Complaint Review: Attorney Generals Office - Phoenix Arizona

In April of 2003 I filed an "Order to show cause," in Maricopa county superior court on my ex-husband Ronald Pike. He was served May 11, 2003. I never received paperwork on the time or date and only found that information because I have a computer. My court date was last week September 24, 2003. I was entering the elevator to go up to the fifth floor to court when I saw my ex-husband coming out of the elevator all happy because the people from the Attorney Generals Office told him they cancelled the court case.

First I went to the fifth floor because even though they are still saying this is an IV-D case it is not. No record of a court session on the fifth floor so up to the eleventh floor to the Attorney Generals offices I went. The two girls who sit at the desk in the hall asked me who I was and I told them and they said yes our court time was cancelled because my ex-husband was paid up.

Okay in February 2003 he was ordered by Judge Lee to pay three hundred a month starting March 1, 2003 to pay off the sixteen thousand dollars he owes in arrears. He did not pay March, April or May. In June he paid five hundred in July he paid two hundred and August he paid two hundred. This month September he paid four hundred dollars. How the hell do they figure hes paid up when he should of paid twenty-one hundred dollars from March 2003 to September 2003? He is short in payments eight hundred dollars?

They gave me a phone number and said to speak to Deb the supervisor. I drove all the way home and called the number and was told I needed to speak with Leslie and they took my number and said she would call me right back. I waited two hours and she didn't call back so I called them back and was told they would give her the message. She called back and said I needed to talk to Carol in the legal department but the legal department wasn't in until the next day.

I called first thing the next morning only to be told Carol would be coming in late that day and to leave a message with her voice mail which I did. She didn't call back so late that afternoon I called back and talked to the receptionist who said she would put me through to Carol. Carol said yes the Attorney Generals Office did have the right to cancel a court case. I said I was not on welfare did not owe the state any money how is that? She tried to say I was late to court and that is why the case was cancelled.

I told her that is not the truth and the girls had already said the reason was because he was up to date with the payments. She asked what girls said that. I asked her if that wasn't my constitutional right to a hearing and she said yes but they still had the right to cancel. I asked why the state was on my case when I owed no money and she said I needed to fill out paperwork to remove them. I said last February 2003 the state was at the hearing and the state asked Judge Lee that day to be removed from the case and he said yes. I asked why nobody told me that day I had to fill out paperwork to remove them?

She didn't know the answer to that. I asked if I had to file again on my ex-husband and have him served all over again and she said yes. I am shocked they can do this and angry I have to pay again to have him served and wait six months to get another court date. It doesn't seem right that they can do this and I can't believe it.

Sincerely,

Cynthia

Phoenix, Arizona
U.S.A.