Matter of Mortimer v. Mortimer

Summary

The New York Appellate Division, Second Department affirmed an order modifying custody and parental access provisions, awarding the mother final decision-making authority and limiting the father's access to therapeutic supervised visitation. The court also upheld findings that the father committed family offenses against the child and the resulting two-year order of protection, rejecting or declining to reach his claims regarding counsel, judicial bias, and other issues.

Holdings

1. A respondent entitled to counsel is not deprived of that right when the court advises the respondent of the right to assigned counsel, explains the dangers and disadvantages of proceeding without counsel, gives an opportunity to obtain counsel, and the respondent's application for legal-aid representation is denied because he is ineligible.
2. The bias claim was unpreserved for appellate review; in any event, the record did not show that any alleged bias unjustly affected the result to the father's detriment.
3. The father's remaining contentions were unpreserved, without merit, or not properly before the court and therefore did not warrant disturbing the Family Court order.

Questions Presented

1. Whether the father was deprived of his right to counsel when he proceeded pro se at the custody and family-offense hearing.
2. Whether the Family Court was biased against the father and whether that claim was preserved for appellate review.
3. Whether the Family Court's custody, parental-access, family-offense, and order-of-protection determinations should be disturbed on the father's remaining contentions.

Disposition

affirmed