Britney Spears A No-Show At Her Deposition
First of all, let us just pause for a moment and give thanks to Britney for showing the world, in a very clear and step by step fashion, how to lose custody of your children in a divorce action. Second of all, let us discuss how she has reached the point where really, it would benefit both her and her children, if she consented to Kevin Federline having custody of the children because at this point, all she is doing is wasting a lot of money in attorney fees. But I digress.
For those not used to court proceedings, it is helpful to know that usually, depositions are scheduled by the parties. To have an attorney request that a judge order a party to show up for a deposition is a clear sign that there is something very, very wrong. And it also alerts the judge that the party is not cooperating with the opposing counsel. The inference is usually that they are not cooperating because they have something to hide. Once a judge orders a party to appear at a deposition, the party needs to be there. Period. Your attorney can make all the objections you want at the deposition, but you need to be there. By not appearing at the deposition, you have disobeyed a court order. This makes the judge think you do not respect his authority. This is not a good thing. You want the judge to be your friend, because he is the one who will be deciding the fate of your children, not to mention your support obligations if you do not get custody.
And really, the nail in the coffin, is if you are going to claim you were too sick to appear at your court ordered deposition, do no, repeat DO NOT, go out to the Four Seasons until 2:00 a.m. That, in addition to making the judge think you do not respect his authority and flout his rulings, also makes you look like a liar. Now you have lost any credibility you may have had, and in a battle for custody of children, the court is going to lean toward the parent who appears to be law abiding and truthful.