Fill and Sign the Motion for Allowance to Hire Investigator and Translator Form

IN THE CIRCUIT COURT OF_________ COUNTY, ____________ NAME OF PLAINTIFF )       ) ) V. ) NO. ) ) NAME OF DEFENDANT )       ) ) MOTION FOR ALLOWANCE TO HIRE INVESTIGATOR AND TRANSLATOR Comes now ____________, one of the attorney's of record for _________, and moves this Honorable Court to allow the payment of expenses for the hiring of an investigator and translator to travel to __________ and would show unto the Court that the following are the reasons and documents necessary which can only be obtained in __________ for hiring an experienced investigator and translator to travel to __________: 1. _________'s birth certificate, birth record, and other vital records. __________ was born on _________________, at _____________ Hospital in ________________. This hospital would be the starting point in locating birth records, and other medical records for ____________ and members of his family. a. Hospital/clinic records, physician's records (including checkups during pregnancy, family albums, family Bible, newspaper announcement, "welfare" department, and recollection of family members, friends and neighbors. b. General information on birth experiences should be researched as well. What prenatal care is available? Nourishment? Mid-wife involvement? Post-partem services/records? c. Family members must be located and a document authorizing a "release" be obtained. d. The purpose of this investigation is to locate and provide to medical, social, psychological and psychiatric experts, evidence of edema, anemia, patterns of weight loss/gain, medications used during pregnancy and at birth, illnesses during pregnancy, length of labor, fetal distress, use of forceps, birth weight, alcohol/drug use during pregnancy, stress that would interfere with delivery of oxygen, mother's age at birth, medical complications, mother's mental state (depression/nervousness), trauma, infancy diseases. This information will direct the defense to necessary avenues of expert investigation, and is important to each of the experts in developing adequate testimony. 2. Birth certificates and birth records for all members of ___________'s immediate family. Defendant has no information on where _____________'s siblings were born or how to locate their birth records; neither does Defendant have any information or documentation of family medical history. To Defendant's knowledge, all of ___________'s blood relatives, except his children, presently reside in _____________. 3. Death Certificates for family and friends. It will be helpful to know the cause of ___________'s father's death, as well as other of his family or friends. This provides not only medical evidence, but also provides a dramatic portrait of the client's social situation. 4. Early Childhood Records - All of ___________'s early childhood was spent in __________. The only source of information presently available on this period is _____________ and his step-father, ________________; their recollections and ability to corroborate events during this period is not sufficient. The Defendant has no documentation on this period. a. All hospital/clinic records on _______________ and his family from this period. These should include all emergency rooms visits, physician's records, and any social service type records (these may be extensive in a communist country). b. The import of those is to investigate, corroborate, and document a comprehensive family history, including physical trauma, head injuries and other sources of hypoxia, abuse/neglect complains or concerns, medical treatment for fever, seizures, weight gain/loss, accident, trauma, disease, lead poisoning, inoculations, health growth charts, etc. 5. Immediate Family: Defendant knows no documentation whatsoever on ___________'s immediate family, other than his stepfather. We cannot document their existence, let alone the social, psychological, education, medical, criminal, or professional history. a. _________________ presumed biological father; deceased. Apparently killed in resistance to Fidel's communist overthrow. ________________ owned and operated a grocery store near the hospital where ______________ was born. Apparently, upon his death, ________________ family took over the property without any provisions made for the care of ______________ wife and children. _______________ father wanted to be a police officer; ___________'s grandmother died in _________. After the death of ______________ his family rejected ___________, his mother and his brothers and sisters. b. __________________________ - biological mother; resides in ____________. ______________ and ___________________ were not legally married. _________'s maternal grandmother, _________________, is apparently still alive in ____, aged ___. _______________ and her children lived for a time with ________________. c. _______________ - __. d. ____________ - __. _____________ was pregnant with _____________ when she met ___________. ______________ now describes _____________ as "slightly retarded." e. _____________ - sister, died in her sleep in ________. Children of f. ____________ - __. Party member. Lived some time in __________, stationed __________ soldier. Now in __________. g. ___________ - __. h. _____________ - __. Kindergarten teacher. __________. i. _________ - __. Presently in school. __________. 6. All information on siblings, particularly regarding births, deaths, school records (counseling, testing, and contact any teachers), criminal justice system records (juvenile and adult), medical and social services. Comprehensive records are needed to construct the family's history, especially with an eye toward mental, emotional, physical, and legal problems. a. No one could understand ___________'s life without a clear description/explanation of his family's response to the experience of the __________ Revolution; the conflict and mixed loyalties would be important to a competent psychologist psychiatrist in presenting mitigation b. When looking at school records it is necessary to locate every school attended. At present it appears _____________ attended three schools: _______________ Elementary School, high school and a vocational school in ______________. ________'s family will be able to give names and locations for these. Two of __________'s siblings currently work in the education system in ___________. c. Generally, it is important that documents from schools contain records on attendance, any teacher's notes or evaluations, cumulative scores, standardized tests, IQ tests and scores (raw data - as apposed to summary conclusions - is always important because it provides for further analysis and may reveal "mis-diagnosis"), teachers and coaches names, family's home addresses, parents and siblings, school nurse entries, truancy reports, special academic, social, and athletic achievements, ...etc. d. Juvenile records, for all family members, should contain information about any shelters, juvenile homes, detention or delinquent facilities, youth clubs (in __________ this may have a special military flavor to it, including evidence of propaganda/indoctrination). Involvement of ____________'s family with any of these should be followed up with investigation into the nature and records of the organization/facility; find out if complaints have been made, scandals. e. Look especially for psychological testing, suicide attempts, reports of child abuse, references to school and medical records, job assignments, names of caseworkers/ counselors, social workers, housing assignments, disciplinary reports, and medical records. 7. Psychiatric Records - Investigate for ___________ and any family member whether they were treated by any psychologist, psychiatrist, or other mental health worker, were involved with any hospital government agency (e.g., social service type), law enforcement military,...etc. Investigate especially the involvement of any family in government directed or required projects such as behavior modification programs, experiments, or therapy (particularly excessive therapy such as electric-shock). a. These are, of course, documents that may appear in other categories, but it is very important to get everything, Investigation must not be limited to a single generation, but must be multi-generational in order to establish patterns of mental illness, either genetic or social. 8. Other Family Members a. _____________ - __________'s step-father. Now lives in _____________. b. _________________ - maternal uncle. Presently lives in ___________________. Helped support his sister and her children while in ______________. c. ____________ common law wife/girlfriend," ____________; also __________ and ___________'s daughter still lives in __________. d. Records must be obtained as above for siblings. 9. School Age Friends a. b. 10. Social Service Records - Because of the autocratic bureaucracy in __________ this category may be extensive. Investigation must include the __________n counterparts to agencies in the U.S. such as Welfare, AFDC, job training services, Job Corps, Food Stamps, SSI, etc. a. Look for documentation of the family's economic status, and any investigations conducted by agencies into family members substance abuse, mental health, etc. obtain any social caseworker's names, address and notes, and any referral made by an agency to another agency or person. 11. Criminal Records - For ____________ and all family members. Locate court records, lawyers’ files, law enforcement files, or any reports submitted to the court for review. a. The absence of serious criminal behavior in _________'s history is absolutely essential to any presentation of his case. Should _________ authorities thwart efforts to obtain these materials, a record must be available to clearly show this fact to the court in support of a motion for an instruction granting this statutory mitigating circumstance. 12. Prison/Jail Records - For ____________ and all family members. As above, these are essential to show _____________'s non-violent history. a. Records should include pretrial detention, disciplinary reports (or the lack thereof), jail/visiting logs, any medical, educational or psychological testing, job assignments,...etc. b. Included in this category is the need for reports and evaluations on general condition of prisons in __________. It is also likely that with sufficient history of his __________n incarceration, a mental health professional would find evidence of PTSD resulting from ______________'s prison experience. c. Look especially for medication administered to _________ in jail\prison (e.g., anti-psychotic,...), intelligence tests, potential rehabilitation, any acts of heroism or compassion; review guards notes/observations. 13. Military Records - There is compulsory military service in __________. _____________'s stomach ulcer was first detected at this examination, at age __. It is possible that these are the most comprehensive records available. Although ____________ was refused admission to serve due to his medical condition, other family members have definitely served. It is likely that one family member's file will have extensive information on others in the family. a. Look for records of substance abuse, IQ scores, educational/vocational tests, referrals, medical history, injuries, awards, disciplinary reports, station posts, exposure to violence/stress, exposure to toxins, involvement in experimental programs, anecdotal history. 14. Employment Records - ____________ went to work at an early age due to his step- father's incarceration. He also received placements from a local "employment agency" situation. ________'s family can direct investigators to this agency or potential records. a. Look for job assignments, personnel reports, medical leave, reports on work conditions from sources other than the employer, records of compensation. Also keep an eye out for use of organic solvents or toxins in the work environments, general health/safety concerns of a particular job, stress. 15. Attend to and follow-up references in the above categories to co-defendants cellmates, fellow soldiers or co-workers. a. Look for persons who would influence, dominate, or otherwise control ___________. Note the lack of violence in these relationships. 16. Other Contacts in__________ Defendant needs to locate and interview family members, friends, neighbors, coworkers, teachers, principals, coaches, military superiors and peers, spouse, children, girlfriends, any prior attorneys or prosecutors, in-laws, law enforcement officers,...etc. a. Generally, these interviews look for history of trauma, medical treatment or medication, slow development, infant and early childhood illness, anecdotal history of family, physical injuries (including head injuries), scars on body, evidence of seizures, hallucinations, black-outs, headaches, dizziness, substance abuse, poor school performance, absenteeism below normal testing performance, marked changes in behavior, mood swings, nightmares, child abuse, exposure to toxins domination by others, fears/phobias, confusion, paranoia, physical ailments or diseases, car/employment accidents. b. History of family psychiatric illnesses, hospitalizations, suicides or attempts, depressions, mental retardation, organic brain disorders, congenital diseases and disorders, seizures, alcoholism, sexual, physical, or psychological abuse and neglect. c. Defendant cannot presume that the important (or accurate) information will be conveyed on one visit. The paranoid atmosphere of a communist country, plus the language barrier, will require time in order to build sufficient trust. This will take time. WHEREFORE, PREMISES CONSIDERED, ___________, attorney for Defendant, requests that this Court will enter its Order allowing the hiring and expenses for travel to __________ by an investigator and translator. There is little or no success obtaining information or documentation without a personal visit by such persons. Respectfully submitted, ________________________________ ________________________________ ATTORNEY FOR DEFENDANT CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE I, ____________, do hereby certify that I have on this day delivered, by hand, a true and correct copy of the foregoing Motion to This the ____ day of __________ ____. ______________________________ __________