Guide to Court 3: False Allegations, Cafcass & Representing Yourself

Here is part 3 of our Guide to Court. This part of the guide explains: how to handle false allegations and perjury; dealing with cafcass and representing yourself in court. There are also three sample letters for you to use as templates. You can download the entire guide (see below) or you can read it here it on the site.

If you haven't already done so why not read part 1 - the 1st hearings, court forms and writing a court statement

and

part 2 - constructing a skeleton argument and using character references

Perjury or False Allegations

Perjury is committed where a person is proven to have lied in court. The elements necessary for a conviction of perjury are:

• Deliberate lie
• Told whilst on oath
• Proven to be a lie

Whilst lying on oath is probably most common in divorce proceedings where emotions are often running high, these are the cases in which it can be the most difficult to prove, as it is essentially one person's word against the other.

Where perjury is proved, the penalties can be high and even include short prison sentences. However those committing perjury, in divorce proceedings particularly, are not always prosecuted due to the difficulty in proving lies.

How to deal with perjury during a trial

There are no particular rules on how to deal with a witness who you know has just lied under oath. However there is a "trick" that most barristers use:

• Check what the witness has just said with them
• Ask for more specific details about what they have just said (allowing them to dig themselves into a deeper hole)
• Point out the conflicting witness statement or evidence that proves they are lying
• Directly point out one must be incorrect and ask which
• Suggest to witness that they are now deliberately misleading the court (don't be surprised if they deny or don't answer; you're point has been made to the court)

For Example:

Sue says to court that John never helped out with the children or around the house.

John's barrister: You said that John never helped out with the children or around the house isn't that correct?
Sue: Yes
Barrister: So you had to pick up the children every day from school isn't that right?
Sue: Yes
Barrister: You cooked tea for the children every night didn't you?
Sue: Yes
(etc. - don't overdo the confirmation questions - 3 or 4 will do)
Barrister: Can you look at this statement please. What is this document?
Sue: My witness statement
Barrister: This statement was made by you wasn't it?
Sue: Yes
Barrister: That's your signature on the last page isn't it?
Sue: Yes
Barrister: Please can you read the last paragraph to the court
Sue: "I confirm that this statement is true to the best of my knowledge and belief"
Barrister: So everything you have written in this statement is true?
Sue: Yes
Barrister: Please read the first line of the fifth paragraph
Sue: "I usually finished work at 6:30pm and didn't get home until 8pm on the bus as John wouldn't let me have the car."
Barrister: If you didn't get home until 8pm, how did you always pick the children up from school and cook their tea when they finish school at 3pm?
Sue: (Her response is really irrelevant)
Barrister: I suggest Mrs Smith that you are in fact deliberately trying to mislead the court today aren't you?
Sue: (Again her response is irrelevant - you have shown the court that she has lied and discredited her whole evidence)

The general rule to allow them to say enough that they can't say it was a simple misunderstanding of the question. (A misunderstanding won't discredit the rest of their evidence.) This technique is colloquially called "give them enough rope to hang themselves".

Dealing with Cafcass

Cafcass are the Child And Family Court Advisory and Support Service. They are experienced in dealing with matters involving children, from care proceedings to residence disputes.

You will come across Cafcass if you apply to the court for any order involving your children. Essentially a Cafcass officer will report to the court advising them on what is best for the children (which may not necessarily be the position you are asking the court to impose).

Usually Cafcass will want to meet with you to discuss the application made. It will always be best for you to cooperate with Cafcass and arrange a meeting. Remember that the court will very rarely pass a ruling on an application that is against the recommendations of the Cafcass officer. The meeting is therefore your chance to openly explain your side of the matter to the Cafcass officer and discuss possible alternative arrangements and the impact these would have on you.

Tips for your meeting / discussions with Cafcass

• Be honest with the officer (they are highly experienced and trained to spot lies or inconsistencies)
• Be open and answer questions fully (they are not asking about your day-to-day activities to judge you but to get a fuller picture of your family life. Therefore if you go clubbing once a week while your mother babysits the children, say so)
• Don't be afraid to disagree with the officer (if they suggest a solution which you don't think would work, such as would involve any unreasonable amount of travelling on your part, explain this to them - It may mean they don't suggest this as an agreeable solution to the court)
• Don't be embarrassed (the officer will have heard every possible scenario before and I can assure you that there will always be situations worse than yours!)

Representing yourself in court

On TV you often see a dark wooden courtroom with a judge sitting high up behind a bench, lots of barristers all wearing black gowns and wigs, someone at the back behind a glass screen, witnesses giving evidence from their special wooden box, and journalists hurriedly writing down every word said.

This is a criminal court - NOT family court.

Family court is much more informal. There will still be a judge sitting at the front behind a bench, but no one wearing wigs and gowns and there are rarely any media present.

Media and the family court

Family court used to conduct all its work in private. However this led to a lack of public confidence in the court system and so family court proceedings are now open to the public. There are lots of restrictions on journalists in these cases though. For example they are not allowed to publish any details that would identify any child involved in court proceedings. Some proceedings such as those involving domestic abuse are often still held in private.

Consider however, the public interest in knowing your family's contact or residence arrangements for your children. A good test is whether a stranger on the next street would care about what your arrangements are. No? Then it is unlikely that a newspaper will pay a journalist to report on your particular case. (Contrary to common belief even many murder cases go unreported in the media as there are just too many cases and unless you're famous or the case involves something horrific such as extremely serious child abuse or mass murder, often there is no point in publishing it as it doesn't sell papers.)

Partial representation

When in court, you will have to stand up and tell the judge your case. You will also have to answer any questions about your case from both the other side and the judge. The judge will stop your ex-partner interrupting you, but can't stop them pulling faces etc which can be off-putting.

If you are happy to do everything yourself but feel a bit anxious about this part, you can opt to just instruct counsel (a solicitor advocate or barrister) to represent you for the final hearing. This will severally reduce your costs but may relieve some of the worry for you.

Free help and advice

There are ways to get help with your case without paying for it however so you're not on your own!

You can get legal advice and help preparing your case (including the points you want to say in court) at your local Citizen's Advice Bureau. They sometimes have walk-in clinics but often allow you to make appointments to discuss matters too. You will still have to speak for yourself in court, but if what you say is pre-planned, it isn't as hard.

You may also be able to get representation in court via Legal Aid if you have a low income and so can't afford to hire a lawyer privately. This may also exempt you from paying court fees to lodge your case.

Letter Template: Requesting a character reference

Letter Template: Cover letter to send with your court statement and court forms

Template letter: Representing yourself

We know that some of the dads on here don't have much spare cash. So we are offering the downloadable guides for free.

To help us develop more guides and other products to help separated dads we would really appreciate a small PayPal donation. Our content is written by a qualified barrister. It would really help us and we would appreciate it.

More information

If, after using our information, you have successfully negotiated the court process and managed to secure a court order enabling some kind of access, contact or residency order, congratulations! If you are finding that the court order is not being adhered to, then you may want to take a look at our guide: After the Initial Court Order.

The Next Step

Now that you have read through the advice above, you might want to put it into practice. Our Court Statement Writer lets you draft a court statement for your hearing. Takes 5 minutes. Try it now →