Page 1 Page 2 Page 3 Page 4 Page 5 Page 6 Page 7 Page 8 Page 9 Page 10 Page 11 Page 12 Page 13 Page 14 Page 15 Page 16 Page 17 Page 18 Page 19 Page 20 Page 21 Page 22 Page 23 Page 24 Page 25 Page 26 Page 27 Page 28 Page 29 Page 30 Page 31 Page 32 Page 33 Page 34 Page 35 Page 36 Page 37 Page 38 Page 39 Page 40 Page 41 Page 42 Page 43 Page 44 Page 45 Page 46 Page 47 Page 48 Page 49 Page 50 Page 51 Page 52 Page 53 Page 54 Page 55 Page 56 Page 57 Page 58 Page 59 Page 60 Page 61 Page 6231 30 Home at Last In “Jamie’s” first decade of life, his father was sent to prison for drug possession and his mother, “Marta,” who battled drug addiction, rarely made the rent payment. Jamie was pulled out of school every three or four months as his mother and he moved from one place to the next. With nowhere left to turn, Marta and 10-year-old Jamie moved in with Marta’s ex, “Raymond.” Raymond and Marta shared custody of two children born before Jamie was conceived. After about a month at Raymond’s, Marta disappeared, likely due to a relapse. Enough time passed for Raymond to realize that someone had to take care of Jamie; that “someone” would be Raymond. Raymond had lost his job so he couldn’t afford a lawyer. Instead, he turned to the San Diego Volunteer Lawyer Program, which referred the case to Mintz Levin attorney Rob Latta. A non-relative seeking custody of a child is a more complicated case than a relative seeking custody. On top of the typical obstacles of a custody case, San Diego County’s Health & Human Services Agency charged prospective guardians a $700+ fee to conduct a guardian investigation. Raymond, in his individual capacity, and through other attorneys, requested a fee waiver. However, the agency responded with a nominal reduction to $606, still way beyond Raymond’s reach. “Raymond may have fallen on tough times, but he was the best chance that Jamie had at a bright and fulfilling future. We could have paid the fee but we felt it was important to resolve this matter for others without counsel who might be similarly impacted by this unfair ruling,” said Rob. Rob prepared a brief and served papers to all parties involved, including the general counsels of San Diego County and the Health & Human Services Agency. Raymond was awarded full custody of Jamie, and Rob and attorney Andrew Skale won the decision on the fee waiver. The precious dollars that could have gone to fees instead went to food, clothing, and shelter. Little did Raymond realize that the Mintz Levin petition on his behalf would also help count- less other people like him have a chance at guardianship. The ruling on the fee waiver now stands as precedent for all non-relative guardianship fees in San Diego County. When we spoke with Rob in the spring, Jamie, 11 years old, was about to complete his second full year of school. Prior to living with Raymond, Jamie had never completed a full year of education. Rob reported that Raymond had arranged counseling for Jamie, and that the boy is opening up and is less disruptive in school. “In the end, we got the best result for the client, and, more importantly, we have aided in getting Jamie into a permanent, stable home,” Andrew said. “When the case was complete, ‘Raymond’ left a voicemail at my office overcome with emotion as he expressed his gratitude and relief. He could not have navigated the complicated legal system without his dedicated volunteer attorneys.” Leslie J. Mackay, Esq. Staff Attorney San Diego Volunteer Lawyer Program, Inc.