ruling on a case

[lililarion]

I asked before but didn't get a direct respone to my question. Is there any way to hasten the handing down of a judgment? My case had its last hearing in February and was not even defended. So far no decision. That's almost 9 months.

......whom and how much have you paid so far??????

[KenoshaChris]

That delay is not unusual in the DR. The judges are terribly backed up as there simply are not enough of them. A recent governmental recommendation was to install about 200 more judges or magistrates to deal with the case load.

[lililarion]

I haven't paid anyone so far since no request has been made either directly or indirectly. My lawyer has advised against making an offer. I am not opposed to the idea of making a payment but I'm sure there's an acceptable way of doing it.

[Fabio J. Guzman]

Have your attorney find out from the Court Clerk or even from the Judge what the status of the case is. Make sure that the file is with the other files ready for adjudication, that it has not been misplaced somewhere. Have your attorney tell the Clerk or the Judge that it's a judgment by default and that 9 months have elapsed since the case was ready. Have your attorney return to the Court House week after week and talk to the Clerk or the Judge and remind them, politely, that you are waiting for your judgment. DO NOT ATTEMPT TO GIVE MONEY TO THE JUDGE. It is illegal and it won’t work, at least not with the Civil Chamber Judge in Puerto Plata.

[Adrian Bye]

> DO NOT ATTEMPT TO GIVE MONEY TO THE JUDGE.
> It is illegal and it won’t work, at least not with
> the Civil Chamber Judge in Puerto Plata.

So it does work with some judges? :-)

[andy a]

I went with a friend of mine to Dominican court once.

He was involved in a dispute. His lawyer assured him that he would win, but the rumor mill said that the other party had similar assurance.

I went with him to offer moral support, to learn, and to have something to do.

He, his lawyer, and I were all invited into the judge's chambers before the case was "tried". The lawyer said little, if anything at all. The judge spoke directly to my friend, asking him what had happened. He explained.

We were then ushered into a waiting room. The lawyer asked him for money. He was unprepared and had to borrow from me. The lawyer then went to see the judge alone.

As the 3 of us were leaving, we saw the other party with his lawyer waiting to see the judge.

Later in the day, the case and others were tried. Each of them, with occasional help from their lawyers, explained their own sides and were cross examined.

My friend won.

It was a higher court than Puerto Plata.

Andy,

I have been with 2 friends to the court in POP in the last year and our experiences are EXACTLY like yours. One was civil issue (child support) and one was a criminal issue (a fight)

[Fabio J. Guzman]

Adrian, I know the Civil Chamber Judge in Puerto Plata pretty well and it is my understanding that he is not corrupt. As to other judges, I cannot tell you whether they are corrupt or not, although the situation is a lot better now than before the Supreme Court started electing the judiciary in 1997. Before, judges were elected by the Senate and were subject to all kinds of pressure from the Senator(s) who elected them.

Andy, if the court was a higher one than Puerto Plata. it must have been the Court of Appeals in Santiago where at least 3 judges must hear a case.

Stephen, these are serious accusations. What exactly did you witness? The child support case must have been at Minors' Court (Tribunal de Niños y Adolescentes). If you don't want to publicize the details, please email directly.

[andy a]

There were in fact 3 judges hearing the case, one of whom conducted the pre-trial interview.

The decision itself was not announced for several weeks.

Please note that I did not say that I actually saw money passed to the judge, nor did I say that it was in the district including Puerto Plata and Santiago.

Neither am I raising the issue now, but only relating what I saw.