NJSBA Family Law Section

I have done ESP with an incarcerated client. You simply need to request that the Court have him/her brought for the appearance.  We were going to do mediation at the court house, but he was released prior to our mediation date, so that wasn't necessary.

Rachel E. Partyka, Esq.

Weinberger Divorce & Family Law Group, L.L.C.

(732) 252-0000 I   [email protected]   I   www.WLG.com

We have offices in the following counties:  Bergen, Burlington, Monmouth, Morris, Somerset and Union

My Office Location:

83 South Street

Suite 201

Freehold, NJ 07728

Fax:  732-414-2770

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Mary Jane,

I conducted mediations with incarcerated parents all the time as a court mediator in Essex County.  The court is set up to handle it, but many things can go wrong in terms of having it actually happen the day of the scheduled mediation.  Here are some tips:

1. Make sure the judge's COURT clerk (not law clerk) knows about it and makes arrangements to produce the person.  An Order to Produce must be entered into Promis Gavel at least a few days before.
2. Check with the court or directly with the Records department of the facility where the inmate is being held the day before to make sure he wasn't released or moved since the order was entered into the system.  If the mediation is going to be held in the same county where the father is being held, it should go pretty smoothly.  However, if he is from another county's facility or gets moved to a state facility, it gets much more complicated (State prison requires a Writ, more lead time is required).   
3. Make sure that the COURT clerk (or someone in the court) has advised the Sheriff's Department that you will be conducting a mediation with a prisoner on the date and time specified.  The reason for this is because the Sheriff's Department is often short handed and the officer assigned to the judge cannot be present during the mediation because he/she must remain with the judge.  Therefore, the Sheriff's Department must know in advance that they have to have the "manpower" to cover the mediation.  An officer must be there at all times. 
4. Finally, make sure the Sheriff's department is aware of where the mediation is going to be conducted.  They might have some rules about whether it can occur in certain areas of the court house. 

Good luck.  Feel free to contact me directly if you need any other information.  In my experience, producing prisoners at the right time is often derailed by Murphy's Law, whatever can go wrong, will go wrong.  That's why I recommend taking all of these extra steps so that everyone doesn't arrive expecting to conduct a mediation, only to be told, "sorry, the prisoner is not going to be produced today."

Lynn B. Norcia Esq.

Starr Gern Davison & Rubin, PC

105 Eisenhower Pkwy.

Roseland, NJ 07068

Tel. 973-403-9200

Fax. 973-226-0031

[email protected]