting to procure prescription drugs by fraud, which said case was also tiled by Hampden Township Police in a prima facie case, having been detennined by District Justice Placey alter a preliminary hearing. 9, Defcndant herein has a history of alcoholism which was noted in an Opinion by Judge Oler on June 19, 1995, at Number 94-5092, Civil Tenn, in the Court of Common Pleas of Cumberland County, when Judge Oler noted: Delendant herein remained in a state of intoxication l(Jr several days, at times lying in hcr own excrement. This incident precipitated Plaintilr s sccond or renewed Petition for Protection From Abuse and exclusive possession, See, Page 5, 10, In the same Opinion, Defendant herein acknowledged that she is lin alcoholic and has, between 1993 and 1995, participated in ten (10) detoxification or other treatment programs for alcoholism, 11. Plaintitl'herein believes and therefore avers that the conduct of the Defendant since at least October 3, 200 I, exhibits a regression to her alcoholic condition which is not in the best interest of the children, 12. Petitioner believes and therefore avers that it is in the immediate best interest of the children to grant temporary primary custody unto the Plaintitl' pending outcome of a custody hearing, 13, Plaintitl'lIvers that the Detendant is unllble to IIdequately and approprilltely cllre for the children due to her alcoholic condition, as evidenced by the children's excessive amount of absenteeism trom school, and further, liS exhibited by the need tor the school to have contacted Social Services in Cumberland County, All of this intonnation has, tor the most part, been kept trom the Plaintiff herein, 14, Plaintitl's counsel has personally spoken to Defendant's counsel, Paul Esposito, Esquire, and advised counsel of the ming of this emergency relief petition, Counsel for the Defendant is awarc of this tiling IInd concurs in the filing, although docs not concur in the relief as being requested lit this point. WHEREFORE, Plaintitl'prays this Court to grant his emergency petition for relief in the fonn of granting temporary primary custody of the children unto the Plaintitl', pending outcome of a custody hearing, Respectf~llIy submilled, Mancke, Wagner, Hershey & Tully " By ---- '- 4:-...p;-Richard agner, Esquire l J.D, #23103 2233 North Front Street Harrisburg, P A 17110 (717) 234-7051 -- Attorneys for Plaintiff Dat~; II /o/~1 I , ) ~ r< ~ In "),. . I" '::I ~ , - ~ - ~ . I ~ ' I ~. " , ' . , 'If. .. I ,',' " " , , , I I I, , I ~ ~ 5 ~ ~ ~ ~:: e~~i5 ~~~ii u III ~ ~ z a: ~ 0( < W 1"o:I ~:r wlf 00 HI~n'f CIRmv 1'HA1' 'HI WITHIN III A TflIUl ANO CO". "feT co~v 0' fl+1 OAIOIIllAL '1 Ie IN nilS ACTION. IV -~---Aft~NiiY co',_.,'" ,", :&J-un;nm ....... ,"'m .. "ifl,'-Yiii-lrti-"ON" TO hili IfrtClOMO WIIHIN ''''1''''1 IIJi OAve '1'10" :i:V~II~W:i~ Al\AIN:' .~lJttlol'''t .~ . ... . -..ff6ll+tf~ . IV! I I' I :, ,1111 l~ MANCKE, WAr;('-JEF~, HERSHEY & TULLY ;I~ ~ ~~~~ I J ~I~~ r ~~~ ~ ~!t I ~ . gl .1 I . :l: I I ~ ~; i ~~ [, i ~ I fl~l! . .. lil'~ . .~4it:d' ! j I ~~ lii~m~I ~ I, ' ' , ' If I I. IV -, . , THOMAS E, STEFFEN PLAINTIFF IN TilE ('OURT OF COMMON PLEAS OF CUMBERLAND COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA v, 94-5093 CIVIL AcTION LAW GERAL YN M, STEFFEN DEFENDANT IN {'lISTODY ORnER OF Cm'RT AND NOW. Wednesday. November 11. 2001 . upon considcration of thc allachcd Complaint. it is hereby dirccted that parties and thcir respcctive cllllnscl uppeur bcll,re Dawn S. Sunday, Esq, . thc conciliator. at 39 West Main Street. Meehanluburll. PA 1705~___ on ___._ Thu!sd~~. December 20. 2001 ut 8:30 AM for a Pre-Hearing Custody C'onlcrencc, At such conlcrcnce, un eflort "ill bc made to rcsolve thc issucs in dispute; or if this cannot bc accomplished. to definc and nurrow thc issucs to bc hcard by the court. und to cntcr into a temporary order, All childrcn agc live or oldcr may also bc prcscnt Ullhc conlcrcncc, Failurc to appcar atlhc confercnec may provide grounds for cntry of a tcmporary or pcrmuncnt ordcr, The court hereby dlreets the Ilartles to furnish any and all existing I'rotectlon frolll Abuse orders. Special Relief orders, and Custody orders to the conciliator 48 hllun 111'101' to scheduled hearing. FOR THE COURT, By: /,/ Dawn S. Sunday. Es~,^Ll_ Cuslody Conciliator The Court of Common Picas of Cumbcrlund County is required by law to comply with the Americans with Disabilites Act of 1990, For in!,'mlation about ucccssihlc lucilities and reusonable accommodations available to disablcd individuals having busincss be((,rc the court. pleasc cont'Jct our oflice, All arrangements must be made at least 72 hours prior to any hcaring or busincss belllre thc cOllrt. You nlllslatlcnd the scheduled confercncc or hearing, YOU SHOULD TAKE THIS PAPER TO YOUR AITORNI'" AT ONCE, IF YOU DO NOT HA VE AN ATWRNEY OR CANNOT AFFORD ONE, (iO TO OR Tl'J.EPHONE THE OFFICE SET FORTH BELOW TO FIND OUT WHERE YOl! CAN GET LEGAL IIELP, Cumbcrland {'ollnty lIur Associution 2 Libcrty A venuc Curlislc, Pcnnsylvania 170 I 3 Tclephonc (717) 249-3166 ~-"I~ .;.) ~ u~ " ." r"S :-';...,,, ,_I .;..,~ -I'" ," " . ~t., '. --I:.:j . ',. ,---.. . II)' ~"d ),< , .. .11.......1 " ,:.Irt. - C:') , 0 , , I I ... . ~ ~ " to ~ ... ~ tit; ilk ffJ ~~f ill f~l ~Ff '" i'''': I i . I ..... '.... , I . , THOMAS E, STEFFEN, IN THE COURT OF COMMON PLEAS CUMBERLAND COUNTY, PENNSYL VANIA Plaintiff, v, NO, 94-5093 CIVIL TERM CIVIL ACTION - LAW GERAL YN M, STEFFEN, IN CUSTODY Defendant. ORDER AND NOW, this day of ,2001. upon consideration of the attached Complaint, it is hereby directed that the parties and their respective counsel appear before , the Conciliator, at _________, on ______, the day of , __, at o'clock _,m"lor a Pre-Hearing Custody Conlerence, At such conlerence, an elfort will be made to resolve the issues in dispute; or if this cannot be accomplished, to define and narrow the issues to be heard by the Court, and to enter into a temporary Order, All children age five or older may also be present at the conference, Failure to appear at the conference may provide grounds lor entry of a temporary or permanent Order, FOR THE COURT, By Custody Conciliator YOU SHOULD TAKE THIS PAPER TO YOUR LAWYER AT ONCE. IF YOU DO NOT HAVE A LAWYER OR CANNOT AFFORD ONE, GO TO OR TELEPHONE THE OFFICE SET FORTH BELOW TO FIND OUT WHERE YOU CAN GET LEGAL HELP OFFICE OF THE COURT ADMINISTRATOR COURTHOUSE, 4TH FLOOR CARLISLE, PA 17013 (717) 240-6200 ", TlI0MAS E. STEFFEN, : IN THE COURT OF COMMON PLEAS. : CUMBERLAND COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA PIBlnlill: v : NO: 94-5093 CIVIL TERM : CIVIL ACTION. LAW CiERALYN M STEFFEN, . : IN CUSTODY DelendBnt. COMPLAINT FOR CUSTODY AND NOW, comes the Plaintitf, Thomas E, Steffen, by and through his IIttomeys, Mancke, Wagner, Hershey & Tully, and files the following Complaint for ('ustody: I. Plaintilf, Thomas E. Stelfen, is adult individual having as an address 128 Second Street, Enola, Cumberland County, Pennsylvania. (Plaintiff is employed by the military and is stationed in Philadelphia at the current time.) 2, The Delendant, Geralyn M, StetTen, is an adult individual residing at II Sunset Circle, Mechanicsburg, Cumberland County, Pennsylvania, 1 The parties are the natural parents of Michael T. Stellen, born 7/4/91, and Kathryn L. Steffen, born 6/16/89, " 4. Custody of the children has been vested in the Defendant herein by virtue of an Ab'feement and Court Order set forth in Number 94-5093, Civil Tenn, Court of Common Pleas of Cumberland COUllty, Pennsylvania. 5. Plaintitl'knows of no other party who as asserted a right to custody or temporary custody of the children, 6, Plaintitfbelieves and therefore avers that it is in the best interest of the children to b'fant primm)' physical custody unto the Plaintitf tor the toll owing reasons: A. The Defendant has a prior history of alcoholism and has reb'fessed to that condition as evidenced by a criminal charge on October 3, 200 I, , regarding prescription drugs and DUI from November 12,200 I; (this is not her tirst DlJ I) B. The children have an excessive amount of unexcused absences from school primarily due to the lack of parental care exhibited by the Defendant; , C. Plaintiff is in a position of providing the necessary care and it is in the best interest of the children to grant primary custody unto the Plaintitf herein. WHEREFORE, Plaintitfprays this Court to grant his Complaint for primary physical custody of the children, Respectfully submitted, Mancke, Wab'l1er, Hershey & Tully y ~:rd Wab'11er, ESq~;re I.D, #23103 2233 North Front Street Harrisburg, P A 17110 (717) 234-7051 l Attorneys for Plaintiff Date: "l3! 0 I , ) '\l ~ ti ~ :.') ~ \.' ~ ...... :" '........ " ~ ~ I' 'I, ". . " , i, ,,' . , , , THOMAS E, STEI'l'I!N I'LA1NT11'I: IN TIlE ('OURT OF COMMON PLEAS OF ('lIMIlHU,ANI> COUNTY, I'ENNSYLVANIA v, 94-5093 CIVIL ACTION LAW (iERALYN M, STEFFEN LlEl'ENDANT IN CUSTODY ORm:lt OF ('01 fR'I' AND NOW. l'u~5dAy..'une04. 2002 .upun cunsidcration of the atlached CU01plaint. it is hcreby directcd that parllcs and thcir rcspcctive cuunsel uppcar hclim,' Dawn S. Sunday, EIIk-_' the conciliator. at_ 39 WtllMaln Slree'. Mechanlc~burio.!'.c\. 17l!,~~__.. un ,___--Mon1~Jaly 01. 2002 at !0100 AM lor a Pre.Hcaring Custody ('onfcrencc, At such cunl'crcnee. an eflill'l will hc Illadc 10 rcsolvc thc issues in dispute; or il' Ihis clmnol be uccollllllishcd. 10 dcline und IHln'UW thc issues to hc heard hy the court. and to cntcr into u temporary' ordcr, All children age live 01' ulder Illuy also he prcsent allhe elll1l'crenee, Failurc to appeur allhe confcrence may providc grounds lilr entry or a temporary or permanent ()tIkI', The court hereby directs the pArlles 10 furnish an~' And All exlslln\! I'rotecllon from Abuse orders. SpeciAl Relief orders, And Custody orders to Ihe conciliAtor 48 honrs prior to scheduled hearln\!. FOR TIlE ('OllRT. By: ..'Y....___Dm.cmS.. Sllnday...,Eifj. j~' t/ CuslUlly Conciliator I ' The COUl'l ofCummun Pleas ofCumhcrland ('ounly IS rcquircd hy law 10 cumply with Ihe Americans with Disahilitcs Acl of I <)<)(), For inlilmlalion ahout acccssihle !acilitics and reasonable accommodalions ' available to disabled individuals having husincss hclilre thc court. plcase \:ontaet our office. All arrangements must be Illade at least 72 hours prior to any heanng ()t husiness hcfore the court. You must attend the scheduled conl'crence or hearing, YOll SIIOLJLD TAKE TillS PAPER TO YOllR ATlURNEY AT ONCE, IF YOll DO NOT HA VE AN A'ITORNEY OR CANNOT AFFORD ONI', (iO TO OR TELEPIIONE TilE OFFICE SET FORTII BELOW TO FIND OUT WilERI' YOU CAN (jET IHiAI. IIELP, Cumherland ('ounty Bar Association 2 Llhcny A venuc CarJislc.Pennsylvunia 17013 Telcphone (717) 24<).3166 - ~ . JUN 0 PZ : IN THE COURT OF COMMON PLEAS OF :CUMBERLAND COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA :di;nta.;t V~~ Plaintiff , . : CIVIL ACTION LAW : NO.9J.~-tJ'/!J CIVIL 2MI : CUSTODYNISITATION '~n{'~r) Defendant ORDER OF COURT AND NOW, this _ day of , upon consideration of the attached complaint, It Is hereby directed that the parties and their respective counsel appear before the conciliator, at , on the day of , 20 , at M., for a Prehearlng Custody Conference. At such conference, an effort will be made to resolve the Issues In dispute; or If this cannot be accomplished, to define and narrow the Issues to be heard the court, and to enter Into a temporary order. All children age five or older may also be present at the conference. Failure to appear at the conference may provide grounds for entry of a temporary or permanent order, FOR THE COURT: By: Custody Conciliator YOU SHOULD TAKE THIS PAPER TO YOUR LAWYER AT ONCE, IF YOU DO NOT HAVE A LAWYER OR CANNOT AFFORD ONE, GO TO OR TELEPHONE THE OFFICE SET FOR BELOW TO FINS OUT 'N~ERE YOU CAN GET LEGAL HELP, CUMBERLAND COUNTY BAR ASSOCIATION 2 LIBERTY AVENUE CARLISLE, PA 17013 (717) 249-3166 1-800-990-9108 , J:t!4/IJ~:v.:' ~; ~) <h'/ij ~IiOlld.J -1'. "1Jl"'j)",' , 11' V ,...Y'!/:'M'lk,+ ~ NO. Ilf. Ir(Ii/~,; ~{ld ,x}tI/ JJe'w'~"';(, '&J::t?/l L/' PETITION FOR MODIFICATION 011 A CUSTODY The Petition 0 - 1 & '-:!ffll(l '7 respeet~\tlly represents: I. That on '-) f c: r I";:)~f,.'_!..~, Jlldge_4t',< +_~:l:__ entered an Onler concerning the -. y.;" f~- ,/ ../1 ~- custody of Minor child I children ' ~ ,,'/ '!:!.'1J.l<" Ill' (. '~-'. ,~ II 1:' . : IN THE COURT OF COMMON PLEAS OF : CUMBERLAND COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA : CIVIL ACTION LAW IN CUSTODY A true and correct copy ofthc order s allaehed to lis petition. 2. This order should be modified as follows: j a 1_1n 01.1I,~.iI0J' -.It- Jicv ,,,h:i.' t!I, lit: 1.'I.t/l IIL{-/; vh.n' .tJ:n.d!fJ ':Z l2iiJ...?/,"'Ylrv~. 17 t:V- !i.;:dl"lct "Ie( I) {\-tU {/(('d('{'(:hIJ~",_ JJ.r. .HtlHVI.'f'dY,'" (td":7.1t 1~'P4a1t'" . ALl, :,rJd /4, (liIttd'~i. ll.Wr:!Ifi Il dtj'~l L- III ~/) Ill-I (, IJr /. .,u'L) / J- . tJ.t ~/~ I{l{.'j' (1?'Il.'A.Jd((N.1 (J J/' III ~/rr{~ /1- dll1!d Ith:". lk W Jcujh1-{J.u!(!)A-~"r;tieJ( tltJtl2, tn'~(,/u.'t 6Dkiu. rf,tlti'.f cazt~ ()/tzJk'l;';j. 5:,,<,lll /d) A.' KII{.-1) (;. ).J'~I.{;~,h; Il!l'IdJ /e.., frlHL.lWl1bt)...J. 'tluL (lei ~ cid f'1(rdl/j, U2l J2'rL1)7l''t/'A ,~'j.h:t:k.J I 6J... 1lfi.L'fdd.. An(L .c'u m,l~!)- U vttriy. ~ ~ L~uJd. ttl'/ t::;;-fu LJ..'1Jv~~IC.. ~.tp ~1:i (hlj-r'~ ,1~-!l'':'ti! r..ff A /N7C (.?, ~rvnh~?7.) Gf<:., )ftri.. '1/ dltxu{ r1.Uirrt!t7cnu tAt" IIUtt't'/(). t~7f ru!'1ItNIiJ.(.J2~ .' WHEREFORE. Petitioner requests that the Court modify the existing custody order, because I~II be in the best interest of the child(ren). ..:-- THOMAS E. STEFFEN, Plaintiff IN THE COURT OF COMMON PLEAS OF CUMBERLAND COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA v. CIVIL ACTION - LAW IN CUSTODY GERALYN M. STEFFEN, Defendant No. 94-5093 CIVIL TERM ORDER OF CQ1lRI AND NOW, this 28th day of November, 2001, upon consideration of Plaintiff's Petition for Emergency Rel ief, and pursuant. to an agreement reached in open court between and among the parties and their respective counsel, P. Richard Wagner, Esquire, on behalf of the Plaintiff, and Paul Esposito, Esquire, on behalf of the Defendant, it is ordered and directed as follows, pending a conciliation conference and further Order of Court: 1. Primary physical custody of Michael T. Steffen, born 7/4/91, and Kathryn L. Steffen, born 6/16/89, shall be vested with the father, Thomas E. Steffen, subject to periods of partial custody every Thursday from after school until 8:00 p.m., and every Saturday from 6:00 p.m. until Sunday at 8:00 p.m, Transportation to and from the mother's home shall be provided by the father. During the periods of time that the children are in the partial custody of the mother, the mother shall not drive or operate a motor vehicle with the children in the automobile. 2. This order is entered without prejudice rnOMAS E, STEFfEN PLAINTIFF IN TIlE COlJRT OF COMMON PLEAS 01' CUMBERLAND COUNTY, PENNSYL VANIA v, ,.', 94-5093 CIVIL Acr/ON LAW ~, , I,,; OERAI.YN M. STEFFEN DEFENDANT IN CUSTODY WUlIillJW ( 'OIIJIT AND NOW. Wedntlday, November 21, 2001 _, upon considcrntion of the aUnched Complaint. it is hereby directed that partics and thcir respective counsel appelll' beforc _~~,!,,-~~!U!lc!!l:~__, the conciliator, ot_---19 Wut Mal!, Slre~~f(.!!.anlcsburK' fA 170~~_ _. on _ _..'!'h,!!~~~},! !>ecemh~x.ZO, Z9..<<!.L..__ at _H:3LAM for a Pre-lIearing Custody Conferencc. At sucb confcrcnec, ll/1 eflol1 WIll bc made 10 resolve the issues in dispulc; or if this cannot be accomplished, to dclinc and narrow thc issucs 10 be bcard by the court, and 10 cnter into a temporary order, All ehildrcn age live or older may also be prcscnt atlhc confercnec, Failurc III appear atthc confercnce l11ay provide grounds for entry of a temporary or permanent ordcl'. The court berebv dh:eeh the parries 10 fllrn"''' "":' """ ~I' ~~k,ln:ll'r"t.~tlo~ frum Ah.." Ul U~I_, Special Relief orders, and Custody orden to the cOllclliaror 48 hours prior to .':heduled bearlnll. FOR TilE COURT, By: III Dawn S. SlInda.y, ESfl~.,:.l-_ ('ustody Conciliator The Court of Common Pleas of Cumberland County is rcquired by law to comply with the Americans with Disabilites Act of 1990. For information about accessible facilities and reasonable accommodations available to disabled irdividuals having business before the court, please con'l1ct our oflice, All arrangements must be made atkasl "2 hours prior to any hearing or bllsines~ b~forc the court, You must attend the scheduled conference .,1r hearing, YOU SHOIJLD TAKE THIS PAPER TO YOUR A1TORNEY AT ONCE. IF YOU DO NOT HAVE AN A TIORN ~Y OR CANNOT AFFORD ONE. GO TO OR TELEPHONE TIlE OffiCE SET FORTH BELOW TO FIND OUT WHERE YOU CAN GET LEGAL HELP, Cumberland ('ollnty Uar Associat;,m 2 L,herty Avenue Carlisle, P"nnsylvania 17013: , T clephonc (717) 249-,116(, , . ~ ,~Mlt{? t/ lljO! /l7/WJ . . {~r~<~1 lJ/l}!lrt ()f1t'(~l(~on ~) I I ' VI? -!rJ !-~ Ih 'e , . L- .Ie IiI) . lft7 '1~ 7 t'kl(7) Dr ~ f)tIl.HS THOMAS E, STEFFEN, Plainti IT rN THE COURT OF COMMON PLEAS OF CUMBERLAND COUNTY, PENNSYL V ANlA vs. 94-5093 CIVIL ACTION LA W GERAL YN M, STEFFEN, Defendant rN CUSTODY QIillER OF COURT AND NOW,this ~day of.bec.embe~ ,2ooL, upon consideration of the attached Custody Conciliation Report. it is ordered and directed as follows: 1. The parties shall share having cuslody of the Children over the 2001 Christmas and 2002 New Year holidays as follows: The Mother shall have custody of the Children from Christmas Eve at 6:00 p,m. through Christmas Day at 2:00 p,m" from December 26 at 6:30 p,m, through December 27 at 8:00 p.m" from Saturday, December 29 at 6:00 p,m. through Sunday, December 30 at 8:00 p.m, (regular weekend custody period) and on New Years Day from 12:00 noon until 8:00 p,m, The Father shall have custody of the Children from Christmas Day at 2:00 p,m, through December 26 at 6:30 p.m., from Thursday, December 27 at 8:00 p,m, through Saturday. December 29 at 6:00 p,m, and from Sunday, December 30 at 8:00 p,m. through New Years Day at 12:00 noon. 2. Pending further Order of Court or agreement of lhe parties, the prior Order of this Court dated November 28, 2001 shall continue in effect. cc: P. Richard Wagner, Esquire - Counsel for Father Paul 1. Esposito, Esquire - Counsel for Mother cor"" "),' " . \~ , ' , .' I ~,Il ~il:\rl ("lid:, P~. .. ,~.c.,~." .~ t:-:- 'p' 'honoil;f"~' .. Slenen Page 2 allowing him to avoid school and manipulate her, Lynn tended to make excuses lor his behavior rather than deal with the problem in a more direct manner, As a function of the temporary change in custody, Michael is attending school more regularly and feels proud of his own progress, Katie is a somewhat different story, Kalie had been doin!! exceptionally well academically in school while staying primarily at her mother's home, Unfortunately, the conflict over cuslody and the change ofresidence has caused a decline in her academic perfonnance, Nonetheless, it is felt that staying with her father is beller for Katie, Katie perceives herself as having to care for her mother physically and emotionally, Katie is very all ached to her mother and, therefore, very sensitive to her moods and needs Katie needs to develop more independently from L)'IlJ1 and be able to relate to her as an adult, not as a friend or caretaker, Lynn does not expect Katie to care for her, but she does not have insight into thll effect that her previous problems with addiction have had on her relationship with her daughter, Lynn can be a very loving and caring parent. There is no question that she wants what is best for her children and believes that she can do a better job meeting their needs, She has been present in their lives more consistently than Tom and does a beller job showing them affection and nurturance, However, Lynn has a history of mood swings and cyclical bouts with her addiction, She also displays a defiant, angry attitude. especially with regard to Tom, which she does not mask from the children. The impact ofthe unpredictability of her cyclical mood swings and relapses into her addiction leads to a sense of insecurity and instability in the children, The best way of dealing with the negative impact is to allow Tom to have primary custody ofthr children during the school year. The positive effect of such a change is already apparent in Michael's behavior, Tom is also a caring parent. He does not possess the experience that Lynn does when it comes to caring for the children, Tom is not as affectionate with the children as is Lynn, nor does he offer the type of motherly nurturing that the children receive from Lynn, However , Tom is capable of providing the children with affection and he is responsible about making certain they ar~ cared for, Additionally, Tom offers greater emotional stability for the children, He is better at maintaining and enforcing routines that allow the children to have a predictable environment. Given the children' s ages and developmental needs, such routine and structure are very important. Therefore, the following specific recommendations are offered: I, The parents continue to share the legal custody of the children 2. Tom have primary physical custody of the children during the school year , . Stell'en PI80 J. J, Lynn have periods of partial custody alternating weekends from Fridlyafter school until Monday morning, every Thursday from after school until Friday mornir.g. Ind alternating Monday's from after school until 8:00 P,M, 4, The parents share equally all holidays and school recess time S, Lynn have primary custody of the children in the summer, 6, Tom have periods of partial custody in the summer alternating weekends from Friday after work until Sunday evening and every Wednesday evening, Additionally, Tom and Lynn each have three non-consecutive weeks of vacation with the children in the summer 7, Lynn be allowed to drive with the children in the car, starting immediately 8, Tom begin a parenting class specifically geared towards dealing with children the ages of Katie and Michael 9, Lynn continue to receive counselinglhelp with her individual issues I hope these recommendations are helpful in bringing about a resolution to this most difficult situation, Sincerely. ~ I t: '-~...o Arnold 1. Shienvold, Ph,D, , ' , , " ., I, , ' ,I' " .. ',. I " ( .tl~ . " , .... I . ") , " 'I, ... ;, '0 ,', " ) u ;, " ", I" oj' " j; , ' " '" , ' , . THOMAS E. STEFFEN, Plaintill' IN THE COURT OF COMMON PLEAS OF CUMBERLAND COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA CIVIL ACTION LAW vs. 1)4-50'13 GERALYN M. STEFFEN, Dclimuant IN CUSTODY PRIOR JUDGE: J. Wesley Oler, ,Ir. CUSTODY CONCIUATlON SUMMARY REPORT IN ACCORDANCE WITH CUMBERLAND COUNTY RULE OF CIVIL PROCEDURE 1'115.3-8, the undersigned Custody Conciliator submits the following report: 1. The pertinent infonnation concerning the Children who are the subjeets of this litigation is as follows: NAME DA TF. OF BI RTfI CURRENTLY IN CUSTODY OF Kathryn L. Steffen Michael T. Steffen June I (,. 198'1 July 4, 1991 Father Father 2, A Conciliation Conference was held on June 28, 2002, with the following individuals in attcndance: The Futher, Thomas E. Steffen. Wilh his counsel, P. Richard Wagner, Esquire, and the Mother. Geralyn M, Steffen, who was nol represented hy counsel. 3. This Court previously entered Ordcrs in this matter on Novemher 28, 2001 and Dcccmber 200 I. undcr which thc Father has primary physical custody of the Children and the Mother has partial custody every weckcnd from Saturday at 6:00 p,m. through Sunday at 8:00 p.m, and every Thursday after school until 8:00 p.m. As the Order transferring primary custody to the Father was based in part on a DUI incident involving the Mother, the Order also prohibited the Mother from driving with the Children, Arnold T. Shienvold, PhD, submitted a custody re-evaluation report on April 29, 2002 and the Mother tiled a Petition for modification Pro Se sceking to effectuate those recommendations, 4. The Father indicated that he had come to the Conference with the intention of discussing a resolution of the ellstody issues along the lines of Dr. Shienvold's recommendations. Dr. Shienvold reeommended that the Father have primary custody during the school year and that the Mother have primary custody during the summer school break. However, the Mother opened the Conference with the statement that she adamantly opposed Dr. Shicnvold's recommendation that the Father retain primary custody of the Children during the sehool year and that she intended to litigate the issue of primary physical custody as soon as she was financially able to retain counsel. The Mother proposed that the parties follow Dr. Shienvold's reeommendations pending her ability to litigate the primary custody issues. With the Mother indicating her intent to tile for primary custody as soon as possible, the Father felt there was no point in compromising toward Dr. Shienvold's recommendations, The , , , ~i~ ~Ia I :tl ,I ~ ! -~; I 'r! I ~~ ft ~ .~ !g- .i ' '" ~ ~~~ ~~ . II ~! 1il~ ' ~ ..l.. t~i ~ ~ Ii i ~ j e ~ ,_ . . jFi~~~ ~I~ I~ :E II I ! ::t ~ ~ I~ I I " .;. '. , . . 'I ~''"c'" ";: '..) .. "11"/' , , ' .. ',. I_H i>.= I-j: "- .. ::'! 'I.. ;:1: \ .~: '1' ',' , :' i~_:' i ,. " !-:,:~ I J.. 1-. 'j:,.-: c. ' il_, "tl ~, :"J ... OJ, t" ") t ": ,.-, f..) '\> THOMAS E. STEFFEN, Plaintiff IN THE COURT OF COMMON PLEAS OF CUMBERLAND COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA v. OERALYN M. STEFFEN, Defendant CIVIL ACTION - LAW NO. 94-5093 CIVIL TERM ORDER OF COURT AND NOW, this 2nd day of October, 2002, upon consideration of Defendant's request for a modification of custody, and following an initial half day of hearing, and the hearing having not yet been completed, the record shall remain open, and counsel are requested to contact the Court's secretary for purposes of scheduling an additi~nal one day of hearing. It is noted that at the time of adjournment on today's date the Defendant was still in the process of presenting her case-in-chief and the Defendant was being subjected to direct examination by her representative. It is further noted that at the time of adjournment Defendant's Exhibit 1 had been identified and admitted. No other exhibits had been identified or admitted. At the request of both counsel, the stenographer is directed to transcribe the notes of testimony from today's proceeding and file the same. By the Court, P. Richard Wagner, Esquire 2233 North Front Street Harrisburg, PA 17110 For the Plaintiff Suzanne H. Rhodes, Certified Legal Intern Lucy Johnston-Walen, Esqulre, Supervising Attorney Family Law Clinic 45 North Pitt Street Carlisle, PA 17013 For the Defendant Cul ' - - ~- A ID.1-D,,- rU1 -1>........... C}-. pcb ", ,', C' I' / ~ 1'( 020CT ..., 1:1\ III I r. C"I ' I"" Vl\ I ..,'\;,< ,I, rj , , Ptr'jh::;'tL't/"',i:\ I'" , , , ", " , , , I, .~ ,... ,~ ..:3 f:j~ cI; -~'J ' s, :rr. 1,.... E, t!j,~ (J"':: <l.. $ [tl .,." ,~~j '. C\J r~... . {i. t . .} - f}- ,.... ,:J; '.lifE t:5 rA ..1 '. ~ ~ " " , , " , , " " 'I v. I IN THE COllRT OF COMMON PLEAS OF I CUMBERLAND COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA I I NO. 94-5093 CIVIL TERM I CIVIL ACTION - l.A W THOMAS E. STEFFEN, Plaillliff GERALYN M. STEFFEN, Dcfcmhlllt I IN ClISTODY UAECIPE TO WITIII>ItAW P~TITION FOR RULE TO SHOW CALISE FOR LF.AYl: TO WITHDRAW To the Prothonotary: Please withdmw the Petition for Rule to Show CUlIse for Leuve to Withdruw, tiled by the Family Low Clinic 011 December 16.2002 Dute/:-J ~. l'i.- () g-- , '~' ~ . ''1\- , ,_ ,'_ ./.+-.., , \ ., u~p '- Ge 'ginu A, lIowells Ce,tied Legnllntem >;1LL~ (lJ~!t 'l~h9tl ROBE E.Jt\lNS THOMAS M PLACE LUCY JOHNSTON-WALSH Supervising Allol11eys FAMIL Y LA W CLINIC 45 N0I1h Pitt Street Curlisle. PA 17013 717-243.2968 I,' ',. In (.:; !t', .~ .. " '..t' V"; J.. .' .. j't. ~... ,:... I ~~ j , , . to~ ,')\ 11fJ , '.~ ... ,; ~... f. 'IrC, .' ....~ ~.l... c...J " ,'~. J 8 " :,1 " ,..... ....,'J, ,.. ~ " " " " , tn , '- " (-, " ., roT" N : ~r " " , " :~;~ ~ )- .'" l "i(l.j \." I! 1,-.:.... " , .' , " ::j , , l:..J " " , , 1-'_' '" ,.. ,I I' \ ,'t r" 1 . ' ,,~ '" " \.1'.1'" , ! \ \~ ; " ,'.\\." ., I. , , " II), 1 , , " , , , " " 'I , " f " . .. . . FAMIl.Y LAw CLINIC ______~_._'_~.__.__~___.____.____._____._.._~_._4.__._._.______."_______ ,\ .~t\'h;1f h) Ihlt ~l)fIImUIlIl) h) Illudlftlll 'hllll '11111 I>j~~II"ulllidla)ol 111'1." I)" 1111111.:"".)1\'111111 SIIlrll11l1\'lInUY Th., I).hr r Nhugtwtl'IIIIVf1Unll)' l...w l'm"', ..~ North ..111 SI"d rOlIi.I.. ~A 17111.1.21l'I'/ (717) 24,1.2'/61 "'.: (71") N,I,lhl'l I' Deccmlll'r 1 q, 2002 'nle HlInllruhle J. Wesl.,y Oler, Jr. On.' ClIurthllllSC SlllHlre Cnrllsle, PA 17013 REI SI~/)i!llI" Srcf/im NlI.94.50Q3 D.'nr JlId~e Oler: TIle Fnmily Lnw Clinic filcd a Pctitilln For Rulc TlI Shllw Cnllsc FlIr Lcnvll TlI Withdrnw frlllllthe nhoVl' referenced case on Monday, Deccmhcr 16, 2002. As of todny, Dccemher 19, 2002, lIur client has sllhslllntinlly fulfillcd her ohli~ntions tIl the Clinic. Thereforc, we nolon~er wish rll withdruw frolll rhis casc. [ filcd n Prnecil'" To Wirhdraw p.,tirion For Rulc To Show Cnusc For Lcave To Withdruw with the prothonolllry tIldny. I will contnct Rlllh tOlllorrow III confirm whcthcr or nlllthis satisfies the rcquirclllents neccssary III withdruw the pctition. [npo!ogize for any IncunVl'nicnce this IIIny cnllse. Respcctfully, ~:JA Cy} lJ:.i' ~~~c-Jh( LlIcy Jol\lstoll.Walsh Cel p, Richard Wagner, Esq Ocrnlyn Stcffen PENN STATE IIiJ The Dickinson School of Law An F.qual Opportunity Unlvcntily ,t- .... \, ,- , 1 - , . )' , \ " , :1 ,. I , '\' )1',1 ...) n~ , f;") ." \,' \ .l 0 " " , . , , ,(r.' '0 t; ". '~.~ , " " ,J " " I;: .'.,. '.\ ~:i , '.:) " , "I~ I , ~ ~ ;; " : I (,1 I ~',.~ iU... ~l: ,. t;'1 ;.J \ I.", 0 . . , , " ", , " , , 1',' ,I I:' '.:, '" ,,' ,; ~ "'i \A}j, " 'I" ,j..,:',;, I ,I 'I " I' " " " '-'; \.,~ , 1 " " " , .-.., -". 1 October 2, 2002 2 Carl isle, Pennsylvania 3 (The following proceedings were held at 9:51 a.m.) 4 TH~ COURT: This is the time and place for a hearing on 5 the request of the Defendant, Geralyn M. Steffen, for 6 Modification of Custody in the case of Steffen versus Steffen 7 at No. 94-5093 Civil Term. Let the record indicate that the 8 Plaintiff, Thomas ~. Steffen, is present in court with his 9 counsel, P. Richard Wagner, ~squire; .nd the Defendant is 10 present in court with her counsel, Susan H. Rhodes, Certified 11 Legal Intern, supervised by Lucy Johnston-Walsh, ~squire, of 12 the .amily Law Clinic at Dickinson School of Law. 13 Ms. Rhodes, you have supplied to the court a 14 Consent and Approval for Appearance, as well as a letter 15 indicating that you are certified to appear in court. Are you 16 requesting that that item be marked as Defendant's Exhibit 1 17 and made part of the record? 18 MS. RHODES: Yes, Your Honor. 19 ,[,H~ COURT: All right. Is there any objection, 20 Mr. Wagner, to that course of action? 21 MR. WAGN~R: No, Your Honor. 22 TH~ COURT: All right. 23 (Defendant's ~xhibit No. I marked for 24 identification.) 25 ,[,H~ COURT: Defendant's Exhibit 1 is admitted. 3 ,........" ~, 1 Ms. Steffen, you understand that Ms. Rhodes is not 2 an attorney but is a law student and has been certified to 3 appear in court under supervision of an attorney? Yes, Your Honor, [do. Are you consenting to her 4 MS. S'!'8FmN: 5 '!'IIE; COUR'!,: 6 representation of Y0U? 7 MS. STEFFEN: 8 THE COURT: Yes, Your Honor. The Court has met in chambers with 9 counsel before the hearing. We had set aside the morning for 10 this hearing; but I gather that the Defendant's case will 11 probably consume the entire morning, and for that reason I 12 would anticipate that the case will then be continued to a 13 later date for conclusion of the hearing. Is that 14 satisfactor.y to both sides? 15 MS. RHODES: Yes, Your Honor.. 16 MR. WAGN8R: Yes, Your Honor, and in keeping with 17 that, I had asked counsel for the mother, and they graciously 18 consented that I could call our professional expert, Dr. 19 Shienvold, and release him from testifying at 11:30. I had 20 done that in anticipation of rescheduling the hearing at a 21 later date. 22 THE COURT: All right. Did counsel wish to make 23 opening statements? 24 MS. RHODES: The Respondent, Thomas Steffen, filed 25 for emergency relief on November 12 of the year 2001. 4 ,-, -, 1 THE COURT: Did you ~ay Respondent? 2 MS. RflCD~~S: Yes, Your Honor. Actually, Mr. 3 Steffen is the Respondent, we are the Petitioner in this 4 action. 5 THE: COUHT: r see. I think it might be easier 6 though to refer to them by their original designations, which 7 are Plaintiff and Defendant, otherwise, we will get all 8 confused with the exhibits. 9 MS. RHODES: Thomas Steffen filed for emergency 10 relief on November 12 of 2001. Pending a conciliation, the 11 parties temporarily agreed to the current custody arrangement. 12 Under this arrangement the father has primary custody. The 13 mother, Geralyn Steffen, has never been pleasp.d with this 14 current arrangement and comes to the court today seeking to 15 modify the agreement. We would like to bring the Court's 16 attention to the issue of the custody agreement that was 17 entered into on November 28, it was based on Mr. Steffen's 18 erroneous presumption that a minor automobile accident was 19 related to a DUr. However, it has since been determined that 20 this accident was not related to driving under the influence 21 of alcohol. 22 Although the mother has a history of alcohol and 23 prescription drug abuse, she 1s currently involved in an AA 24 program and regularly sees a therapist. Currently Mrs. 25 Steffen sees the children regularly on Thursdays and weekends 5 ~ -- 1 and has proven her ability to care for the children during 2 those times. Prior to November of 2001, Ms. Steffen had been 3 the children's primary caretaker for the majority of their 4 lives. 5 Most importantly, Your lIonor, is the child's best 6 interest. The children's preference constitutes an important 7 factor, and both children have stated their preference to live 8 with the mother. The children have stated good reasons for 9 their preference and have demonstrated maturity and 10 intelligence in their decisions. We are asking today that the 11 order be modified and the primary custody of the children be 12 returned to the mother, Mrs. Steffen, thank you. 13 THE COURT: Thank you, Mr. Wagner. 14 MR. WAGNER: Thank you, Your Honor. Please the 15 Court, the history, as this Court is aware as evidenced by 16 prior opinions of this Court, is that the mother of these 17 children has a history of alcoholism and a history of 18 relapses. Testimony we believe will reveal in a year and a 19 half time frame between '93 and '95 she participated in over 20 ten detoxification or treatment programs that cost my client 21 in excess of $36,000 for purposes of those treatments. 22 At or about that time frame custody was awarded to 23 my client when he came home and found her on February 22, 24 1995, which ironically was 2 wonths after she professed to be 25 sober, laying in her homo intoxicated, as the Court found 6 ,,-.., -, 1 then, lying in her own excrement. 2 She has a history of alcoholism, she has a history 3 of relapses; and the Court was aware in November of 2001, we 4 had the police officers here that arresterl her on that day, 5 and it was aB a result of that that the custody order in 6 November of ?-001 was entered. 7 Dr. Shienvold, who is a well-known custody 8 evaluator, and who has a history in this case, he was actually 9 involved back in '93, '94, '95 time frame, and that is why it 10 is called a reevaluation, because he is very familiar with 11 this family, has concluded that the best interest of the 12 children during the school year are for the children to be 13 with my client and then an extended summer program with mom. 14 He will testify and concludes that the children's 15 preference is primarily generated out of a fear of 16 manipulation by her and that she, the mother, tends to make 17 excuses for behavior of the children rather than dealing with 18 their problems in a more direct manner. 19 He indicates that the daughter feels as though she 20 needs to care for her mother but lacks the insight due to the 21 effect that the problem of alcohol has on her mom. It is 22 because of the professional opinion of Dr. Shienvold and it is 23 because of the uncertainty of the lapses and relapses into 24 periods of intoxication that we believe that the current order 25 is appropriate; and we also believe that following Dr. 7 ,--. ,--, - 1 Shienvold's recommendation Ls in the best interest of the 2 children as the professional who has been involved for an 3 extended perLod of time. Thank you. 4 'rHE COUR'l': Thank you. I think I will ask if 5 counsel are able to stipulate to somB basic facts in the case 6 to try to shorten the time for the heRring, and we will take a 7 brief recess, and r will give counsel a chance to go over a 8 set of questions that might enable them to reach those 9 stipulations. Off the record. 10 (Recess.) 11 ThE COURT: We will let the record indicate that 12 the court has reconvened in the case of Steffen versus 13 Steffen. Are counsel able to stipulate to certain of the l4 basic facts in the case? 15 MR. WAGNER: Yes, Your Honor, we are. 16 MS. RHODES: Yes, Your Honor. 17 THE COURT: Mr. Wagner, did you want to recite the 18 stipulations? 19 MH. WAGNER: I would be happy to. Parties so 20 stipulate that the father is Thomas E. Steffen, born March 8, 21 1955, currently 47 years of age, is occupied as a naval 22 officer, United States Naval officer, his address is 128 23 Second Street, Enola, Cumberland County, Pennsylvania. 24 THE COURT: .n. naval officer with what rank? 25 MR. WAGNER: Captain, Your Honor. 8 ~ -- 1 2 THE COURT: All riqht. MR. WAGNER: The mother Ls Geralyn M. Steffen, 3 born March 11, 1957, currently 45 years of age. 4 MS. RHODES: Excuse me, Your Honor, that is March 51st. 6 MR. WAGNER: That is fine, March lst. 7 THE COURT: March 1st. 8 MR. WAGNER: She is employed as a customer service 9 representative, her address i~ listed 11 Sunset Circle, , 10 Mechanicsburg, Cumberland County, Pennsylvania. II The parties were married October 3, 1981, 12 separated September 9, 1994. The parties were divorced on 13 August 29, 2000. Neither party has remarried. The parties 14 are the natural parents of the two children, Michael T. 15 Steffen, born July 4, 1991, and Kathryn L. Steffen, born June 16 16, 1989. 17 THE COURT: How do you spell Kathryn? 18 MR. WAGNER: K-A-T-H-R-Y-N. There are no other 19 children to either party. The date and terms ot the present 20 custody order in effect is dated November 28, 2001. I have a 21 copy of that particular order, and the parties would submit 22 that as a joint exhibit setting forth the terms and conditions 23 of the present order. 24 THE COURT: It would be part of the record. What 25 are they, just in summary form what are the terms? 9 ~....... ,.- 1 MR. WAGNER: Primary physical custody of the 2 children shali be vested with the father subject to periods of 3 partial custody every Thursday from after school to 0:00, and 4 every Saturday from 6:00 p.m. until Sunday at 8:00 p.m. 5 Transportat ion sha 1 J be provided by the father. That is the 6 substance of the arrangement. 7 8 9 10 11 THE COURT: Did I enter that order? 12 MR. WAGNER: Yes, you did, Your Honor. 13 THE COURT: All right. Ms. Rhodes, are you able 14 to stipulate to all of these facts? 15 MS. RHODES: Mostly, Your Honor, except for that 16 order was modified to provide for transportation as far as Lyn 17 driving the children. 18 THE COURT: All right. What was the date of the 19 modification? 20 MS. RHODES: It was also modified for certain 21 holidays on December 28 of 2001. 22 THE COURT: Was that by agreement also? 23 MS. RHODES: Yes, Your' Honor. 24 THE COURT: Mr. Wagner, are you able to stipulate 25 to those additional facts? Till'; COUR'l' : Was that order entered by agr.eement? MR. WAGNE;R: Yes, il states at the top: And pursuant to an agreement reached in open court between t.he parties and among their respective counsel. 10 """" 1 MR. WAGNER: T believe we Ci'ln, yes. 2 THL-: COURT: Al i right. Ms. Rhodes, did you wish 3 to call your first witneHs. 4 MS. IUlO[)~:S: Ydur 1I0nor, sorry, [ would like to go 5 back to the transportation. It was added as a result of the 6 custody conciliation in July 1 of 2002. 7 THE: COURT: All right, so the only modification of 8 the November 2001 ardor was something in July of 2002? 9 MR. WAGNER: That is correct. 10 MS. RHODES: And the holidays, Your Honor. 11 THE COURT: I am getting confused. Is there one 12 modification or two modifications? 13 MS. RHODES: Two modifications, one was December 14 28, that was for the holidays of -- 15 TilE COURT: Of what year? 16 MS. RHODES: 2001; and the second modification for 17 transportation on July 1, 2002. 18 THE COURT: All right. Were both of those 19 modifications by agreement? 20 MR. WAGNER: Yes. 21 MS. RHODES: Yes, Honor. 22 THE COURT: All right. Ms. Rhodes, did you wish 23 to call your first witness? 24 MS. RHODES: We ask that we take a recess to meet 25 with the children in chambers, Kathryn and Michaol. 11 ~ 1 TilE COURT: All right, Mr. Wagner, do you have any 2 objections to the children being queried in chambers? 3 MR. WAGNER: No. 4 '[,Ill,; COURT: AJ.I right. Do counsel wish the 5 parties to be present or simply counsel present? 6 MS. RIIODES: Simply counsel. 7 MR. WAGNER: That is satisfactory. 8 TilE COURT: All right. We will reconvene in 9 chambers and hear from the children in this case. 10 (Recess.) 11 TIlE: COURT: We will let the record indicate that 12 the court has reconvened in chambers in the presence of 13 counsel. I believe, Ms. Hhodes, you wish to call a witness. 14 MS. RHODES: Yes, Your Honor, I wish to call 15 Kathryn Steffen. 16 (Witness sworn.) 17 TilE COURT: Before you start, Kathryn, I think 18 counsel may wish to ask you some questions relevant to custody 19 in this case. Some of the questions may deal with your 20 preference as to which parent you live with most of the time. 21 You certainly are welcome to answer those questions. If you 22 prefer not to express an opinion, you are welcome not to 23 express an oplnion, it is <lntirely up to you. If you do 24 express an opinion, I will certainly take into consideration 25 your wishes as one of the factors to be looked at. I can't 12 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 !) 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19' 20 21 22 23 24 25 ~ promise that I will do exactly what you want because it is a case that has other evidence in it as well, but [ certainly will consider your opinion. With that I will ask Ms. Rhodes to begin the questioning. KA'l'f1RYN r,. S'1'8f'F8N, having been duly sworn, testified 5S follows: DIRECT EXAMINATION BY MS. RHODES: Q Katie, could you tell us what grade you are in? " THE COURT: We need your full name and your address. A Kathryn Geralyn Steffen. THE COURT: Where do you live? A My dad's or my mom's, both. THE COURT: Where do you live most of the time now? A I think it is 218 Second Street, West Fairview, pennsyl vania. THE COURT: Is that here in Cumberland County? A I think it is -- you know where Enola is? It is down there. THE COURT: Ms. Rhodes. BY MS. RHODES: Q Can you tell us what school you go to and what 13 ........ ~ 1 2 grade you are in? A I go to Good Shepherd School, and I am in ~lghth j 4 5 6 7 o 9 10 H 12 13 14 15 16 17 10 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 grade. 'I'HF. COURT: What school district is that or is that a private school? A It is a private school, but they count us as Cumberland Valley School District for school closings and things like that, but we do what CV does. THE COURT: What town or village is that located in? A Camp Hill. THE COURT: That is here in Cumberland County? A Yes. THE COURT: Okay. BY MS. RHODES: Q Can you tell us what your father's house and what his neighborhood is like where you stay with your father? A The neighborhood is disgusting. It is gross and the people are gross, and the house down the street was just condemned and it is disgusting. You go up the porch and the porch is crap and the fence is broken, you go into the house and It is not in the best shape. The upstairs is nice, he did the walls, and it is not like lov(!ly. The basement is gross, and Mike always says that. Dad is like this house is going to look great at 14 ~ 1 Christmas, Mike is, Morc 1 ike Halloween, and he qetB mad. It 2 is graBS. People are terrible. In the summer skate boarders 3 came and tried to throw up on the porch. It is gross. 4 Q Can you tell us if you fe'll safe when you are 5 staying with your father in that neighborhood? 6 A No. '['he Uni-Mart was just robbed. 'I'he pElOple, 7 like I said, crime, scum of tha earth, and it doesn't feel 8 right. 9 Q Can you tell us what your mom's house and what her 10 neighborhood iB like when you stay with your mom? 11 A It is a new house and it is nice. There is a 12 cul-de-sac, :iust a small cul-de-sac. We know all our 13 neighbors around us. We trust them and they are nice. They 14 don't really bother us. They ~ave our keys. They help us and 15 take us to school sometimes. They are nice and they are not 16 like scary. It is safer there, just a small cul-de-sac, no 17 condemned houses or two headed cats or anything. 18 Q Could you tell us if YOIJ have friends in your 19 mom's neighborhood and friends in your father's neighborhood? 20 A I talk to people in my dad's neighborhood because 21 in the su~er there is nothing else to do and I don't want to 22 stay in the house all day, so I made friends. I am only 23 friends with one uf them. She is only in sixth grade but she 24 is my onl.y friend there. I don't like her that much anyway, 25 but I am nice to her and she is who I hang out with there. 15 ---- ,.-- 1 At my mom's neighborhood, it is a small 2 neighborhood, and there is only two other kids there, they are 3 old and -- there is no kids but it doesn't matter because I am 4 really close to my friends and T go out to their houses. I go 5 out to my friend Megan's house and my friend Kiki's house, and 6 walk down to the pool and my friends can go there and my 7 friends can take the pool bus and stuff, so in the summer I B can see them, my roal friends. 9 Q Over the summer when you are at home, who stays 10 with you during the day? 11 A I do. I watch my brother and we stay there. Dad 12 was at work. 13 Q Talk about school. Are you generally a good 14 student? Do you consider yourself a good student? 15 A Yes, I have been doing pretty good up until last 16 quarter, last year. 17 Q When was that you started to do poorly? 18 A When we started staying with dad. My grades 19 really fell from As to Cs. 20 Q That was during the first quarter in November of 21 2001? 22 A (Witness nods head affirmatively.) We only were 23 with him for one full quarter of the school year because in 24 the quarter he took us. 25 Q What exactly happened, can you say what your grade 16 i""""'I 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 average was before and how it dropped? A Straight As were the last grade report that I got before r moved to his house. [t was As and Cs, two As and a C, I think, T am not positive. Q Did any of your teachers talk and express concern about your grades and declining performance or your attitude? A Actually, my teacher, my math and science teacher, she talked to me. She actually had called my mom and asked her about me too, how I was doing. My history and religion teacher, she talked to me about my grades falling and asked what is going on; so did once my home room teacher, but she only did once. Q What did you tell the teachers was the reason for your poor performance? What did you explain to your teachers was the reason for your performance decline? A T didn't know what to say. Like I know that I wasn't doing as well because I was still t.rying to settle and it was hard, it kind of shook up my whole world when he took us from my mom. When he took us from my mom it shook up my whole world and I didn't know what was going on. Q Can you tell us what is your preference, who would you prefer to spend the majority of your time with, your mother or your father? A My mom. Q What are your reasons for wanting to spend more 17 ."",, 1 time with your mother, to llve wit.h her'? 2 A She is more loving and we are close and Michael 3 too. I know that he is way better with her too. lie wants to 4 be with mom as well. lie is scared to come talk, doesn't feel 5 comfortable coming in here, but T definitely want to be with 6 my mom. Sometimes my dad is nice but a lot of the times he is 7 scary. He has got a short temper. T know he loves me, but T o just think it is better if I am with my mom and we see him. 9 There is just so many reasons. I can't even think of them 10 all. 11 MS. JOHNSTON-WALSH: I have a question. 12 THE COURT: I think we should have one person 13 questioning from each side. Did you want to consult with Ms. 14 Rhodes? 15 BY MS. RHODES: 16 Q Is one of your reasons for preferring that you 17 live with your mom 18 MR; WAGNER: That is kind of leading, could you 19 maybe ask her some of her reasons. 20 BY MS. RHODES: 21 Q Do any of your reasons involve safety at your 22 father's home? 23 A Like I said before, the neighborhood. It is 24 really not the kind of place I would be -- the people around 25 there and there is like stray cats allover the streets from 10 '-.., ~ 1 the condemned house and disease I and the people, they are not 2 good people. They ~it on their porches drinking beers, having 3 parties. Like [ said, peopie trying to throw up on my porch 4 in the summer don't even know me. People yell.ing, it i.s 5 really not the kind of place that [ want to be and that I 6 would feel comfortable in at all. 7 Q Can you tell us the type of things you do with 8 your mom say for fun or educational type activity that you do 9 with your mom when you are at her house? 10 A Actually, in the past year that we have been with 11 dad, the times that we saw my mom, we have done a lot of 12 stuff. We went to Baltimore three times. Michael wanted to 13 go to a store there, so we went down; and then he wanted to 14 go to the zoo, so we went down to Philadelphia. We go out a 15 lot. We have a lot of fun stuff. 16 Q What do you do when you are with your dad? 17 A Not really any excursions like that, maybe 18 sometimes go down to the pool or to like a state park to fish 19 or something but nothing much. 20 MS. RHODES: I think that is it, Your Honor. 21 THE COURT: All right. Mr. Wagner. 22 CROSS-EXAMINATION 23 24 BY MR. WAGNER: 25 Q Hello. 19 ~ r"'. 1 A 111. 2 0 I don't think we have ever met before. 3 ^ No. 4 0 Did you Know that you were coming here this 5 morning to talk to the judge? 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 1\ Yes, I did. o lIow did you know that? A My mother told me. o What did your mom tell you about coming to talk to the judge? A She asked if I would want to talk to the judge and say anything and I said I would. So she talked to her lawyers and got it straightened out. It was mostly my decision. o Back in November of last year you and your brother walked some distance to go to a friend's house, do you remember that day? A Yes. Q The day that mom was having a problem? A Yes. o What happened in the house that caused you and your brother to walk several miles to another person's home? A It wasn't several miles, it was really kind of just down the road and then up a hill, it is not miles. But my mom came home and she kind of passed out and she was shaking on the couch and we couldn't wake her up, so we were 20 ~ ,"-" 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 worried. So we left to go to my best friend Amelia I shouse, because r love her, she is my best friend in the world. So we went down there for help and her morn had known about my mom in the past, about her prob lem, and so she just assumed when I explained to her what happened, she assumed that she had a rel.pse. So she called my dad and my dad came down and it just got all mixed up. It was a big misunderstanding. Q Where had your mother been before she came home? A She went out for cigarettes or tissues or something. Q How long was she gone? A Not really that long. I don't know, I couldn't tell you, probably like an hour. Q When she left, what was her condit ion? A I don't know. She told me that she was going -- Q At that point did she seem okay? A She seemed all right. She seemed okay, just a little tired, she was fine though. Q Then she comes back an hour later, what was her condition? A She was shaking and she didn't feel well, she sat down. Then it was like she fell into a really deep sleep. Like she had a seizure or something, but she wasn't shaking a lot, just a l.itUe, little jolts once in awhile. But she like was on the couch and liko I said, deep sleep, couldn't wake 7.1 ~ ~ 1 her up and we were really worried. 2 Q Did you try to wake her up? 3 A Yes. 1\ Q What did you do to try to get mom awake? 5 A We shook her and like just tapped he r on the face 6 and stuff. She wouldn't wake up. We were worried and upset. 7 But she definitely wasn't under the influence, b~cause I would 8 be able to tell for sure. 9 Q We are going to talk about that in a minute. Was 10 there any thought of calling 911? 11 A No. 12 Q Do you and your brother know how to do that in 13 case of emergency? 14 A Yes. Tt just didn't come to my mind. I never 15 really think of that ever, I don't know why. It just never 16 comes to my mind. 17 Q Did you go outside in order to go to your friend's 18 house? 19 A Go outside? 20 Q Yes. 21 A Yes. 22 Q Did you pass by mom's car? 23 A Yes. 24 Q What did it look like? 25 A It. looked normal. 22 1 2 .~ ,-... Q Was it banged up with dents in it? A No, not from the side I saw but after awhile -- 3 there is my driveway, we walk out this way and she had slammed 4 it on this side, over here, the opposite side. So we didn't 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 Q That would be the right side of the vehicle? A Right. Q Did you see it sometime later? A Yes, we did. Q " What did it look like, what did you see later? A The headlight was smashed like -- somebody ran 12 into the front of her car she said, but it wasn't totaled. 13 14 15 16 17 Q Was the headlight smashed? A It was Q Was the side of the car damaged? A I didn't take notice. Q Was this after dark when mom came home like this 18 or during the day? she knew .about. mom's problem? A Yes. Q What is mom's problem? A That she is an alcoholic. Q When you are at home with mom, do you take care of 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 A It was during the day. Q You said that when you talked to your friend's mom 23 ~ 1 her or do you 2 A No. That was only -- [ didn't take care of her, I 3 just helped her out. That was il couple months before when she 4 had double pneumonia. I.ike 1 would help her with dinner, 5 because I enjoy doing that. 1 like to cook, so sometimes I 6 would help with dinner. nut 1 didn't take care of her and the 7 boy. 8 Q This incident where mom was on the sofa passed 9 out, do you remember when that occurr.ed? Was that November of 10 2001? 11 A It was in November. 12 Q That would have actually been during the first 13 qua,rter of your schoo 1, was it not, first marking period, 14 first 9 week marking period? 15 A only got two r.eport cards when I was with my 16 dad. When he took us, it was -- we were with him for a couple 17 weeks and one marking period and I got straight As then. Most 18 of it was with mom, a few weeks were with him. Then I only 19 got one other ~eport card with him or. two 20 Q You had one marking period where you are still 21 with mom and about one or t.wo weeks in the second marking 22 period, then you went with dad? 23 A Okay. There was the first marking period and that 24 was As and Bs, then the second marklng period was straight As. 25 Then the third, which I don't know if we were with him or 1.4 ~ ,~ ( 1 mother, but that was one C in math and Bs in everything else. 2 Q We went to school and got your report card. 3 A You have it? 4 Q Yes. The second marking period, which would have 5 been \ , 6 A I got a lot of Cs -- ;1 'I I l; ,I I' I f 7 Q The second marking period, take a look at that. 9 The second marking period when you started with dad was -- A This. Q -- all As, right? A I was with -- this is the first marking period and they were Bs and As. There, the second was straight As. 8 10 11 12 13 Q Most of the second marking period you were with 14 c;Iad, right? 15 A Right. 16 Q I want you to look down here. 17 A I 18 Q I want you to look here, days absence and time 19 tardy. You were absent 16 days and tardy 7 days, 23 days out 20 of the first 10 weeks of school, and that was all with your 21 mom, wasn't it? 22 A Right. 23 MS. RHODES: Can I see the report card? 24 THE COURT: Sure. 25 BY MR. WAGNER: 25 ~ ~ 1 Q As she is looking at that card, can you tell the 2 judge why you would have went absent 16 days and tardy 7 more 3 days in the first about 45 days of school? 4 A Parts of the times I was sick a lot of the time 5 and sometimes we couldn't get a ride to school because my mom, 6 like two of the times, when she had double pneumonia, she 7 couldn't take us to school. But most of the time I was sick 8 and Mike and I were sick for awhile. I got a weird stomach 9 thing, and I had my tonsils, they are really bad and I 10 probably need them out. So a lot of the time it was sick. 11 Late, it was mostly me too, because I take forever to get 12 ready. I make everybody late, except with dad. We can't get 13 late because he wakes us up at like 6:00. 14 Q How many days of school did you miss when you were 15 with your dad? 16 A None. 17 Q How many days were you late when you were with 18 dad? 19 A None. 20 Q The year before when you were with mom, how often 21 were you absent from school, do you remember that? 22 A The year before the year in question? 23 Q Yes. 24 A No idea. 25 Q Do you know what percentages are? 26 ~ ~ 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 A Yes. Q Were you late and/or tardy some 40 percent of the time the year before when ~ou wore with your mother? A I was actually going to say 10 or 20 or 15 percent, more along that. I wouldn't say 40 percent. Q Why is it that when you wore with mom you were late and/or didn't go to school on these many Qccasions, but as soon as you moved in with dad you didn't miss any school and you were never late, can you explain that? A Well, we were never late because he wakes us up really early and he has to get to work early too, so we were never late because we were waking up early and we couldn't get there late, it was impossible. Sick, as for that, [ still felt sick some of the days and sometimes I felt sick at school but I still went all the time. I was trying to work really hard to get back in the swing of things and keep track of my work but I stili -- Q Were there days that you went to school and Michael didn't? A Yes, there were. Q Are you familiar with what Michael's report card said last year? A I think he had about five, seven, nine days absent at the most. Q Would it surprise you that during the time he was n ~ r-. 1 with mom he was abfJcnt 22 days and late 7 days? 2 A A lot 0 f the time with Michael is that he was 3 very, very ne rVOUB to go to school. A lot of the time he 4 would be in the car and make himself sick or be really nervous 5 and run out of the car and run in the house and lock himself 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 in. He has got very bad nerves with going to school. Q Are you aware that your brother, Michael, got a certIficate of excellent attendance during the second marking period which would have been from the time that dad had him until the end of the marking period? A Yes. Q Did he overcome his nervousness that suddenly he was able to go to school every day? A lie still is nervous; and he is nervous this year too, even though he is stiil with dad. I recall that paper. Actually, he was absent a couple days but they counted it toward the other marking period actually, because I remember he asked about it. It wasn't in the report card but I remember It. Q Your brother also got a certificate called an Honor BUUG, didn't he, did you ever see this before? A Yes, that is where you keep your grades the same or go up. Q BUUG means bringing up your grades, does it not? A (Witness nods head affirmat.ively.) 28 ~ r, 1 2 3 1\ 5 6 7 B 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 Q Is that what it means? A Yes. Q Michael got one of these certificates at the end of the school year after spending the last three-quarters with dad, did he not? A Uh-huh. Q You have to answer. A Yes. Q Can you explain, Katie, you have already told us that you didn't miss any school when you moved in with dad nor were you tardy, we know that Michael missed some 22 days and was late 7 days with mom and as soon as he went to dad's he got an excellent attendance record and bringing up the grade r.ecord. Can you explain that in light of what you just told us about how horrible it is to live with dad? A With grades, Michael, he was working really hard. He really wanted to keep up. His teacher put a lot of pressure on him and dad did help him with his homework and stuff, but he buckled down. Q Why didn I t he buckle down when he was with mom? A He was just -- in the beginning of the year I think that nerves are worse than after you are in toward the end. Like even this year, even though we were with dad, he was still really nervous and really upset over it and he would try to eat poisons, the boy. 29 ~ ~ 1 Q Did you aver know that your brother qat a 2 certificate of attendance while he was in mom's custody? 3 l\ [ don't know. 4 Q Do you know if your brother ever qat an honor for 5 b r.i ng i ng up gradus during the time that he was in mom's 6 custody? 7 A lie probably did. 8 Q Do you know if he did? 9 A Know for a fact? 10 Q Yes. 11 A No, I don't recall, he probably did. 12 MR. WAGNER: I don't think I have any further 13 ques lions of Katie, thank you. 14 THE COUR'l': Ms. Rhodes. 15 REDIRECT EXAMINATION 16 17 BY MS. RHODES: 18 Q I would like to go back to this report card. 19 If you look at it, we have determined that you spent the first 20 marking period with your mom and most of the second marking 21 period with your dad, right, but you are not quite sure? 22 A For the second marking period, fir.st of all, the 23 beginning I was with my mom and then went with my dad and I 24 really, really did not think that I deserved all those As, I 25 really didn't. 30 ~ ~ A Q A Q any Cs? A Q father? A 18 A I didn't feel like I wasn't expecting them and 19 maybe they graded on a curve, but I thought I was doing pretty 20 much B work. It was a big shock when there were the As. Why 21 are you smiling? 22 Q It is a big shock because you got them with your 23 dad and you ~re trying to explain them away to help mom out? 24 A No, actually. 25 Q Katie, you are under oath. 31 ~ ~ - A I am not lylng. I know. o You talked to Dr. Shienvold. A Yes. o Do you remember going to talk to Dr. Shienvold? A Yes. o Remember what he said, dld he tell you what he said, what he thinks should happen? A He thlnks that we should be with dad for custody and s~e mom Saturdays, Sunday and into Monday, something like that, and then Thursdays and Fridays or something; but more than we are now. o Did he tell you that? A Yes. He explained it to me. For the reasons he explained it, I didn't feel 11 ke they were important. He said she was too emotional and that doesn't seem like a very sturdy basls. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 Q Because Dr. Shienvold felt that your mom was too emotional, you didn't think that was a valid basis? A No. T know her. She is a good mother and she is very she is strong. She is not shaky like he made it sound. MR. WAGNER: THE COURT: MS. RHODES: TilE COURT: Nothlng further, thank you. Ms. Rhodes. Nothing further, Your Honor. Kat.hryn, thank you very much, it ls 3;:> ~ r-. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 B 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 really nice to meet you. MR. WAGN8R: 'l'HE COUR'l': MS. RHOm;S: THE COURT: Is Michael coming in? Are you calling Michael, Ms. Rhodes? No, I am not calling Michael. All right. We will reconvene in open You arC! excusod. court. (Recess. ) THE COURT: Let the record indicate that the court has reconvened in open session. Ms. Rhodes. MS. RHODES: Your Honor, I would like to call Mr. Graybill as a witness, and I ask that we try and reach him by telephone. THE COURT: All right, what is his full name? MS. RHODES: Dennis Graybill. THE COURT: Mr. Wagner, do you have any obj ection to Mr. Graybill's testifying by telephone? MR. WAGNER: Not to his testifying by telephone. r may interject objections, depending upon the question. THE COURT: All right. Good morning, Mr. Graybill, my name is Wesley Oler, and I am ~he judge in the custody case of Steffen versus Steffen. You are being called as a witness on behalf of Ms. Steffen, and her representative is Susan H. Rhodes. Do you have a moment to testify. MR. GRAYBILL: Yes, I do. 33 ~ 1'-' 1 2 3 4 5 6 "/ 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 (Witness sworn.) THE COURT: The other attorney in the case is P. Richa rd Wagne r. Ms. Rhodes. DENNIS U;F. GRAYBILL, having been duly sworn, telephonically testified as follows: DIRECT F.XAMINATION BY NS. RHODES: Q Good morning, Mr. Graybill. A Good morning. Q Could you tell us what your work is, please. THE COURT: First we need your full name and your professional location. A My name is Dennis Lee Graybill, and I am a licensed psychologist in the state of Pennsylvania. THE COURT: Where do you pract.ice? A I practice with Guidance Associates of Pennsylvania, which is in Camp lIill at 412 Erford Road. THE COURT: Thank you. Lee is spelled how? A L-E-E. THE COURT: Ms. Rhodes. BY MS. RHODES: Q Could you tell us what your work is Mr. Graybill? A My work consists of doing psychological counseling and psychotherapy with a wide variety of individual, family 34 ~ ~ 1 and custody, marital situations, primarily working with 2 people to help them develop skills for management of stress, 3 for better decision making and for problem solving. 4 Q CouLd you explain to us what education you have 5 had to become a psychologist? 6 A T have a bachelor's degree in psychology from 7 Elizabethtown College. I have a Master's Degree in psychology 8 from Temple University. I have a variety of forms of 9 post-master's training and continued education. I was 10 licensed in Pennsylvania under what is now called the 11 grandfather clause when my credentials were considered 12 acceptable at that time and I have maintained those 13 credentials. 14 Q How long have you been practicing in this field? 15 A I havp. been practicing as a psychologist since May 16 of 1969 in a variety of settings both inpatient, community 17 mental health and now private practice. 18 Q Did you do any work in the area of addictions such 19 dS drug and alcohol abuse? 20 A I am not a certified addiction specialist, but I 21 have frequently work€d with addictions in coordination with 22 other sorts of problems and issues, yes. 23 MS. RHODES: Your Honor, I will ask that you deem 24 Mr. Graybill an expert for the purposes of speaking just to 25 the mother's psychological well being. 35 ,""" i'"' 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 THE COURT: All right. You are asking that he be quaU fled as an expert in the area of psychological well being? MS. RHODES: Yes. THE COURT: All right. Mr. Wagner. MR. WAGN8R: May [ ask some questions before? TH8 COURT: Certainly. CROSS-EXAMINATION AS TO QUAL I rrCATIONS BY MR. WAGNER: Q Good morning, Dennis, how are you this morning? A Good morning. Q You used the phrase that you were grandfathered, could you explain what you mean by that? A Yes. I was licensed as a psychologist in Pennsylvania in 1978. Since that time during the '90s, I am not sure of the exact year, the requirement to become a professional psychologist in Pennsylvania had been changed so tha~ it would not require a doctorate if I was trying to get licensed newly in Pennsylvania. Q You don't h~ve that doctorate? A I do not have a doctorate, no, I do not. Q I believe what you are telling us that currently, if you were coming out of school, etcetera, you would need a doctorate in order to be licensed in the Commonwealth of 36 ~ r" I psychological problems with depression or anxiety. 2 Q I understand you have given depositions. Have you 3 ever been qual ified in the Court of Common Pleas as an expert 4 to testify on the psychological well being of a person 5 A Yes. 6 Q -- who has been addicted to drugs and alcohol? 7 A T have not been called as an expert. I have not 8 been deemed an expert in the field of drug and alcohol, that 9 is cor.rect. 10 Q You have not been qualified as an expert in terms 11 of dealing with someone who is addicted to drugs and alcohol 12 as it relate~ to their psychological well being, have you? 13 A That is correct. 14 MR. WAGNER: Than k you. 15 THE COURT: Mr. Wagner. 16 MR. WAGNER: We respectfully object to any opinion 17 given considering the proffering that was made since he has 18 indicated he has not qualified to do that. 19 TilE COURT: All right. Ms. Rhodes, do you have a 20 response? 21 MS. RHODES: We are only asking that he be deemed 22 an expert for the purpose of her psychological well being, not 23 necessarily related to any drug or alcohol abuse. 24 THE COURT: I think, Mr. Wagner, your objection 25 goes more to the weight of his testimony than to his ability 38 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 ~ !*" available to her. She has reported and also appeared to be in session not excessively preoccupied with worries, not excessively catastrified, that i:;l only seeing the worst possible outcome. She has been more assertive in her attitudes rather than passive. BY MS. RHODES: Q Do you believe that Mrs. Steffen responds to adverse situations in an appropriate manner? A Sorry, please repeat that. Q Do you believe that Mrs. Steffen's response to adverse situations are appropriate? A Based on what she has ~eported,to me and based on the observations I made within sessions, yes. Q Is it your experience that she experiences mood swings? A I have not observed evidence of mood swings. She has presented herself recently calmly. She has presented herself as being reasonably consistent in her moods and responses to things. Q Have you ever seen Mrs. Steffen display an angry or defiant attitude? A If the question is, have I ever seen her vent angry feelings, yes, T professionally have, but only in a way that I considered appropriate to the situation. Q Mr. Graybill, based on your experience and working 40 1 2 3 -I 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 ~ ~ people who have addictions, do you believe that Mrs. Steffen is currently abusing prescription drugs or alcohol? 'I'IIl': COURT: Sorry, [ didn't quite hear that, do you believe whut? MS. HHODES: 'I'hat Mrs. Steffen is currently using, abusing prescription drugs or alcohol? MR. WAGNER: [am going to object because he has already testified he doesn't deal with people exclusively who are addicted to drugs or alcohol. THE COURT: The objection is noted but overruled. Mr. Graybill, did you want the question repe~ted? A Please. BY MS. RHODES: Q Based on your experience working with people who have addictions, is it your opinion that Mrs. Steffen is currently abusing prescription drugs or alcohol? A Based on my observations, plus based on some objective test results that she had received, I do nLt see any evidence that she is currently having a problem with drugs or alcohol. MS. RHODES: That is all of our questions, Your Honor. THE COURT: Mr. Wagner. CROSS-EXAMINATION 41 ~ ~ 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 BY MR. WAGNER: Q Dennis, good morning. When did Mrs. Steffen first present herself to your office? A Present herself to my office, okay. I have to qualify the response. I first saw her January 15 of this year. She had seen an associate of mine specifically for assessment of drug and aLcohol problems prior to that. Q So there was someone in your office that she had seen specifically for drug and alcohol problems? A For assessment of drug and alcohol problems, that is correct. Q Who is that person? A Dr. Stanley Schneider. Q When, if you know, Dennis, did she first present herself to Dr. Schneider for drug and alcohol assessment? A Unfortunately, I do not have that right in front of me. r believe it was a matter of weeks or at most a month or two prior to that. Q So somewhere the l~tter part of 2001 you believe -- A That is correct. Q -- she presented herself to Dr. Schneider for this alcohol assessment, you then saw her for the first time in January of 2002? A That ls correct. ~2 ~ ~ 1 Q Did you obtain a history from her? 2 A Sorry? 3 Q Did you obtain any kind of history from her when 4 you first met with her? 5 A Yes, but it was mostly recent, a recent historYI 6 but I did receive Dr. Schneider's notes at that time regarding 7 prior history. 8 Q When you say it was mostly recent history, is that 9 what she told you when you interviewed her for the first time? 10 A That is correct. 11 Q Was there anything remarkable about the history 12 given to you at that initial meeting in January of 2002? 13 A About the recent history or about the previous 14 history? 15 Q Recent history at this point? 16 A That she was having sleep problems, emotional 17 agitation, that she was having some fairly severe medical 18 problems, which included double pneumonia, that due to a 19 combination of problems she was feeling very, very distressed. 20 There have been some accusations that she may have been using 21 drugs or alcohol. 22 Q Did you at some point obtain a past history from 23 Mrs. Steffen? 24 A Regarding past histo~y of drugs and alcohol, I 25 extensively reviewed Dr. Schneider's notes at that time. 43 ~ r'- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 o 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 10 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 Q That was just a two month period of information that you reviewed, A That is correct. Q You indicated that she presented to you medical problems in the nature of double pneumonia. Did you obtain any reports from medical providers to substantiate what Mrs. Steffen told you? A No, I did not. Q You relied solely on her explanation of her medical condition? A That is correct. Q Did you talk with any medical providers that treated Mrs. Steffen to substantiate her explanation of double pneumonia? A No, I did not. Q Were you aware or did you obtain from any source a history from Mrs. Steffen that indicated between 1993 and 1995 she had been in and out of some ten or so detoxification and/or treatment centers? A I didn't get details, extensive details about that, but she made me aware of that and information regarding that was in Dr. Schneider's notes. So I was aware there was a past history for multiple treatment for drug and alcohol problems. Q Did you obtain any reports fro,n any of those 44 ~ ~ 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 treatment centers or detoxification centers to substantiate the history that was provided to you by her.? A I did not. o I believe you have indicated to us that you saw her about every other week in January, does that continue through the current time? A That is correct. There were one or two interruptions, but that was the main pattern, that has been the main patter.n. o Is she medicated at this point in time? A According to my most recent notes, she is on an antidepressant, Zoloft. o Who has prescribed Zoloft? A I believe that is from her primary care physician. o How long, if you know, has she been on this antidepressant, Zoloft? A I would have to go back to find the first note on that. I have the note indicating the very first time that I saw her, which was January 15, she was on Zoloft at that time from primary care physician. o So she has remained on antidepressants throughout the approximate 9 month period of time that you have been seeing here? A That is correct. o I couldn't help but notice that you answered many 45 ~ ",..., 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 o 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 10 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 of your questions by basing it on what sho has told you and what you observed of her. Other than your observations and other than what Mrs. Steffen has told you, and I am aware that there is a brief history from Dr. Schneider, have you received any reports from any sources to substantiate anything that Mrs. Steffen has told you? A Other than what I have indicated, no. Q So you don't have any reports from her primary caretaker concerning her antidepressant medication and/or why she is on that? A I have no reports from her physician on that, that is correct. Q Did you talk to her physician about her depression and why she is on this medication? A No, I did not. Q Is it your goal to assist in treat1ng her to deal with her depression so as to eliminate or reduce it? A Yes, as a matter of fact, accord1ng to my notes the dosage is half what it was In January. Q In that, that is your goal, would it not be a standard part of your treatment to have contact w1th her pr1mary caretaker on a regular basis? A Actually, that 1s not a standard thing, it is someth1ng that may be done on different occas10ns; but as long as the primary care phys1cian is not hav1ng any problems with 46 ~ f"'. 1 the perfect medicHlion, HS long as from my own observation, 2 she appears to be functionable and reasonably well, r saw no 3 need to call the primary care physician and discuss the 4 possibility of changing the level of medication. 5 Q [think t heard what you said but T am not sure, 6 are you saying you did not call the primary caretaker? 7 A 1'hat is correct. On a routine basis the primary o care physicians will call us or we will call them if we soe a 9 problem that requires a change. 10 Q In the 9 months that you have been seeing Mrs. 11 Steffen, have you had any contact with her primary caretaker? 12 A No, r have had no direct contact with her primary 13 care physician. 14 Q Have you submitted any reports to the primary care 15 physicIan? 16 A Only to alert the primary care physician that she 17 is in treatment with me. 18 Q I have been given a document dated the 25th of 19 September with a fax date of September 30, 7:14 a.m., that is 20 on your letterhead and captioned report on Geralyn Steffen. 21. Other than that document, have you provided any other written 22 23 24 25 reports concerning Mrs. Steffen? A No, I have not. Q Have you been asked to? A No, I have not. 47 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 ~ ~ a Have you been asked not to? A No, [ hava not. Q The times that you u8e Mrs. Steffen, are they all scheduled appointments that she makes in coordination with your office? A That is correct. Q So she is actually coming in to see you at a known time on a known date? A That is corr.ect. Q Have you received information from any other source other than Mrs. Steffen, laypersons, or otherwise, to substantiate what Mrs. Steffen tells you? A No, I have not. Q Have you ever talked to her children? A No, T have not. a Have you ever talked to her former husband, Thomas Steffen? A No, I have not. Q Have you ever reviewed or have you ever received any reports from Dr. Arnold Shienvold, who has been involved in doing custody evaluations for these people? A To my knowledgc I have not received any or rcviewcd a report by Dr. Shienvold. I have not received from Dr. Shienvold a report to rcvicw. Q I would takc it you didn't share any information 48 ~ ~ 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 with Dr. Shienvold, nor worc you asked to sharc any information with Dr. Shienvold as a part of any custody evaluation? A I would have to check my notes, but I do not believe so. Q What tests did you perform on Mrs. Steffen? A Excuse me? Q What tests did you perform on Mrs. Steffen? A I have not personally performed any psychologi~al tests on her. I focused on coaching her involving her skills in stress management procedures. Q Perhaps I misunderstood and wrote it down wrongly, but I was under the impression when you were asked on direct examination whether or not currently she is able to deal with adverse situations, I thought you said based upon your observations, information you received from her and test results, you thought she could deal with adverse situations. Did I misunderstand you? A Yes. The test results I was referring to were at the beginning of seeing her test results regarding her passing drug and alcohol blood tests. Q You didn't do any tests? A No, that is correct. Q You didn't see any tests, did you? A Other that I saw a copy of a test on drug and 49 ~ f"", 1 alcohol screening. 2 MR. WAGNER: Thank you, [ have no further 3 questions. 4 1'IIE COURT: Ms. Rhodes. 5 REDIRECT EXAMINATION 6 7 BY MS. RHODES: 8 Is the drug Zoloft prescribed for any other Q 9 reasons other than depression? 10 A It is primarily prescribed for depression, drugs 11 of that type will often be prescribed as well if the person is 12 having anxiety. 13 Is it common practice for a psychologist to Q 14 contact the primary care physicians of their patients and 15 coordinate their efforts? 16 Depending on the circumstances. It is common A 17 practice under certain circumstances to do so. It has not 18 been routine to do that in detail, no. 19 I would like to confirm that you reviewed the Q 20 blood test results that were dated November 11, 2001, and that 21 you saw the report or a copy of the report? 22 That is corr.ect. , A 23 MS. RHODES: That is all my questions, Your Honor. 24 THE COURT: Mr. Wagner. 25 RECROSS-EXAMINATION ~)O ~ ~ 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 BY MR. WAGN8Rr o pennis, one thing r am curious about. If you are treating Mrs. Steffen for a combination of pr.oblems, one of which is depression? A That is correct. o Without talking to the primary caretaker, do you know how the primary caretaker coordinates your treatment and prescriptions that he has given to Mrs. Steffen, other than what she is reporting to the primary caretaker? A Again, the routine, the usual thing that we run into is as long as we are not seeing something, with the exception of what we think we should definitely bring to the attention of the primary care physician, or the primary care physician is not seeing anything that is usually puzzling or troubling to them, then we do not have routine contact, except in those instances. Q Having not talked to the primary physician or seeing any reports from the primary physician, how are you aware of what he sees in Mrs. Steffen or is aware of regarding Mr~. Steffen? A T am not, other than what she tells me, and other than according to what she told me that the medication is now less than it was before. o Any other medication that nhe is on? Sl ~ I""" 1 THE COURT: What was that namnr 2 MS. 1l1lOIJI':S: Dr. Husick, H-lj-S-T-C-K. 3 'l'llE COUR'I': 'I'hilnk you. 4 BY MS. RHODES: 5 Q [s Ms. Steffen also seeing you, in addition to 6 treatment for anxiety and depression, for relapse prevention? 7 A I would say that; and I would say that the basis 8 is so that she learns better how to handle anxiety and 9 depression and then there is less risk of relapse and that 10 would be one of the additional goals, yes. 11 MS. RHODES: That is all my questions, Your Honor 12 RECROSS EXAMINATION 13 14 BY MR. WAGNER: 15 Q Dr. Rusick is a staff physician with Guidance 16 Associates? 17 A Dr. Rusick is a psychiatrist who had been located 18 in our building, we refer to him on a regular basis; but I 19 consider him more of an independent practitioner, he is a 20 psychiatrist. 21 Q He is not with Guidance Associates? 22 A He is associated with Guidance Associates, but he 23 is not our employee. 24 Q In making the determination as to whether or not 25 Mrs. Steffen is a candidate for relapse or a good or bad 53 ~ ~ 1 2 3 4 5 6 '7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 candidate for relapse, did you obtain any reports from tho ten or so treutment centers or detoxification centers that she went to in the mid to late 1990s? A No, I did not. o Are you aware that between November 28 and February excuse me. I object, Your llonor. We haven't heard the question yet. MS. RHODES: THE: COURT: BY MR. WAGNER: Q Are you aware, Dennis, from any source that after ~rs. Steffen went through these ten or so detoxifications and/or treatment centers that she was sober from up until February 22, 1995, when she had another relapse described as being in a state of intoxication, lying in her own excrement? THE: COURT: Ms. Rhodes, did you have an objection? MS. RHODES: Yes, Your Honor, T believe he has already discussed her histor~ and he has told us what his understanding and knowledge of Mrs. Steffen's history is and we have already delved into this issue. THE COURT: All right, the objection is noted but overruled. BY MR. WAGNER: Q Were you aware of that, Dennis? A Not of the specifics. Q It would seem to suggest that from November 28, 54 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 ~ I""" 1994, to February 22, 1995, that is about a 2 month period of time after these ten treatments that she suffered a relapse, is that or would that be important as part of her history in determining whether or not she is a good or bad candidate for relapse? ^ Certainly, a number of factors would have to be reviewed. [would be more interested in what occurred over the last several years and more interested in adding that to what is occurring now. Q Did Mrs. Steffen ever share those facts with you in her history that I have just recited to you? A She had shared some of those details. Q Did she describe it as being in ten different detoxification and treatment centers? A I can't think of specific numbers; but of the things that she did tell me there was nothing inconsistent with what you are sharing. Q I take it then you wrote to none of those facilities to get reports or details to assist in your current treatment of her? A That is correct. MR. WACNER: Thank you, Dennis. THE COURT: Ms. Rhodes. REDIRECT EXAMINATION 55 ~ ~ 1 BY MS. RHODES: 2 Q Ovar the past few years and your experience with 3 Ms. Steffan and meeting with her through your appointments, is 4 it your opinion that she is doing well in dealing with her 5 probiems and that she is seeking the appropriate help to deal 6 with the problems? 7 A That is my opinion. 8 MS. RHODES: Nothing further. 9 THE COURT: Mr. Wagner. 10 MR. WAGNER: r have nothing further. 11 THE COURT: All right. Mr. Graybill, thank you 12 very much for your testimony. 13 MR. GRAYBILL: You are welcome. 14 THE COURT: You are excused. 15 Mr. Wagner. 16 MR. WAGNER: In all due respect, I would 17 respectfully ask the Court to strike from the record the 18 testimony of Dr. Graybill. Nons of the questions that he 19 answered were asked to be explained on the basis of a 20 reasonable degree of medical certainty or a reasonable degree 21 of psychological certainty. Because of that, I would ask that 22 his opinions be stricken from the record and not considered by 23 the Court. 24 THE COURT: Okay, Ms. Rhodes, do you have a 25 response to that? 56 ~ r- 1 MS. RIIOD8S: Your Honor, wo have aRked t.hi1t he 2 talk about her psychological well-being and we established 3 that he is qualified to discuss her psychological well-being. 4 We believe that those questions that he answered went to her 5 emotional staee and psychological well-being, and we ask that 6 they not be stricken from the record. 7 'rtlE COURT: [f you want to call him back and ask 8 that question, you may. If you want to ask whether his 9 opinionR were expressed to a reasonable degree of 10 psychological certainty, I will permit you to do that. 11 12 DENNIS LEE GRAYBILL, 13 having been previously sworn, telephonically testified as 14 follows: 15 REDIRECT EXAMTNATION CONTINUED 16 17 TilE COURT: This is Judge Oler, again. Mr. 18 Graybill, sorry to impose again, but we had one more question 19 that Ms. Rhodes wanted to ask you. You are still under oath. 20 Ms. Rhodes. 21 BY MS. RHODE:S: 22 Q Mr. Graybill, the questions that you answered 23 regarding Mrs. Steffen's psychological well-being, have you 24 answered those questions to a reasonable degree of 25 psychological certainty? 57 ~ f"", 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 :19 20 21 22 23 24 25 A '{eA. '1'IIf: COlJH'I': MR. W^GNf~H: TilE COUH'I': again you are excused. MS. HIIODES: Steffen to the stand. THE COURT; All right. GERALYN M. STEFFEN, having been duly sworn, testified as follows: DIRECT EXAMINATION Mr. Wil'lner. Nothing further, '{our lIonor. Thnnk you very much, Mr. Graybill, Ms. Hhodes. Your Honor, I would like to call Mrs. BY MS. RHODES: Q Mrs. Steffen, would you please state your full name and your address? A My name is Geralyn Michelle Steffen, my address is 11 Sunset Circle, Mechanicsburg, PA, 17050. Q Could you please tell the Court what your occupation is? A I am a customer service associate with William Sonoma in Camp Hill, Pennsylvania. Q Could you describe for us your house in Mechanicsburg? A My home in Mechanicsburg on Sunset Circle, I purchased it in the summer of 1998, it was a brand new home. It is 3 bedrooms, 3 bathrooms, a kitchen, a living room. My 58 ~ ~ 1 children, of course, edch have theIr own room alld I have my 2 room. Tt is in a cul-de-sac. [t is actuaily Hampden, right 3 next to lIampdoll Township, right n~xt to the poi ice department, 4 the Fire Department, Sporting Hill E:.lem~ntilry, a ::lwimming 5 pool, right across the street from lIampden 8 movie theatres, 6 a smull community of ten homes, everyone knows my children, 7 and my neighbors have keys to my home and are aware of -- if 8 my children need somethIng, they can go to them. 9 Q Do you believe that your children are happy with 10 the current custody arrangement and well adjusted to the 11 arrangement? 12 A No, I do not. 13 Q Can you elaborate on why you feel that they are 14 not happy with the current arrangement? 15 A As we have discussed earlier, my children are 11 16 and 13. t have been the prImary custodian except for the 17 l-year time frame that Mr. Steffen had them In 1996 and 1997. 18 He is in the Navy, he has been gone for long periods of time, 19 he lives in different states. The children have been with me 20 24-7 and mostly have relied solely on me. Mr. Steffen has not 21 been present in their lives other than every other weekend 22 that he was to see them. He never went out of his way to see 23 them or asked to see them at any other time and they have been 24 with me a~d we are very close and we love each other and we 25 would like to be together. 59 ~ ,.,..... 1 Q Can you tell me about your children's academic 2 performance before they moved in with their father in the fall 3 of 2001? 4 A Michael is now in 6th, Katie is in 8th grade. For 5 the majority of their school lives Michael has always been a 6 B/C student and Katie an A/A student. There have been many 7 times that Katie did receive straight As. Prior to going with 8 her father, she was -- basically, throughout the whole school 9 year Michael has been B/C and Katie A/B. Michael is pretty 10 much a B/C student. 11 When Katie left and went with her father, her 12 academic grades declined drastically, she went pretty much to 13 Cs. She was unhappy with the situation and for whatever her 14 reasons were, she declined severely in her grades, not to 15 failures but to Cs. As T said, Michael was a A/C student and 16 so remained and still is. 17 Q Can I talk to you about the fall of 2001 and the 18 events that precipitated the changes in the custody situation. 19 Can you tell us what your health was like during that period 20 and for the recent period right before the fall of 2001? 21 A I guess we will say in August of 2001 -- I was 22 first of all working two JobB. First of all, I was at a very 23 stressful job, I worked for an oral surgoon, which I was there 24 over a year with very long hours and it was too much time away 25 from the children. I was working thoro full-time and at 60 ~ r-. 1 William Sonoma part-time; and becallse it was too much time 2 away from the children, [ did go back to Wi II iam Sonoma 3 full-time and worked with the oral surgeon part-time. 4 In August of ;>001 I had gone to my PCP because I 5 had a cough and an ear, nose and throat infection. I went to 6 my PCP and they said I had a sinus infection and I was on 7 antibiotics and [ had a cough and I was on cough medicine and 8 some inhaler. 9 A week after that I still wasn't feeling any 10 better, I returned, I wasn't any better, th~y changed my 11 medications. 12 In September I was still very -- progressively 13 getting worse. I was 10Ging my strength, I was trying to 14 work, take care of my famiiy, trying to do everything. I 15 couidn't miss work because T couldn't afford to. I was 16 progressively getting worse. 17 In September I saw my gynecologist for my yearly 18 test, and he had noted that I had lost a significant amount of 19 weight and that I was wheezing. He at that time said, Lyn, 20 is there something wrong with you? I said, I just had 21 bronchitis; and he listened to my chest and said there is more 22 going on than bronchitis and he sent me to the Holy Spirit 23 Hospital for chest x-rays and blood work. 24 I saw him on Friday, and it was Saturday that I 25 went to the Holy Spirit Hospital and got the tests. I 61 ~ f""", 1 returned home -- a. soon as I returned home Holy Spirit 2 Hospital was on the phone and told me that I had to return to 3 the hospUal immediately. And [ asked them why and they said 4 they would explain when I came. Then Dr. Booker, my 5 gynecologist, called me because they had called him with the 6 result of my blood work and chest x-rays. And I said, What is 7 wrong? He said, go to the hospital and they will explain. 8 The children and I went to the hospital, Saturday 9 evening 10 THE; COURT: What date are we talking about? 11 A It was Saturday, September 15 -- if that was a 12 Saturday, Saturday, September 15. 13 THE COURT: September 15 of 2001 you went to the 14 hospital? 15 A Yes, Lucy can look. It was a Saturday and I think 16 it was September 15 of 2001, is that right? 17 THE COURT: Tt doesn't have to be exact, I just 18 need to know approximately. 19 A I went to the hospital, went to the emergency 20 room, they proceeded to tell me that my blood counts were 21 terribly off. I had a severe infection. My lungs were in 22 very bad shape, they were filled with fluid, I had double 23 pneumonia, I was dehydrated and that they would have to admit 24 me. 25 Like I said, it was Saturday evening, my children 67. ~ I"" 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 were there. They put me on an IV and oxygen and stuff and I told them that I couldn't stay because I didn't have anyone to take care of my children. They, of course, suggested the severity of my condition, and they said we really suggest you don't wait, so [ in turn called Mr. Steffen. TilE COURT: Sorry, you did what? A I in turn called Mr. Steffen from the emergency room and told him that I was there with the children, that I had double pneumonia and other things going on with my lungs that they couldn't determine what it was and that they wanted to admit me. I had asked hIm if he would take the children. And he said, no, he wouldn't take the children, it was not his weekend. So, after my IV was done, T was at the hospital until after midnight, me and the children went home, I signed myself out and T AMA and went home. r was very, very ill and actually going back and forth to the doctors and got on several medications. I had no appetite. They couldn't see what was wrong with my lungs other than double pneumonia because they were so infiltrated. This went on for some time. I guess it was finally after my lungs cleared out in late November they found that I had pulmonary fibrosis. THE COURT: I am having trouble hearing you. Your lungs cleared out in late November A My lungs arc still not clear, but they were clear 63 ~ ~ 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 enough in late Novembe~ that they could -- there was a lot of scarring, a lot of scarred tissue and they determined that they thought r had a condition called pulmonary fibrosis, which is stiffening of the lungs, which reduces your breathing capacity. And then T started seeing a pulmonary specialist for that. TilE COURT: When was that? A I started seeing a pulmonary specialist in December. THE COURT: December of 2001? A Yes, sir. THE COURT: Okay. A And still do. So, as I said, from August through it was Novembe~ 12 was the incident that started all this. THE COURT: November 12 was what? A November 12th was the incident that precipitated Mr. Steffen taking my children. THE COURT: Okay. A It was late November I found out what my disease was, I have been treated for. I currently do have an ear, nose and throat infection and I am on medication for that. I did leave out the back problem. BY MS. RHODES: Q Othe~ than the pulmonary fibrosis that you talked about and double pneumonia, a~e you suffering from any other 6~ ~ ~ 1 medical conditions or probLems? 2 A Yrm, I am. [hilve had a herniated disc in my back 3 for severilJ years that I qet checked once a year, it flares 4 up, qoes out ilnd I reiJ lly am immobile and it is ver'y painful 5 and it comes ilnd goes. And it was I guess Ap r 11 or so it 6 started again and -- severe pain down my left leg, numbness in 7 my foot. I continued to work and then T finally saw an 8 orthopaedic surgeon who sent me for an MRI and he I now 9 have severe stenosis in my back, my discs, L4 and L5 are 10 completely degenerated, sitting on my sciatic nerve and 11 compressing the nerves down my left leg and he would like to 12 do surgery, spinal surgery, and pins in my back, whIch is 13 going to require at least a 12 week period. 14 So right now I do have medications to take if 15 needed and I am going to get a second opinion before I go 16 ahead -- before I decide if I am going to have surgery. He 17 said pretty soon I am not going to be able to walk unless I 18 get it fixed, but that is where I am with that right now. 19 Q Are you currently under treatment for any 20 genealogical problems? 21 A Well, of course, I get my yearly pap test. I am 22 on depo-probera every 3 months, it is an injection that 23 THE COURT: That is for what? 24 A Well, in my condition it is for medical reasons, 25 it is for severe endometriosis. 65 " ~ r- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 THE COURT: Okay. Any other medications? A I have medications for that and my back if needed and I am currently on antibiotics, an inhaler. nil" COUl~'l': You have medicine for you back as needed, what is that A What medication? THE COURT: Yes. A I have Darvocet if needed. I have a prescription called Vicodin, V-I-C-O-D-I-N, which I only take at bed time if needed if I can't sleep, which I can't even lay on my back. Then I am on an antibiotic, a decongestant. THE COURT: What antibiotics are you on? A I am on Zithromax, called a Z-ack, stands for Zithromax. I have Rhinecort, steroid nasal spray, R-H-I-N-E-C-O-R-'I'. THE COURT: Okay. A I have an inhaler for my lungs. THE COURT: What is that? A I am trying to think of the name, Your Honor. I honestly can't think of it off the top of my head at this time. THE COURT: That a prescription medication? A Yes, sir, it is. THE COURT: Okay. Anything else? A Well, we did mention the Zocor, which at one time 25 66 ~ f"'. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 I was taking 150 milligrams of that. Till': COURT: Zocor or Zoloft? A Sorry, Zoloft. Zoloft was the medication that was prescribed by Dr. Rus ick, [ was not it is actually an antianxiety medication in my case. The reason we are seeing depression is as a result of the incidents that have transpir.ed at the time and my illness and my sickness and missing work, I was very down in the dumps about it. The Zocor -- THE COURT: Zoloft? A Zoloft is for that, I take one 15 milligram tablet a day. THE COURT: Okay, any other medication? A I do have high cholesterol, so I do take Zocor. I take one 20 milligram tablet a day. THf:: COURT: All right. Is that it? A Yes, Your Honor, T believe that would be it. THE COURT: Ms. Rhodes. BY MS. RHODE:S: Q Are you taking Xanax currently? A I do have Xanax, which is also an antianxiety medication. I was getting -- with everything that has transpired, I was having a lot of anxiety and having double pneumonia, with the pneumonia, I was having trouble breathing, and I have Xanax if needed to relax me so I can breath if I am 67 ~ I"'" 1 havIng an anxiety attack. So I do have that if needed. 2 Moving on to il date of November 12, 2001, can you Q 3 explain what happened that morning? 4 '['hat morning, I guess it was around 10:00 a.m. ^ 5 that morning, I had to go out to the store to get some bread 6 and milk for the children. Of course, I was sick but it was 7 Veterans Day, we were home. The children had also been sick. 8 I went out to the store to get medication, I was on the 9 Carlisle Pike, the car -- J did not feel good, as I related to 10 you because of the circumstances, I was nauseous, I had 11 diarrhea, I was a little bit dizzy, I just didn't feel well. 12 I went to the closest store to get some bread and 13 milk, a car in front of me, the light turned red, the car in 14 front of me stopped suddenly, [ had to stop suddenly, and I 15 tapped the woman's bumper, I tapped the woman's bumper, we 16 both got out of the car, there was no dan~ge to the cars, 17 nobody was hurt but she wanted to have the police come. 18 I told her that I needed to get home to the 1.9 children, I was very sick and I asked if she woul.d follow me 20 home. She said, no, she wanted to wait for the police. I 21 said I have to go home and I told her where I lived, which was 22 five minutes from where we were and I went home. 23 Approximately four hours later a policeman came 24 to my home and asked me if I had been on the Carlisle Pike 25 earlier that morning, and I said, Yes, I had. He said, Were 68 I ;1 il , ~ ~. 1 you involved in an accident? I said that a woman had stopped 2 suddenly at a I ight change, she stopped sudden ly, J. tapped her 3 bumper, there was no damage. lie sa Id, Are you okay? 1 sa id, 4 I am okay. T said, T am very sick with my conditions, I told 5 him the medications [ was takIng. 6 lie sa id, I th i.nk I shou ld ta ke you to the 7 hospi.ta 1. [sa id, I don't need to go to the hospital. He 8 insisted on taking me to the hospital which, of course, I 9 later found out was for a drug and alcohol test. He took me 10 for the test. Then I came back home and I was sitting with my 11 children and I wasn't feeling well, as I said. I didn't know 12 what was happening at the time, this is what my children told 13 me happened. I had passed out. I was very dizzy and then I 14 had passed out and I was shaking on the floor. 15 They went to a friend of theirs home to tell the 16 mother, you know, that something was wrong with my mother. 17 That mother I assume in turn called Mr. Steffen and told him 10 that the child["(;m were there, that the mother was dizzy, she 19 passed out, she was trembling on the floor. 20 I assume that Mr. Steffen -- well, Mr. Steffen 21 apparently thought I was under the influence of alcohol. 22 He -- several hours later he came to my home with a policeman 23 and said he was taking my children. Of course, I said, No, 24 you are not and they said that they were and off they went. 25 [ immediately called a friend of mine, I called my 69 ~ I'" 1 2 3 4 friend, Jim Donovan, who is silLing ovor there and his son, Dennis Donovan, who Is also in AA, 20 years in the program, and I was frantic that Mr. Steffen had taken my children, and he immediatoly came d'Jwn to my homo and calmed me down and stayed with me. [was, you know, I was a mess. The next day [ went to work and r was, of course, upset. d idn' t have my ch i Idren. r went to see my children at school and they told mo what had happened, that I had passed out, what I had just told you. I just wanted to make sure they wore all right, becauso their father had taken them. Then Mr. Steffen apparontly had come down to court or his lawyer did November 13th and got an order signed by yourself stating that I had relapsed in an alcoholic condition and that he should have the children, which apparently was signed and since then he has had my children. 'I'm: COURT: So you d idn' t go to a doctor when all thIs happened? A Yes, r did. THE COURT: You did go to a doctor? A I was under doctor's care fo~ the pneumonia, the pulmonary fibrosis. TilE COURT: I know, but when you passed out, you 5 6 '/ 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 didn't A Okay, after my children told me what happened TilE COURT: I am talking abo~t the day, November 70 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 .20 21 22 23 24 25 ""' r" 12th, when YOll say YOll piHlsnd Oll!., you callod I:lomebody from NA. A I called someone from AA. nil': COURT: AA. A I d idn' t know that [ had passed out, I didn't know that happened, I didn't find this out until the next day. I didn't know that [ had passed out and that my children went for help. THE COURT: In any event, no doctor was called for you tha t da y? A No, that day the policeman had taken me to the hospital for the drug and alcohol test. But, no, nobody was calied for me. As far as -- I didn't know, nothing was done that day. What transpired was several days later I had a seizure at work and after -- it started to make sense to me, after they described that I had il seizure and what my children described to me, T figured that is what must have been happening to me. From all accounts I had been -- Dr. Rusick had prescribed for me a medication called Nurotin, N-U-R-O-T-I-N. lie had prescribed that for me to calm me down for my nerves, it wasn't anything addicting, because he was aware that I was an addict. It was a medication that I did not like taking, I did not like the way it made me feel. I expressed that to him 71 ~ r" 1 severa 1 times and he had told me that I would j UBt have to 2 take it and my body would get used to it. 3 Prior to November 12th, [ would Bay two or three 4 days eariier, with all the pneumonia medications and 5 everything [ was on, I had stopped taking this medication, the 6 Nurotin, after I had the seizures at work and after what my 7 children told me, everything made sense that that is what was 8 going on. I went to the doctors, they dId a CAT scan to make 9 sure I didn I t have anything going on in my bra in. Then it was 10 decided that this Nurotin, which was actually an anti-seizure 11 medication for epileptics 12 THE COURT: We are starting to get into something 13 that, obvIously, requires medical testimony. Ms. Rhodes, what 11\ .is your next questi.on? 15 BY MS. RHODES: 16 Q On November 13, what happened on that date, did 17 anything happen the day after the incident? Did you have any 18 health can~? 19 A On November 13? No, T didn't have any health 20 care, no, not on November 13th. 21 Q So this seizure at work happened a few days later? 22 A Yes, the seizure at work happened a few days 23 later. Actually, l.t happened a couple of weeks lator bOC1ause 24 after I had got back on my Nurotin, not knowing any of this 25 had happened -- I didn't have my seizure until -- another 72 ~ r' 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 seiz~re until December 1st -- or December 3, Monday, December 3rd at work, that is when we figured out -- that is where everyone decided that waR going on and that had apparently stopped taking that medication and that would cause seizures. Q On the day of the accident your car bumped the car in front of it. What sort of damage, was it a broken headlight, bumper THE COURT: I think she said there was no damage. A Therc was no damage. The woman did put a claim In, a $69 claIm for -- I dIdn't sce anything on her bumper, but when we went to the hearing, she did say that she put in a claim for -- a $69 claim for dinqing her bumper. I don't feel that it was related today, but. 'I'm: COURT: You had no damage to your car? ^ None, whatsoever, no claim, no damage. BY MS. RHODEn: Q Were there any charges brought against you as a result of that accident on November 12, 2001? ^ Yes, there were. I was charged with a DUI and this was, you know, on November 12, even before any results were done, I was charged with hit and run and reckless driving. Q What was the result of those charges, what was the out.come? 25 ^ As a result of those charges, the DUI was 73 ~ r-, 1 dismissed. The drug and alcohol tnsl.9 were negative. r did 2 admit that did not exchange Insurance informatlon, so I was 3 charged with failure to exchange insurance information. 4 'rilE COUH'I': We know wh;lt you were charged with, 5 but what happened to the charge? 6 A r was charged with failure to exchange insurance 7 information, and I wound up being charged with failure to 8 exchange insurance information. 9 TilE COURT: We know you were charged, what 10 happened to the charge? Were you convicted, did you plead 11 guilty or don't you recall? 12 A No, I recail. Mr. Esposito, who was my lawyer at 13 the time, and I, went to District Justice Placey's office. 14 After everything was heard, Mr. Esposito talked to me 15 personally and what we agreed to do was he agreed that I 16 should plead to failure td exchange insurance information, 17 which I did. And the cop was saying -- was trying to push 18 this reckless driving thing. And my lawyer said, well, he 19 said, would you at least plead to careless driving, since you 20 were ill and -- since you were ill. I was like, yes, so I 21 pleaded to careless driving and failure to exchange insurance 22 informat.ion. 23 TilE COURT: And the police officer withdrew the 24 driving under the influence charge? 25 A He withdrew -- Dist.rict Justice Placey. 74 ~ ~ 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 THE COURT: Did you havn a hearing, a preliminary hearing to whether it would be bound over for court or did you A [t was dropped at that time, never went any further. THE COURT: The police officer withdrew it? A Well, at that time, yes. THE COURT: Okay. Ms. Rhodes, it is about the noon hour. 1 think this might be an appropriate time to adjourn for the day. MS. RHODES: All right. THE COURT: You may step down, thank you. We will enter this order: And now, this 2nd day of October, 2002, upon consideration of Defendant's request for a modification of custody, aDd following an initial half day of hearing, and the hearing having not yet been completed, the record shall remain open, and counsel are requested to contact the Court's secretary for purposes of scheduling an additional one day of hearing. It is noted that at the time of adjournment on today's date the Defendant was still in the process of presenting her case-in-chief and the Defendant was being subjected to direct examination by her representative. It is further noted that at the time of adjournment Defendant's Exhibit 1 had been identified and admitted. No other exhibits 15 ~ I'""' CER',fr f'ICA'l'ION I hereby certify that the proceedings are contained fully and accurately in the notes taken by me on the above cause and that this is a correct transcript of same. ~~(j,t'1dt Patricia C. arrett Official Stenographer The foregoing record of the proceedings on the hearing of the within matter is hereby approved and directed to be filed. ~~) 2...,(. 20 v.L Date t J 77