Judge: My decision as to who should have custody of your children has to be based on what is in the best interest of the children,” the judge said. “Sir, since you filed the action asking for custody, can you tell me why you think granting you full custody is in your children’s best interest?”
Husband: I think it would be in the children’s best interest to live with me as opposed to living with my wife, because she is unfit.
Judge: What exactly is it that makes your wife unfit to have custody of your kids?
Husband: She is addicted to Twitter. And like most people with addictions, she is only happy when she is posting something on Twitter. I didn’t realize she had a problem until my oldest daughter brought it to my attention. She said her mom spends all day and night sending Tweets. I know kids exaggerate, so at first I didn’t pay any attention to what she said. A few weeks later, my wife and I attended a school conference for my youngest son. He has been diagnosed with ADHD. We were meeting with his teacher about some issues he was having, and we were discussing possible strategies and treatment plans.
Judge: How long were you in the meeting?
Husband: The meeting lasted about forty-five minutes. She spent at least thirty minutes with her face buried in her smart phone. The teacher had to repeat herself several times because my wife was distracted by what she was doing on the phone. When the teacher asked her if she would mind putting away the phone, she put it in her purse. After about ten minutes, she pulled it out again. I thought maybe she was checking on something from work, but I realized later she was sending Tweets.
Judge: How do you know what she was doing?
Husband: I actually set up a Twitter account for the sole purpose of monitoring her Tweets. There have been stretches when she has posted a Tweet every fifteen minutes for several days at a time. She Tweets about what she is eating. She Tweets about how stressed she is over the separation. How can you take care of your kids if you are spending that much time sending tweets. My kids complain that their mother is not helping them with homework, fixing dinner, or cleaning the house. I really don’t understand the purpose; she only has eighteen followers. Why does she find it necessary to ignore her children in order to communicate her every move and thought to eighteen strangers? How can she take care of the kids when she is up at three or four in the morning sending Tweets?
Judge: Is that all, is there anything else you would like to say?
Husband: Yes, my oldest daughter has been forced to take care of her younger siblings because her mom is not doing her job. When we separated, my daughter was a straight-A student; but her grades have started to suffer because she has to help her siblings with their homework and get them ready for school in the morning. Your honor, I don’t know if you have noticed, but their mother has been doing something with her phone even as I have been speaking with you.
Jackie’s Note: The cases posted in Courthouse Chronicles are real-life court cases that involve real people. For the record, I do not include any of the cases I have actually worked. If I hired a lawyer to represent me I would not want him or her writing about me so that’s why I don’t write about any of my clients. My research for these posts consists of sitting in the back of courtrooms listening to the testimony and witnessing the antics of other lawyers, their clients and people who chose to represent themselves.
Photo Credit: Visual Hunt