I know that the same evidence that was presented at the temporary hearing can't be presented at the final without the judge notifying both parties initially. (Pace v. Pace) Does this same rule apply to witness testimony since it is considered "direct evidence?"
Alake Oni ColwellDivorce / Separation LawyerLawrenceville, GA ·
Since you are unclear about how many times a witness can testify and direct evidence, it would probably be best for you to actually hire an attorney to represent you. I am not sure if you are the same person who posed the question the other day about subpoena's but if you are, it appears that you have a lot of questions about presenting your case and would benefit from hiring an attorney.
cott Willis ShawFamily Law AttorneyAtlanta, GAGA licensed ·
Temporary hearings are fine and dandy and all, and often if a judge remembers what happened at the temporary hearing, and the evidence presented was very detailed, you won't make much hay convincing the judge to do anything different than what was done at the temporary hearing. However, what the judge is looking at, and the rules of evidence, are different at at final trial, and just because a witness testified one way at the temporary hearing, does not mean that they cannot testify again, another way, or further elaborate their testimony, or better explain their testimony, or change their mind in their testimony, or whatever, subject to the right of cross-examination. Long and short, there is nothing stopping a witness from testifying as many times as there are hearings to be held, unless an appropriate motion is filed, and the judge issues a ruling to limit the scope of evidence to be taken at the hearing. Assume otherwise at your own peril.
Let me start with the more important question you did not ask: Being in a contested custody case with no lawyer, as you are, is almost a guarantee of a very bad (and probably unfixable) result. Get a lawyer immediately. Nothing stops a witness from saying something he said in a prior hearing (although a judge might cut it short and indicate he remembers it). But again, all the online questions in the world can't fix the horrible mistake of being pro se - fix that.
