I'm not really sure that it's going to come up that much. A good lawyer is going to try to block as much of that as possible, saying that it's not relevant since DB is not the stepmother and has no legal relationship to the boy. Not even a REALLY good lawyer, I would expect that from a first-year attorney.
All JI has to say is that DB will not be left as the sole care-taker of the boy over night, and I expect that the judge will rubber-stamp it.
So if this is some kind of trick to get all of the sordid details out in public, it's kind of dumb. But I don't think it is. I am pretty sure that LE already knows everything that could possibly be asked by the judge. The questions that they claim DB/JI wont answer would never be asked in a custody case. And, if they were, DB/JI will both be there, so LE isn't interested in hearing it. (They only want to hear it separately.)
I think it's almost 100% certain that the egg-donor mom is hoping to cash in on something. Either she is hoping that Jeremy has some secret stash of donation money that he will pay her off with, or that she will somehow be able to sell her story to a tabloid rag. It's pretty clear that she doesn't give a fig about the boy.
I just thought - if the egg-donor DOES get paid by a tabloid, JI should be right there to freeze the payment, and collect his back child support.
On this point, we'll have to agree to disagree. I believe that Lisa's disappearance and Debbi's admission that she was drunk and didn't check the sick baby for hours are the catalyst for this custody motion. There will be much focus and many questions about it. The sick baby was not tended-to or checked for hours while mom was heavily intoxicated, whether on one night or an a regular basis, and harm came to the baby in one form or another.
Imo, the judge charged with evaluating the safety and well-being of the child who lives in the same environment under the same caregivers will need to know if there is a link/correlation between Debbi's behavior and mindset about it on October 3rd and the fact that her 1 year old is nowhere to be found. It relates directly to whether the other children can live safely, in comfort, with peace of mind under the care of Debbi Bradley and Jeremy Irwin. At this point, I don't think Jeremy can just say he'll no longer leave Debbi alone with the children at night and the concerns/case will fade away. No lawyer, good or bad, can stop questions about the behavior to which Debbi admitted and defended from being posed in this custody hearing, imo. It's not speculation, it's not an unsupported statement from a witness with an axe to grind, it's not defammatory. It is a direct statement/admission to heavy intoxication and failure to check a child who has now been missing for 2 months - an admission made to a national audience by the caregiver/witness herself. JMO...
I agree with you that since Debbi is not related to the boy, Jeremy could simply say she won't be in charge of caring for his son - if Debbi was just a girlfriend. However, Jeremy Irwin has chosen her to be a live-in caregiver to his son and she is the mother of his missing baby. She is therefore extremely relevant to this custody case and the issue of the boy's safety. If Debbi is to remain living at the house, which appears to be the case, she and Jeremy will be asked to answer questions, explain, and defend her ability to care (or at least not endanger) his child. JMO...
Imo, the parents' lawyers are sweatin' over this hearing. If LE had all the answers to their questions about that night, they would not be claiming otherwise after 2 months and requesting separate interviews. Picerno is undoubtedly, imo, doing everything possible to get a full gag order issued and he and Tacopina may well be strategizing on how to stall the hearing imo. Since it was a filed as an "emergency motion", that would be more difficult imo. I hope it moves forward as scheduled on 12/7. The lawyers and the parents have to really weigh taking the 5th and continuing to remain silent so as not to incriminate themselves in a possible criminal matter vs. the possible negative effects that their refusal to answer in civil/family court could have on retaining custody. JMO...
So, I'm okay to respectfully disagree about the importance of this custody motion in relation to Lisa's investigation. You may be right that it's really nothing and will fade away with little impact, but at this time I think it is potentially very significant to Lisa's investigation. We will see; hopefully in 4 days.
P.s. I am also unsure of Ms. Raim's true motives. She may not actually want custody, but instead want some action taken to ensure her son's saftey under these conditions is evaluated. Or, she may have been prompted to file it now in order to help further Lisa's investigation. Or, she may have a monetary motive. Or, could be she really wants her son and now is the time to strike. Whatever her motive, I'm happy the boy's safety is being evaluated by unbiased professionals working on behalf of the child's safety. JMO...