Experienced Albany divorce attorney Jennifer Sunderlin Morton explains the rules regarding bringing a support person to family court in this educational video.
Irrespective of whether or not you have your own attorney, you can bring anyone to court that you would like for moral support. What is important for you to understand is whoever you bring with you to court, isn’t expected to be a participant in the court appearance. For example, if you do not have an attorney and you choose to bring a friend with you, that friend cannot sit with you at the desk before the judge, or speak for you or on your behalf; that would be the unauthorized practice of law. However, you can bring whoever you would like to sit behind you in the court appearance, to watch, to observe, to take notes, and to support you while you’re there.
One exception to this, however, is on trial dates. Generally, courts will bar perspective witnesses from sitting in the back of court proceedings and listening or observing to proceedings before they testify. After they testify, however, you can have your moral support back sitting with you in the court room.
Contact our law office immediately if you are going to family court. Our attorneys will fight for you and your family.
Attorney Jennifer Sunderlin Morton is experienced in family law and can help you achieve your legal goals. Check out her superb client reviews on Avvo.
Jean M. Mahserjian, Esq., is a New York family law and divorce attorney in Albany, Saratoga, and the surrounding areas. For more than 20 years, Jean has maintained her capital region law firm, located on Route 9 in Clifton Park, New York. The practice encompasses all areas of family and matrimonial law, and an online uncontested divorce service.