Fox News published a story on Thursday, 22 Sep 2011, regarding Jesse James's child custody case. (Jesse James was married to Sandra Bullock and this marriage was dissolved in 2010.) The custody motion was filed by Mr. James to change the venue of the court case from Orange County California to the state of Texas. The case was between Mr. James and Janine Lindemulder. Wikipedia reports that Mr. James and Ms. Lindemulder have a daughter and that Ms. Lindemulder is an adult film star. (A photo of the Hays County courthouse is to the right.)
As a San Diego Certified Family Law Specialist attorney, my office receives calls from people all over the country and jurisdiction and venue issues are frequently involved. Just today a mom with a case in the Los Angeles court wanted to know which court would take over the case if she moved to San Diego and the father moved to Idaho. Similarly, Mr. James now reportedly lives in Texas while Ms. Lindemulder lives in Oregon. The news report did not say why Ms. Lindemulder opposed the motion to move the case to Texas, or whether she filed to move the case to Oregon. The report stated that the motion had been filed approximately one year ago. (Mr. James is shown in the video walking in Orange County California.)
There are extensive rules under the UCCJEA (Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction and Enforcement Act) which helps courts to resolve which state should take over a child custody case. Years ago a parent could file a motion for the custody of a child in one state, for example, Indiana; then if the parent lost the custody motion, he or she could grab the child and file for custody in another state, for example, California. The UCCJEA law was passed in each and every state in the country and the law seeks to end this problem by only allowing one state to proceed with a custody case, to the exclusion of all other states.
So, now all motions regarding child custody regarding the James/Lindemulder daughter will be heard in the Hays County, Texas Courthouse. Strategy? Probably, in my opinion. Mr. James may believe that the Texas court system will be more conservative about custody orders and less likely to promote joint custody of the child with Ms. Lindemulder.
The San Diego divorce lawyers at the Law Office of Thomas M. Huguenor handle child custody and family law cases.
