An unexpected update....

We have entered this strange, foreign place where my son and I communicate with each other. He lets me know when he needs things and when he does, I provide the things he needs. I am humbled at the workings of the Universe and how it has brought us to this place, even though I am sad that he had to experience getting rejected by his grandmother in order to get here, but I'll take it since that was going to happen eventually anyway.

I haven't updated in a while, life has a way of keeping me busy. But basically the police located my son at school (thank goodness he kept GOING to school even though he had run away) and the school deputy held him there after school one day until I could get there. The deputy was basically giving him a reality check on what things I could do (as in, remove him immediately, never to return) and that I seemed like I was trying to be reasonable so he suggested that my son work with me if he wanted any chance to stay where he was.

Not to say that boarding schools didn't enter my mind, they most certainly did. I have a seven year old at home to consider as well, and I can't have a teenager demonstrating how to climb out windows if I can help it. I've already had to explain that once. So yeah, boarding school was an option I considered. To the point where I was googling different ones and even called and spoke to a few. But he WAS still going to school, and he did still have an A in ROTC (though not in much else) and I was hesitant to be too disruptive since I know that all of his adult career goals involve the military. I decided to extend the first olive branch, mainly because I realized he had ROTC drill that day and he would miss it if I dragged him away. I asked him in front of the officer if I could trust him to come with me if I came back after drill. At first he said no, but he did change his mind and give me his word that he would go with me. Surprisingly when I came back, he DID. With no complaining or anything. In fact, he gave me an apology for his previous behavior as soon as he got in my car.

We just grabbed some dinner and kind of got caught up on things. After dinner I met the parents of the friend he had chosen to stay with. I actually slightly knew the mom from ROTC booster meetings and I recognized her son as one of the harder working cadets. After learning more about the schedule my son was living there,  and after double checking on the school website and realizing that my son's Missing Assignment list had stopped growing (at 37 missed assignments) pretty much as soon as he moved in there, I decided it could be beneficial to leave him there at least temporarily while he and I took some time to reconnect after the years of alienation and bullshit we have both been through. 

As time has passed I am more satisfied with my decision, as my son has remained polite and respectful and has done pretty much anything I ask of him and then some.  He seems to be coming around to seeing/believing more of who I actually am, as opposed to who he was told I was.  I have experienced the simple joy of him living in a house where the adult he stays with communicates with me about his needs. I was able to get him some clothes when it was cold, and some follow up doctor appointments since he had apparently been diagnosed with scoliosis (which again, his custodial grandmother did not feel it had been important to share this information with me) I am very glad he took it upon himself to tell me because I really dislike the idea of him going without anything he needs. I also think it gave me a chance to show him that I do care about him. I wonder if he'll ever realize that he has been on my insurance all this time while she has been using only the medicaid coverage that she has for him and letting him go without some things because she didn't want to just LET ME KNOW what was going on because she didn't want me to be able to help. 

It's not easy.  The torture was dragged out for five years. I still struggle with just trusting what is said at face value. I'm sure he is still struggling with this too, because I am an adult and the thoughts still creep in. In two years he will be a legal adult and could stop talking to me completely if he chooses to. I hope he doesn't, but I can't control or worry about that.  I'm too busy being happy about his turnaround.  I had honestly gotten to a point where I doubted he would ever come around. For years I have parroted the things the therapists told me to say when he is disrespectful in email/text and felt SO ridiculously stupid at times while I was doing it. Like, this isn't going to work, he just thinks I'm an idiot.

And I must say; I was wrong.  I'm happy that I was, and that I said all the stuff even though I felt stupid. It totally was working I just couldn't tell at the time. So many times I wanted to say screw it and just say exactly how things were making ME feel......and instead I just took a deep breath and practiced what I learned in therapy and said I love and miss you regardless of how you feel about me and I wish you well and hope that one day you can know that and I'll be right here when you do. 
And suddenly now he's here....reaching out to me, having ordinary conversations.  It's just so different.

In the end, as through all of it, I know that I have done all that I can possibly do to give him the best chance at being a successful adult.  I know it was twisted to him for years that my motives for fighting for him were purely selfish but I hope in time he will see the sacrifices I have made that make that theory impossible. 

As the dust settles and the chaos is behind us, I have a bit more time and can focus more on being a voice to make sure that this isn't allowed to keep happening to other parents. The length of litigation, the inaction by the court, the irreparable damages done to both myself, my son, and even to my mother and the rest of our family that was affected…..none of it is ok and there should be some kind of system in place checking to make sure that it isn't happening. There should be accountability after the sheer volume of hearings and cancellations/continuations that I experienced, and that I am certain other parents have experienced (because in my journey I have met a few other victims of Seminole County Family Court). 

Liar, liar, pants on fire!

This post is just...wow. Yesterday I got an email from my son's father. I sent him a copy of the final judgment revoking temporary custody from my mother and giving m sole custody. Turns out he had a child support hearing yesterday. My mother showed up, pretending to still have custody of my son.  When his father mentioned she no longer had custody she denied that, but luckily he had printed the order to bring with him. She claimed to "not know about that hearing or the order revoking her custody", which is funny because I only got the order because she filed a motion withdrawing any objection to me revoking temporary custody so even if she didn't know about the order yet (although a copy was provided to her attorney on Monday, same as mine) she DID know that she had filed withdrawing her objections, so why was she in support court demanding my ex give her more money or go to jail when she knew she had essentially relinquished custody anyway?

I'm happy to say she was unsuccessful at getting him thrown in jail, or at getting more money out of him. In fact, she'll get less now since she gets no current support from him moving forward, and will only be getting $25/week towards arrears for at least a while. 

This makes me reflect to about 4 years ago. I was still near the beginning of this long drawn out legal battle, and I found a document while searching at the records building. I was adopted by my maternal grandmother in 4th grade. In 5th grade I moved back with my mother and she tried to take my father to court for child support. He came with the adoption papers and she left with nothing.  So I am not really surprised that she tried this, but I am extremely disappointed in a system that doesn't do anything punitive to someone so obviously trying to defraud the system. 

Penalties would discourage others from lying moving forward. Letting her get away with it encourages the idea that you can do whatever you want and get away with it, even defrauding the system.  If even one person is getting away with this kind of activity completely consequence-free, then there is a serious need for both family law reform in Seminole County, and child support reform in the state of Florida.

Wait...what?

So what just happened? It's been a crazy week, that's for sure! I have to write this out now, just in case it gets crazier!

For those of you just tuning in, I have been in high conflict family court litigation with my biological mother for over 5 years in Seminole County, Florida. We went through several judges, including the "facebook judge" Linda Schoonover, who gave me custody 2 years ago but then vacated her order when my lawyer presented her with a final judgment revoking my mother's temporary custody that opposing counsel (Vicki Levy Eskin) had "no objections to" (I suspect that she did, and that she voiced those objections to judge Schoonover in ex parte communications outside the courtroom, but I will never be able to prove that, so they get away with it)

ANYWAY, The judge vacated her order and my son ran away to my mother's home (on the same day, but that's just a Coincidence) and every visit and family therapy session since then has been difficult to schedule or enforce. I haven't seen him outside of therapy in over a year, and I haven't seen him in therapy since right before last Christmas. I email him that I love him and he emails me to fuck off.

Last week, out of nowhere, my lawyer called and told me that my mother had withdrawn all of her objections to my motion to revoke her temporary custody. THEN I was told that my son had actually run away from her home 3 1/2 weeks ago (yet nobody bothered to tell me?  I know there is more to the story than I was told) and was refusing to return, even after she threatened to stop fighting me for custody if he didn't return. Supposedly he told her to go ahead, so she did.

I still wasn't buying after 5 years of "almost over"s. This morning I got a copy of my final judgment, and I am STILL having a hard time believing it.  I have custody of a child who is missing, my mother supposedly knows where he is staying (with a friend from school and his parents) but instead of just telling me where that actually IS, she says "the school has the information"

It all seems so crazy. What am I supposed to do next? I'll need to go to the courthouse and get a certified copy of the order so that I can go to the school and change his info in the system and see if they actually have the address where he is staying and if they do, if they will tell me what the address is.  And then what? THIS is what Seminole County finally gives me, and my son, after YEARS of turmoil? An essentially non-enforceable judgment for a child I can't even locate that has less than two years until he's 18. I began court proceedings asking for assistance with visitation when he was TEN. I find this to be completely unacceptable. And if they'll do it to me, they'll do it to others. How many other lives has Seminole County ruined in the past 5 years?

This is the case that never ends......yes it goes on and on, my friends....

I went almost all of 2014 without any hearings, I don't know why I would be surprised when my lawyer told me my hearing has been set for May. As in May 2015. As in SIX MONTHS from now....and this after 5 years of litigation already?!?!  How on earth is this right? 
Supposedly we're still on call on the docket and could come up anytime between now and May, but after this long I'm not going to hold a single breath.

The time I have lost with my son can never be returned to us. He can't just decide to back up when he's an adult and decide to see what it's like to try launching into the world from an extremely motivated, two parent, multi-child household.  He can't erase the time he spent with the people that made him think I am some lying evil monster, hell-bent on ruining his life. I am so obnoxiously selfish that I have dedicated YEARS just trying to spend time with him that isn't tainted by nonsense. Our time will always be tainted, simply because this was allowed to go on unchecked for so long.

I think I am angry at myself, for actually letting myself get my hopes up a little with this new judge. It felt like she wanted to resolve this quickly, and that is more important than which way the ruling comes out at this point.   All I can do is know that however long this is dragged out with no answer, HE is affected by stress and bullshit and that will have impact on his school and his future. 

All of this is so beyond stupid, I cannot even begin to fathom how this is ok from a legal standpoint. My right to spend time with and parent my child the way I see fit is ABSOLUTELY being infringed on right now, and has been for YEARS. And at this point, it is likely too late. May will be well after his 16th birthday, and the court has also allowed he will testify AFTER talking with the judge in chambers so that she can determine whether or not his testimony is necessary.

I can't even begin to find the words for the frustration and disappointment I currently feel. May.

I feel like every attempt to make me give up on my child has been made, both by my son's temporary guardian, opposing counsel, and even the court by its total inaction. 
I have been asking the court for help to spend time with my son for the last FIVE YEARS.
Now they like to look at me with a knowing look and say "He's at that age..."
Yeah, thanks. If I had gotten help from the court when he was TEN, when I first asked maybe he wouldn't be refusing to spend any time with me at all.  And certainly reinforcing that he is absolutely right, and he doesn't actually have to follow any court orders isn't a good thing to be teaching any teenage boy.

Unbelievable. Way to drop the ball, AGAIN, Seminole County.

Are we there yet?

After 5 1/2 years I must admit I am not very hopeful for a resolution that actually benefits my son. I have almost lost hope that he will be integrated into my family. What may or may not be a final hearing date may or may not be set for Dec 8, we won't know until after the pretrial conference tomorrow. 

 

Whether it is Dec 8 or sometime in 2015, after my son's 16th birthday, I will need to accumulate some funds for a court reporter. It's going to be an 8 hour hearing, and the reporter is $85 for the first hour and $50 for each additional hour. Those of you that have been following my story for a while, and have asked how you can help, I do have a gofundme account set up if you wanted to donate.

http://www.gofundme.com/WTFSeminoleCounty

On that note, I would like to leave you with what comes out to 22 pages of the utter and despicable nonsense that is my experience SO FAR with Seminole County Family Court. 

 

How many lives have to be ruined before they are stopped?

 

How much angst could be avoided if people like Vicki Levy Eskin (opposing counsel) were held accountable for their overinvolved participation in the distortion of truth and mental abuse of my son and helping his temporary guardian to cause further damage by retaining custody that should have been (and was) revoked a long time ago?

 

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B3nxoSPL_ICaVk1iTGQzZmdENWM/view?usp=sharing

 

 

My appeal was denied

They basically say there is nothing to appeal yet, since the judge never made a final ruling.  To say this is frustrating is an understatement.

Feel free to read, but I caution those of you who have been following this for a while that have anger or blood pressure issues may want to skip this link.
https://edca.5dca.org/eOrder.aspx?id=19796-51184-405302-121932

That was only HALF of my appeal. The other half was specifically me asking them to order her to rule since four years have passed and she simply refuses to make a final ruling.

I would say I am upset, but honestly I am not even the least bit surprised.  My lawyer is filing a motion for them to rehear the appeal but I am certainly not going to sit around holding my breath.

The reality is, even if they had ruled in my favor, my mother wouldn't suddenly start complying with court orders.  The system has taken so long to reach a conclusion that the conclusion itself will be irrelevant. They have already allowed the damage to happen.  Even a proper ruling is insufficient at this point.

For your reading pleasure, I am posting a copy of my complaint to the JQC.  Hopefully that sticks.
It may be too late for me, and too late for my son, but it is never too late to make this judge face the consequences of her actions!

http://www.gofundme.com/6khmqg

WTF, Seminole County?

In November 2001 my son's father and I both voluntarily agreed to give Temporary custody of my son to his grandmother(my mother). We were being evicted from our apartment, and were about to spend the next year and a half living in our car.  I faced a great many obstacles during the process of undoing much of my poor upbringing and learning instead to be a stable and responsible adult, but I think for the most part I have done so.  Other parts of my blog talk about this in more depth, if you care to go read it.

 

After many struggles with being left off of school registrations and not being able to see my son (she said it was his choice, and that he didn't want to....he was 9 years old at the time), and arguments with my mother about her teaching my son to call her "Mom",  I filed for visitation through the Seminole County family court on 2/10/10. In January of 2011  only four court ordered visits had been complied with, and was unwilling to facilitate anything past that (the order stated "reasonable visitation upon which the parties can agree" and she simply refused to agree to anything). In one year I had seen my son four times, all in a supervised visitation center.  I decided my only chance to get to know my son was to remove her ability to block me from him and to remove him from living with her negative influence.  I was always agreeable to him still seeing her, but I felt like if he and I were going to get anywhere he needed to live with me, his mom, full time.

I filed to revoke Temporary custody of a family member in January 2011. After two continuances, we finally saw the magistrate  on 3/17/11. At the time, both parties stipulated that I was a fit parent.  Yet it wasn't until fourteen months later, after 8 continuances and 8 hearings with the magistrate, and two hearings with the judge to clarify the legal standard,  the magistrate issued his ruling on 5/30/12 that temporary custody to eventually be restored after a graduated visitation schedule that spanned over the next 36 months.

It was still another nine months and six continuances before the judge signed the magistrate's ruling into a final order minus the visitation schedule, and temporary custody was revoked on 2/13/13

I made my own graduated visitation schedule, allowing my son ample time at both homes to make the transition as easy as possible on him. My son moved in with me on 3/15/13  with a total of 6 outfits, his bookbag, and a broken laptop, all of which reeked of cigarette smoke even after multiple washings.  During this time his grandmother cancelled all of the visits I had scheduled for her, negatively impacting my son's ability to transition to my house smoothly.  During this time I was finally able to have myself added to the school records, and found out that he was in very serious danger of failing for repeated refusal to turn in homework.  He found himself restricted from his internet access and video games until his homework was completed. Needless to say, after living in a house where he was not expected to see to his responsibilities before having fun, he thought my house was super strict.  I knew this was normal and was prepared to patiently wait him out while he learned to adapt.

 While my son was living with me, I was still making payments to child support enforcement, because they said the court order "was not clear enough unless it specifically said child support was to stop".  On 4/5/13 my lawyer managed to get hearing time to ask the judge for a more clear order.  At this hearing, opposing counsel had absolutely no opposition to my lawyer's proposed order, yet Judge Schoonover expressed surprise that I had moved my child in with me upon gaining custody and refused to sign the order that was agreed upon by both parties.

Whatever happened behind the scenes during this time, I will probably never know.
But on 4/9/13 (two business days later) Judge Schoonover issued her decision to vacate her own order, essentially revoking my custody (granted only two months prior)and restoring temporary custody to his grandmother.  I believe this caused irreparable damage to my son's state of mind and to his future, and to the relationship between him and I.   THE SAME DAY that ruling vacating the custody order came back, my son ran away back to his grandmother's home where she showed the police  the new order vacating the order revoking her temporary custody, and asserted that she was his guardian and he was home safe and no longer a runaway. 

At this point the police would no longer get involved.

With the ruling on custody, there had been acceptance.  Even if my son did not like it much, he and his grandmother were complying.  Once the order was vacated all pretenses at compliance stopped.  Even if we get a final ruling now, it will be hard to find that same acceptance because vacating her own order affects the finality of any future ruling, which is specifically why it is not allowed by FL statute.  Even if the 5th DCA gives me custody now, my son and his grandmother will always believe they can get it overturned again, and will always be looking for the loophole to get him out of "having" to come see me.

My son is not held accountable for his schoolwork in his grandmother's home.  I am on the receiving end of many concerned emails from teachers, and I can do nothing but reply that he works diligently on his homework when he is at my house, but that he is refusing to visit me at this time and I can only control what happens in my home, and to please contact his grandmother with any concerns. 

Judge Schoonover's transfer to the juvenile court puts her in control of the futures of many children, most of whom are already on a path to delinquency if they are in court. When my son ran away he got in an altercation a few weeks later with an adult. My son spit in this adult's face and the man lost his temper and slapped him. 

At the time we saw it on the news, my husband and I were unaware that perhaps my son was somehow involved.  Two months later I saw a post on social media that confirmed my son was not only involved, but was the child slapped in the incident.  My son was the child slapped. Did my mom notify me? No. Did she notify the GAL? Yes. Did the GAL notify me? No. My son went to the emergency room, and not one of the adults involved informed me, the child's mother.

Judge Schoonover was informed of the incident and the cover up, but still refused to hear my contempt motions and requests for immediate custody.  I went another two months without seeing my son. We had a hearing on 6/10/13 that seemed to have no purpose other than to schedule a "conference call" between the judge, lawyers, and GAL for that Friday.  Between that and all the "lawyers only" parts of our hearings, I just had an uncomfortable feeling about both the judge and her magistrate (Larry Carpenter)and their relationships with opposing counsel (Vicki Levy Eskin) and the GAL(Carsandra Buie). All of whom are going to need several dedicated chapters to explain their dysfunctional contributions (Ms.Eskin, especially, with her dramatic fits in middle of the courtroom that were, of course, allowed to serve their purpose and grant them yet ANOTHER continuance)

On 6/23/13 we had another hearing where my son accompanied his grandmother and requested to speak to the judge. The judge brought my son into the courtroom not to let him talk, but to tell him what the new visitation schedule would be Saturday from noon to 3pm and, despite my reservations, Judge S. insisted on our continuing to use her appointed councilor,  Dr.Andrew Pittington (the therapist previously mentioned in the Orlando Sentinel as the therapist that judge Schoonover has been ordering everyone to see, though I will say he seemed both very professional and observant to me) with a two hour visit following each session.

Five hours.  He was a 14 year old living with me full time, that ran away (with absolutely NO consequences, in fact his grandmother got him a shiny new tablet and soon after that, a smartphone), and then I had to wait several months to learn that I could see him for a whopping three hours a week, plus two hours after therapy.  At this point, no-one had claimed that I am unfit or potentially unfit on any level, and in fact have agreed that I am a fit parent, so I can't figure out what we're still waiting around for.  If you are a mom, and especially if you are a mom with a teenage boy, you will certainly understand how buying him expensive toys after he ran away from his mom's house is pretty much about the WORST thing an influential adult could do at that point.

With judge Schoonover's help, my mother has been able to successfully teach my son that I am not his mom, and I do not matter as an adult in his life, that he can do as he pleases with no consequences ever, and that there are ways around court orders that clearly state when visitation is to occur (down to the hour and mode of transportation). 

All of these things can have negative impacts on a child's self-esteem and how they perceive themselves and the world around them.  Some mental health professionals consider this kind of extreme parental alienation to be a form of child abuse, and I agree with them.

 To say that these are not the morals that I want my child to be taught is a huge understatement, and the fuel behind my motion to revoke temporary custody in the first place.  I have many concerns as a parent about what my son is being taught about his mother and about how the world works.  Most parents try to teach their child that actions have consequences, but mine is being taught that with the right excuses you can evade punishment of any kind.  I feel I must mention at this point that my own upbringing by this woman resulted in me spending a year in jail as an adult, where I encountered therapy and made great changes to the lifestyle I learned as a child, to create instead the lifestyle that I choose as an adult. I was hoping to teach my son some of what I had learned so that he didn't suffer the same fate, but the court has enabled his grandmother to teach him that he can get away with whatever he wants.

I predict this will backfire when he is a legal adult, but nobody wants to listen to me.  After all, I'm just his mother.

We proceeded with "case management" hearings on 8/2/13, 8/30/13 (continued), 9/4/13, and 11/14/13, adding a few hours to each weekly visitation at each hearing. At the 11/14/13 case management hearing, holiday visitation was ordered, and for some reason the judge also chose that time to change the order from my mother bringing my son to my home to me having to pick him up from her house. Almost as if she had been told what came next….

 My son ran away again the visit before Thanksgiving (on 11/23, about 6 hours after I picked him up) and has refused to return. My younger sister (who refers to herself not as his aunt, but as his sister) picked him up in her car and drove him to her home, while simultaneously answering the phone for police and telling them that she had not heard from my son.   I have been unable to prosecute despite having plenty of evidence written by my sister herself as to her involvement, and my son's statement to police when he returned to his grandmother's, telling them that he had been at "his sister's" house.  During this time period, my mother and son made a few half hearted abuse allegations to the police as justifications for why he should not be forced to go to my house. The police called it in to the abuse hotline and it was found to be insufficient to be abuse, but again they would not help me to enforce the visitation order in any way.

We were still going to family therapy (with Dr.Pittington) for a while but after the new year our insurance deductible reset and instead of splitting $12 now the bill we are supposed to split 50/50 is $95, so now she is just flat out refusing to pay her half so we haven't been there in months either.  I have paid her portion up front before with another therapist, and I am still waiting for court ordered reimbursement to the tune of $2500. I wish I had funds to pay the entire bill just so that I can see my son for one measly hour, since he won't come to visit at all, but I am unable to do so at this time.

On 12/3/13, my mother filed a baseless Motion to Terminate Visitation, which thankfully Judge Schoonover also decided not to hear.   After three more continuances and two more hearings that accomplished nothing, I was given permission to file a motion to dismiss the GAL on 1/13/14. I had already proven that she was friendly with opposing counsel, and have to write an entirely separate piece about my experience with her, so that she gets all the attention she deserves.

But it wasn’t until the GAL and opposing counsel told the court they were now sharing an office space that my concerns were finally able to be addressed. 

Soon after that, Judge Schoonover made headlines as the "Facebook Judge" who friend requested a litigant before proceedings were over, bringing her under scrutiny by the Orlando Sentinel who unearthed more cases where her judgment was questionable.

 It seems to me that Judge Schoonover's actions, orders, and refusal to see our case in a timely and productive manner and has been a key factor in ruining my parent-child relationship with my son.  Because of her continued delayed actions and not making decisions (and overturning decisions) on this case has allowed my son’s grandmother to shove me right out of my son’s life. I’ve missed many milestone moments in my son’s life because this case has not been resolved with a permanent decision in the last 4 years.  There is no ruling at this point that can give me back the four years I have spent as a fit parent (as stipulated by all parties) fighting for a relationship with my son. There is no ruling that can be made now that will ensure that things will go smoothly moving forward. There is nothing to give me back the teachable moments that were stolen from me by tying my parental hands with paperwork and giving my mother court orders to hide my son from me behind.  Judge Schoonover's refusal to give the sheriff's office permission to enforce those specific visitation orders  further impedes and restricts my rights as my son's parent to report him as a runaway and have him returned by authorities to my home.   It allows my mother to harbor a minor who has run away from his parents, with no repercussions.

My son's grandmother receives disability for herself and a second check for dependents in her household (my son). She receives child support from both myself AND my son's father.  In addition to any food stamps or other public assistance she can get by adding him on to her application.  

Judge Schoonover is supporting the 'side' of a custodian who is fighting to keep a child as an income source and with no interest or outward attempt(s) towards reunification with either of his parents. She is rewarding the party that lies, deceives and ignores the court order - and punishing the person doing the work, trying to make a better, healthier future for this child.

 Aren't judges meant to be held to a higher standard - an 'oath' where justice is timely, fair and without prejudice ?

 Sometime in January 2014,  Judge Schoonover issued a ruling that she would rehear the entire case.  This order was the exact opposite of the ruling she made 11 months prior on 2/13/13 that she then vacated on 4/9/13.  Essentially this started us over at square one where I began four years prior.  And so I filed my appeal.

I filed an appeal for closure, not because I have much hope that it will accomplish anything effective for my son at this time. The damage has been allowed to be done. A fit parent should never have to wait four years to have custody restored.  I know of at least one recent case on the news of a woman with twins and one was killed so the other was removed. Just under 2 years later the 2nd child was returned to her and was also killed within a month.

So if we're giving kids back to people that killed their children in just under two years, why am I waiting around for custody  for twice that long when everyone agreed from the beginning that I was a fit parent?

Especially when the other guardian involved 1.Claims to "not be opposed" to visitation, 2. is a non-parent fighting a parent for custody,  3.Encourages and rewards noncompliance with court orders and interferes with visitation, and 3. Has allowed and encouraged the child for many years to call her Mom, and his mom by her first name, so that now he is even more resistant to a relationship with his actual mom.

 Judge Schoonover's ruling was clearly not in alignment with FL state law  and I believe that the appeal I have filed will come back to reflect the same. I hope for the harshest possible sanctions against Judge Schoonover for failure to operate within the boundaries of law, and for knowingly helping opposing counsel stall this case out far beyond any "reasonable length of time" for any situation involving a child in a custody dispute. Allowing her continue in a position of power making decisions in regards to other people's lives, does not send a message that what she did was wrong.  My life and the life of my son will never be as they would be if she had left her original ruling intact.  The damage has been done and will never be erased.  Please do not allow her to continue to affect other lives in such a manner. 

I also ask for a thorough evaluation of the Seminole County Courthouse, and it's processes that can allow any case to go on this long and have this many hearings/continuances without ANY resolution.  There is nothing and noone monitoring these people. The schedule is a joke. I haven't had a hearing scheduled in almost 6 months.  I have had over 20 continuances and over 40 hearings!!!!  There must be a realistic way to prevent this extreme of corruption and manipulation of the system so that more lives are not ruined. 

I asked for help 4 years ago...still waiting....wtf, Seminole County?