Call to Duty

Last week i received a subpoena to appear in court this week. Actually, i am on call to appear tomorrow. This is for my friend, whose ex is fighting for custody of their two girls, after three years of divorce. I guess the best way to describe why i am being asked to do this is as a character reference.

Although i want to help my friend out and be available to her in her time of need, i am disappointed with the legal system. When i called her attorney's office to give them my telephone numbers (as requested in the letter accompanying the subpoena), i was told that the case was "on hold" with the judge. Therefore, i was asked how much notice would i need to appear in court. A half a day? What? I need as much time as possible to 1. tell my employer and 2. find a babysitter for my own children. It is amazing to me that while there is no way to tell how much time is needed for each case, it seems to me that the person who is scheduling these (no jury - just a judge) would have a pretty good idea if it is going to be a 10 minute signing of papers or a 2 hour synopsis. According to my friend, it doesn't look like Monday will be the day...or Tuesday, either. Perhaps on Wednesday. Hmmm.

It certainly must be stressful to her. I know that there is an undercurrent of stress in my life that is echoing.