MMX-FA12-4018627-S : STATE OF CONNECTICUT : SUPERIOR COURT TANYA TAUPIER : JUDICIAL DISTRICT OF

MIDDLESEX V. : AT MIDDLETOWN, CONNECTICUT EDWARD TAUPIER : OCTOBER 22, 2014

BEFORE THE HONORABLE BARRY C. PINKUS, JUDGE A P P E A R A N C E S : Representing the Plaintiff: ATTORNEY GERALDINE FICARRA 3 Scholes Lane Essex, CT 06426 Representing the Defendant: ATTORNEY ALISHA C. MATHERS P.O. Box 465 Enfield, CT 06083 Recorded & Transcribed By: Dana Wilson Court Recording Monitor One Court Street Middletown, CT 06457

1

(Proceedings begin at 2:19 p.m.) 1

THE COURT: Good morning, everybody. Good 2

afternoon, I guess. Good afternoon. Its not 3

morning. 4

ALL: Good afternoon, Your Honor. 5

THE COURT: All right. Were here on Taupier, 6

its a status conference and I guess the case got 7

transferred here from 8

ATTY. MATHERS: Hartford. 9

ATTY. FICARRA: Hartford. 10

THE COURT: Hartford. And I know it had trial 11

dates scheduled. 12

ATTY. MATHERS: Yes, Your Honor. 13

THE COURT: I just walked up two flights of 14

stairs, so Im huffing and puffing. We had a power 15

failure from, like, 12:30 to - 11:30 to almost 1:00. 16

And some of the elevators for some reason havent 17

come back online, Im not sure. So Im huffing and 18

puffing. So theres a trial date, a request for a 19

continuance, and I just want to find out what we need 20

to do to move the case along if we can. 21

ATTY. FICARRA: Were ready to go. We could try 22

it tomorrow. 23

ATTY. MATHERS: Your Honor, Alisha Mathers for 24

Mr. Taupier, whos present in the courtroom. 25

THE COURT: Good afternoon. 26

ATTY. MATHERS: So heres the issue, currently 27

2

there are two criminal charges pending in this court 1

that were also transferred from Hartford and it would 2

not be in my clients best interest to proceed in the 3

divorce trial, he wouldnt be able to testify and 4

there would be issues that potentially could impact 5

the criminal matter in one way or another, so were 6

looking for a court date that would occur after the 7

criminal matter is resolved. Theres a series of 8

five trial dates. This case, Im a newcomer to the 9

case -- 10

THE COURT: So I dont even know whats an 11

issue. I dont know whether the parties have 12

substantial assets or not or whether - I mean, I 13

dont know whether its a matter thats easily 14

resolvable if the parties sit down and talk and -- 15

ATTY. MATHERS: It would not be, Your Honor. 16

Currently theres a protective order that is in 17

dispute that - turn it back a little bit. About 18 18

months ago or so Mr. Taupier was charged with 19

voyeurism and a protective order issued only in the 20

last month for the wife and children now based on 21

this 18 month old case. 22

THE COURT: Theres no contact with the 23

children? 24

ATTY. MATHERS: There is no - the criminal 25

court ordered by the way of protective order that 26

father's access to the children by -- through a third 27

3

party as directed by the civil court. However, Judge 1

Gold has restricted Mr. Taupiers ability to leave 2

the marital home, has limited his departure from the 3

house to only legal appointments and emergency 4

medical appointments, obviously court appearances. 5

So Judge Simn on an ex parte hearing ordered that 6

father have access with the children at Kid Safe. I 7

filed on September 15th a motion, emergency motion 8

for order, a motion to modify because Judge Gold has 9

not decided to expand his ability to leave the house 10

for these visits, so fathers had no access with the 11

children. 12

THE COURT: So if Judge Gold said that your 13

client that could go to Kid Safe and see - how many 14

kids are there? 15

ATTY. MATHERS: Two. 16

THE COURT: And so if Judge Gold says that they 17

can go to Kid Safe - that dad can go to Kid Safe to 18

see the kids, he could do that? 19

ATTY. MATHERS: Well, that Judge Gold could 20

certainly do that, however, we also have the problem 21

with the fact that Mr. Taupiers employment has been 22

terminated due to these arrests and hes unable to 23

secure additional employment at this time because he 24

has high security clearance. He cant leave the 25

house to work, that was one of the restrictions as 26

well. 27

4

THE COURT: But right now Im focused - were 1

focused on -- 2

ATTY. MATHERS: About how he would fund Kid Safe 3

is the point I was getting at. 4

THE COURT: How much does that cost? 5

ATTY. MATHERS: Honestly, I don't know how much 6

that session would cost. 7

THE COURT: Do they have a sliding scale, I 8

dont know. I mean, if the kids should see - if the 9

kids are supposed to see their father, if its in 10

their best interest to do so, they should see their 11

father. 12

ATTY. MATHERS: And absolutely agree with you. 13

THE COURT: You know, visitation is not for the 14

mother or for the father, its for the kids. 15

ATTY. MATHERS: Correct. 16

THE COURT: So if its in the kids best 17

interest that they see their father they should do 18

that. 19

ATTY. MATHERS: Absolutely. 20

THE COURT: So - 21

ATTY. MATHERS: Our suggestion would be that the 22

children be able to be - have visits at the home 23

where father is if Judge Gold is not agreeable to 24

allowing him to - 25

THE COURT: How old are the kids? 26

ATTY. MATHERS: Are they -- 27

5

THE DEFENDANT: Nine and eight. 1

THE COURT: Nine and eight, thank you. 2

ATTY. MATHERS: We did - Mr. Taupier did 3

receive an e-mail from the childrens therapist 4

where - that indicated that the children are really 5

in crisis right now because they havent had access 6

with their father. 7

THE COURT: All right. Is your clients 8

position that the kids shouldnt see their father? 9

ATTY. FICARRA: Not at all. Theres a court 10

order from Judge Simn, which was not at an ex parte 11

hearing as such, it was on the comeback day of an ex 12

parte hearing, and the reason that the kids were in 13

crisis is not because theyre not seeing their 14

father -- 15

THE COURT: Well, I don't want to know because I 16

dont want to know too much, because if I have to try 17

the case I dont want to know too much of the stuff 18

thats not evidence, okay. 19

ATTY. FICARRA: Okay. So -- 20

THE COURT: So the question is, if the kids 21

should see their father you guys need to figure out 22

how to do that. 23

ATTY. FICARRA: Well, there is access right now. 24

There are two telephone calls every week pursuant to 25

Judge Simns order. 26

THE COURT: Yeah. 27

6

ATTY. FICARRA: And the order was for visitation 1

in a therapeutic setting. Mr. Taupier -- 2

THE COURT: And thats Kid Safe? 3

ATTY. FICARRA: Yes. 4

ATTY. MATHERS: I believe the order was - it 5

was supervising agency. 6

THE COURT: Is it in here? 7

ATTY. MATHERS: I have a copy. 8

THE COURT: I have the file. Whats the date of 9

it? 10

ATTY. MATHERS: September 2nd. 11

THE COURT: Then I have it here because we have 12

the file. September 2nd, okay. So he has telephone 13

contact with the kids for 15 minutes between 6:00 and 14

7:00 on Friday and Sundays. Okay. Supervised 15

visitation every Wednesday from 4:00 p.m. to 4:30, 16

starting and lasting two hours, every Saturday. All 17

right. So theres visitation Wednesdays and 18

Saturdays. Moms going to take the kids to Kid Safe 19

and dad shall be supervised by Kid Safe in Vernon or 20

an alternative program as agreed to by the parties. 21

So theres a mechanism for him to do that. 22

Now, what I find in a lot of cases that get off 23

track, okay, and this case may have gotten off track, 24

okay, is that for some reason people don't visit 25

because they think that the impediments on the 26

visitation are too difficult and they dont, they 27

7

dont feel that they should be burdened by those 1

impediments when the key is for them to visit, and 2

well deal with those at a later point. 3

ATTY. MATHERS: And, Your Honor, I absolutely 4

agree with you 100 percent. But the problem we have 5

is that Judge Gold has not to date modified his 6

ability to leave the marital home, he is on 27/7 7

lockdown and the judge has given no indication - we 8

were just in court earlier this week - theyre 9

writing briefs for a Fernando hearing, which wont be 10

argued, if its found, until November, so hes not 11

seen -- 12

THE COURT: So if somehow I can persuade Judge 13

Gold that dad should be allowed to go - that the 14

kids [sic] should be allowed to see the kids at Kids 15

Safe would your client find it, although Im sure 16

hes not happy that thats the hoop he has to jump 17

through, will your client do that? 18

ATTY. MATHERS: Again, youre absolutely right, 19

hes not going to be happy but he wants to see his 20

children so hell do whatever. 21

THE COURT: Right. 22

ATTY. MATHERS: But we also have the issue of 23

hows it going to be financed if Kid Safe is - it 24

does not have a sliding scale, is unreasonable, he 25

has no income at this point. 26

THE COURT: Okay. And you have no problem with 27

8

him seeing the kids at Kid Safe? 1

ATTY. FICARRA: I have no problem with following 2

Judge Simns order. 3

THE COURT: Okay. All right. So - 4

ATTY. FICARRA: And Your Honor, just - 5

(Defendant speaks from gallery - undiscernible.) 6

THE COURT: Well let your lawyer talk. Not to 7

say that youre not important, but - and if you need 8

to talk -- 9

ATTY. MATHERS: Oh, you know what, the e-mail. 10

Sorry, and hes right. Judy Clark had sent an e-11

mail, and I think I have the e-mail, if not I can 12

pull it up, that they werent able to take father. 13

THE COURT: If you want to sit next to your 14

lawyer youre entitled to do that, sir. 15

ATTY. MATHERS: Yeah. Why dont you come up 16

here. 17

THE COURT: You can come and sit next to your 18

lawyer. 19

THE DEFENDANT: Thank you. 20

THE COURT: I mean, you are a part of this case. 21

THE DEFENDANT: Thank you. 22

(Pause) 23

THE COURT: And thats an e-mail from who? 24

ATTY. MATHERS: Judy Clark, she runs Kid Safe. 25

ATTY. FICARRA: She appears to run, lets see, 26

in Vernon. 27

9

ATTY. MATHERS: But I believe thats the only 1

Kid Safe facility that is Kid Safe. 2

THE COURT: Now, if money is a problem - 3

ATTY. MATHERS: Yes. 4

THE COURT: -- and Im getting ahead of myself 5

here because the other aspect is that we need to find 6

out how were going to dispose of the whole case, but 7

in the meantime to try to fix this temporarily, is 8

there some program, for instance, I know they dont 9

live close to it but Southern Connecticut State 10

University has a supervised visitation program with a 11

sliding scale, I dont know if there is something in 12

the Vernon area that does that, whether Kid Safe has 13

a sliding scale, if your client has no income, you 14

know, its not fair to the children - 15

ATTY. MATHERS: Absolutely. 16

THE COURT: -- that they don't see their father 17

if its in their best interest to do so. 18

ATTY. MATHERS: Kids Safe, I believe, is the 19

only organization in that area. There is Klingberg 20

that does have, I believe, grants from Family 21

Relations in Hartford, but Im not sure their 22

availability, how fast we could get them in. I 23

guess, in addition to the finance being concerned, if 24

there is a waiting period. I mean, is there -- would 25

mother be agreeable to having a neutral person come 26

to the home, I mean, even I - again, were still 27

10

going to have the problem of finances -- 1

THE COURT: I don't know. 2

ATTY. MATHERS: I mean, his father -- 3

THE COURT: I suppose thats - because the 4

order - and thats not up to me really. The order 5

that Judge Simn entered says it can be supervised 6

Kids Safe in Vernon or an alternative program as 7

agreed upon by the parties attorneys. So that means 8

it can be anything, any program that you all agree 9

on, okay. So that means the answer is yes, if you 10

agree on it, it can be at dad's home with a 11

supervisor there if you agree on it, okay. So the 12

answer is yes, okay. So thats what has to be 13

figured out. So if you have - if there is a neutral 14

party that you both trust, that both mom and dad 15

trust who can do that, who the kids are comfortable 16

with, that makes a lot of sense, but I dont know 17

thats the case. So in any event, what I need to do 18

is to get Judge Gold - because right now the order 19

that Judge Gold has entered won't let dad follow this 20

order. 21

ATTY. MATHERS: Correct. 22

THE COURT: And he doesnt need to get arrested 23

for violating Judge Golds order, we agree with that. 24

ATTY. MATHERS: Correct. And, in fact, we only 25

have permission for him to be here today because he 26

didnt expand the protective order to include family 27

11

court appearances. 1

THE COURT: Well, okay, so we need to do that. 2

So we need to - it doesnt just say court 3

appearances, it just says criminal court? 4

ATTY. MATHERS: I can look on that. 5

THE COURT: Okay. So we need to make sure that 6

the order is to - so we need to expand -- when are 7

you going to see him again, Judge Gold? 8

THE DEFENDANT: The 31st. 9

ATTY. MATHERS: The 31st - well, no, not 10

necessarily. They have - not till the week of 11

November 3rd. 12

THE COURT: Okay. So to allow family court 13

appearances. 14

ATTY. MATHERS: And that would be the criminal 15

matter and thats -- 16

THE COURT: And to facilitate visitation with 17

the minor children pursuant to the dissolution file, 18

okay. So I need to get him to do that. 19

ATTY. MATHERS: Yes. 20

THE COURT: And so assuming I can convince him 21

to do that, then you guys have to figure out how 22

either hes going to afford Kid Safe or who youre 23

third party visit - how youre going to work that 24

out. 25

ATTY. MATHERS: Okay. And that is probably 26

going to be an issue. 27

12

THE COURT: Okay. 1

ATTY. MATHERS: We can make the proposal that 2

Mr. Taupier's father watch the children - 3

supervise -- 4

THE COURT: Whatever you agree -- 5

ATTY. MATHERS: Well, I want to put it on the 6

record so that Attorney Ficarra can bring it back to 7

her client, but my concern is he hasn't seen the 8

children in a very long while and I dont want to 9

wait much longer for him to have access. 10

THE COURT: My general view, and I said this 11

many, many times, that assuming its in the best 12

interest of the children, you have to hear both 13

sides, assuming its in the best interest of the 14

children, the kids should see both parents as much as 15

possible. So assuming its in the best interest. 16

Now Im not up to speed as to all of the reasons why 17

all these orders are in place, I really am not, but 18

in any event, assuming the kids are not at risk from 19

whatever caused dads problems, real or whatever they 20

are, but I mean they are impediments, assuming the 21

kids were not at risk then it seems like calmer heads 22

can prevail. We dont spend a lot of money on 23

attorneys fees and we figure out how these kids get 24

to see dad. And so hes suggesting the visitation be 25

at his house, supervised by a third party, his 26

father. Maybe you have somebody you can talk to your 27

13

client and agree to and suggest. But in any event, 1

then you have to get back to - we have to get back 2

to Judge Gold and get that changed. 3

ATTY. MATHERS: Yes, Your Honor. 4

THE COURT: All right. And so youre coming 5

back to him on? 6

ATTY. MATHERS: The -- oh, boy. If -- 7

THE COURT: The week after next. 8

ATTY. MATHERS: If -- thats assuming that the 9

Fernando hearing -- that theres -- that they dont 10

vacate that order of protection, and so if theres a 11

Fernando hearing itll be heard the week of November 12

1st. 13

THE COURT: Well, arent you entitled to a 14

Fernando hearing? 15

ATTY. MATHERS: Well, yes and no. If theres an 16

issue of whether or not the judge had the authority 17

to enter the protective order initially and then the 18

timeliness of the request for Fernando hearing, so 19

that -- those two issues are being briefed by both 20

states attorney and Attorney Baird. 21

THE COURT: All right. But in any event youre 22

not going to be back in front of Judge Gold either to 23

have him rule on that or -- 24

ATTY. MATHERS: Yeah. I believe its going to 25

be the week of -- somewhere in that week of November 26

1st. 27

14

THE COURT: All right. And so I'm going to talk 1

to Judge Gold and tell him that the mother has no 2

objection to complying with the court order regarding 3

access and that he should -- that theres no 4

objection to the mother in modifying the criminal 5

protective order to comply with the visitation as 6

ordered in that case. Correct? 7

ATTY. FICARRA: Yes. I mean, right now Mr. 8

Taupier cannot see the children because he cant 9

leave the house to see the children. So, yes, were 10

willing to follow Judge Simns order. 11

THE COURT: Right. So we need to let -- so, 12

fine. So I can let Judge Gold know that the mother 13

has no objection to modifying that order to allow him 14

to have access with his children in accordance with 15

Judge Simns order? 16

ATTY. FICARRA: Right. In a therapeutic 17

environment. 18

ATTY. MATHERS: It doesnt say therapeutic. 19

THE COURT: It doesnt say therapeutic, it says 20

supervised. 21

ATTY. FICARRA: Supervised, okay. A supervised 22

environment. 23

THE COURT: It says supervised. Whatever it 24

says, whatever it says -- 25

ATTY. MATHERS: It said Klingberg or other, 26

other -- 27

15

THE COURT: It says it can be -- 1

ATTY. MATHERS: Not Klingberg, sorry. 2

THE COURT: -- it doesnt even have to be in a 3

program, its whatever -- 4

ATTY. MATHERS: Kid Safe or whatever. 5

THE COURT: -- you guys agree to. It says, 6

father shall be -- it says, shall be -- or an 7

alternative program as agreed upon by the parties 8

attorneys. Okay. It could be whatever you agree to, 9

okay. Thats what Judge Simn said, all right. So 10

hes letting you guys order your own lives. So Ill 11

talk to Judge Gold about that. 12

Now, the other issue is the trial. I dont know 13

if theres a lot of finances or whether discovery 14

needed, you say youre new to the file, you say 15

that -- I understand that. 16

ATTY. MATHERS: Judge Simn had also ordered 17

that the parties do a Special Master's, attempt a 18

Special Masters before a trial. Originally, again, 19

this trial was supposed to be in November, so we were 20

supposed to get it between now and then. 21

THE COURT: Do you have a Family Relations' 22

report? 23

ATTY. MATHERS: No. We have -- well, I dont 24

know how to answer that. Family Relations has an 25

incomplete report. 26

ATTY. FICARRA: Because Mr. Taupier didn't 27

16

cooperate. 1

ATTY. MATHERS: Well -- 2

THE COURT: Well, right now he cant, I suppose. 3

ATTY. FICARRA: No, no. No. This was before. 4

ATTY. MATHERS: Theres a -- 5

THE COURT: I cant deal with before, but right 6

now could we get it finished? 7

ATTY. MATHERS: It depends on Family Relations. 8

THE COURT: Okay. 9

ATTY. MATHERS: And it would also require, I 10

believe, for the Family Relations to observe him 11

in -- with the children, I would presume in the 12

house, to see how they interact. 13

THE COURT: How long were mom and dad married? 14

THE DEFENDANT: Ten years. 15

THE COURT: Ten years. Okay. And Gabriel is 16

going to be nine next week? 17

THE DEFENDANT: Thats correct. 18

THE COURT: And Sarah is seven and a half? 19

THE DEFENDANT: Correct. 20

THE COURT: Okay. So nine and seven and a half, 21

mom and dad lived together until not too long ago. 22

What happens in a lot of cases, and I cant -- is 23

that they get to a frenzy of emotions and that's not 24

good, okay. So we need to figure out how to unwind 25

the spring a little bit, use some good common sense 26

and see if you can resolve the case. If you cant 27

17

Im not going to wait until the criminal case is over 1

because I dont know how long thats going to take. 2

ATTY. MATHERS: A motion for a speedy trial has 3

been filed and that also should be dealt with around 4

the same time theyre going back for -- 5

THE COURT: Well, my goal would be -- I mean, 6

theres a case that deals -- theres a case called 7

Tyler v. Shenkman-Tyler, which is 115 Conn. App. 521, 8

2009 Appellate Court, similar issue, and it talks 9

about the things that I have to consider and it also 10

talks about the fact that usually in a family case 11

there is good reason to move it along because the 12

family needs to move on. I mean, theres a good 13

public policy argument that these cases should be 14

pursued, no ones going to compel him to testify, 15

okay, thats his decision, he can call other 16

witnesses, he can call whoever he needs to call to 17

present his case. He can do that. 18

ATTY. MATHERS: I think that would put him at a 19

severe disadvantage, Your Honor, because he would 20

provide valuable insight and testimony that wouldnt 21

be able to come through another person necessarily. 22

THE COURT: Does mom work? 23

ATTY. FICARRA: Mom works. 24

ATTY. MATHERS: And we were talking about issues 25

of custody and access that are in dispute as well, 26

Your Honor, and my client cant have somebody else 27

18

testify about his relationship with the children and 1

the intimate levels. I mean, theres financial 2

issues, theres the breakdown of the marriage, why 3

did it breakdown, his reasons, her reasons, some of 4

the things overlap with the two -- well, specifically 5

theyre probably going to call into question some 6

safety concerns and guns and mental health issues or 7

whatnot and we have the criminal matter pending. 8

ATTY. FICARRA: Well, Your Honor, theres no 9

reason why we cant deal with getting them divorced, 10

separating their assets and then deal with a custody 11

issue later when Mr. Taupier is willing to cooperate 12

with Family Relations, do a complete study, et 13

cetera. I mean, its basically a bifurcation. 14

THE COURT: Do we have a lot of assets? 15

THE DEFENDANT: No. 16

ATTY. MATHERS: We have a business and we also 17

have -- 18

ATTY. FICARRA: We have enough. 19

ATTY. MATHERS: -- also they would be inquired 20

as to why -- why certain things went back into the 21

home. 22

THE COURT: Well, we all agree -- 23

ATTY. FICARRA: Im sorry. I didnt hear what 24

counsel said. 25

ATTY. MATHERS: Why certain things were 26

returned -- were brought back home, that those 27

19

specifically need to be inventoried for financial 1

reasons. 2

THE COURT: But, I mean, theres a house? 3

ATTY. MATHERS: Theres a house, which we need 4

financial orders in because hes -- there were orders 5

that -- 6

THE COURT: Fine. But the assets are theres a 7

house, do we agree on what its worth and whats owed 8

on it? 9

ATTY. FICARRA: Yes, I believe so. 10

ATTY. MATHERS: I don't even know. 11

THE COURT: Okay. Or youre close. Is there 12

any other asset besides the house? 13

ATTY. MATHERS: Well, theres money being held 14

by a previous attorney for roof repairs in the sum of 15

20,000. 16

THE COURT: How much? 17

ATTY. FICARRA: Seventeen thousand, 17,000. 18

ATTY. MATHERS: Twenty seven. 19

THE COURT: With all due respect, I dont want 20

you spending all of your money on attorneys. I mean, 21

I say this all the time Im not just picking on the 22

two of you, I say it all the time. So, please. 23

ATTY. MATHERS: Ive heard it before. 24

THE COURT: Okay. I say it all the time, 25

because I had a case that I tried in Bridgeport over 26

the summer where the parties $450,000 on attorneys 27

20

fees and they were arguing at the time of trial who 1

was going to pay for the kids extra-curricular 2

activities and my comment to them was, if you had 3

taken $50,000 out of the attorneys fees and put it 4

in a trust fund that this kid could have participated 5

in every extra-curricular activity he ever would have 6

wanted and you would have had enough money left over 7

to pay towards something else too. All right. So my 8

goal is not to make this case any more difficult, 9

its with all due respect, its not a complicated 10

financial picture, assuming both parties want to get 11

divorced, which at this point probably is the case, 12

but youd be surprised some people dont, but 13

assuming both people want to get divorced, use your 14

good common sense, if you can't agree on some things. 15

I mean, the things youre talking about are all 16

important, Im not suggesting theyre not, everything 17

youre saying is important, everything youre saying 18

counts, but we get the Taupiers to move on with their 19

lives, the children get out of this pressure cooker 20

eventually in the not too distant future they have a 21

normal and healthy and active relationship with their 22

father. 23

ATTY. MATHERS: And that, you know, certainly 24

would be ideal, but we also deal with -- some of the 25

financial issues are going to be related to the 26

childrens expenses and it -- fathers looking for a 27

21

shared parenting because of his desire to equally 1

parent the children as -- 2

THE COURT: Well, he may get that. 3

ATTY. MATHERS: Right. But that would -- so I 4

guess my thought is going with Attorney Ficarras 5

thought to bifurcate it, the Court could be ordering 6

financial orders that -- 7

THE COURT: When will you be ready for a Special 8

Masters? 9

ATTY. MATHERS: I honestly probably wouldnt be 10

ready for Special Masters until right -- the first 11

week -- the week were scheduled to start trial. 12

THE COURT: Well, were not going to try the 13

case in November. 14

ATTY. MATHERS: Okay. 15

THE COURT: Okay. Because -- 16

ATTY. FICARRA: Were not? 17

THE COURT: -- youre brand new in the case. 18

ATTY. FICARRA: Were not? 19

THE COURT: I dont know that youre ready. 20

ATTY. FICARRA: Your Honor, shes the fourth 21

lawyer in this case, and thats been -- that has been 22

the pattern here. We get to a critical point and 23

then there are continuances that are requested. 24

THE COURT: Well, I mean, Im inclined to give 25

them a short continuance, not long. Im not going to 26

wait for the end of the trial. What they did in the 27

22

Tyler-Shenkman case is they gave them three months to 1

get organized to deal with whatever they had to deal 2

with to deal with the Fifth Amendment privilege. So 3

what I would say is were probably going to schedule 4

this case for some time in end of January early 5

February, that gives you plenty of time to get on 6

board. My hope is in that time youll all realize 7

that the finances in this case are something that can 8

be unscrambled without a great deal of trouble 9

because were not dealing with millions of dollars, 10

right? 11

ATTY. FICARRA: Right. 12

THE COURT: Right. That could probably be 13

unscrambled. The kid issues are something that 14

unfortunately may be a process rather than a final 15

resolution at the divorce. 16

ATTY. MATHERS: Understood. 17

THE COURT: There may be a program, you know, 18

when this happens, fine, well have to come back when 19

this set of facts, you know, resolves itself, you 20

know, so, which happens often. Its a process that, 21

you know, that dad has whatever type of visitation. 22

It may be appropriate in the not too distant future 23

that this visitation be unsupervised visitation, you 24

know, I dont know what the issue is, and if your 25

goal is to get something more than that that may be 26

something that takes a little bit more time. 27

23

ATTY. FICARRA: And cooperation, Your Honor. 1

THE COURT: But they cant talk to each other. 2

ATTY. FICARRA: I dont mean with each other. I 3

mean cooperation with Family Relations. The reason 4

that Family Relations could not, would not make a 5

recommendation is that there was no cooperation by 6

Mr. Taupier. 7

THE COURT: There may not have been, but I have 8

to tell you I looked at the file and I dont know 9

that you had a contested hearing on hardly anything 10

until recently. I think -- my recollection of 11

looking at this is just about everything in this file 12

that came to court on, and I dont know if you 13

were -- were you the lawyer from the beginning? 14

ATTY. FICARRA: From the very beginning. 15

THE COURT: Just about every time you went to 16

court didnt you leave with an agreement? 17

ATTY. FICARRA: We actually did, yeah, and it 18

was usually putting out fire, we came in for one 19

fire, put out another fire, you know, but, yes, we 20

did. 21

THE COURT: But the history of this case that I 22

can see, with all due respect, is that most, until 23

recently, most of the conflicts were resolved by an 24

agreement. 25

ATTY. MATHERS: Yes, Your Honor. 26

ATTY. FICARRA: Thats true. 27

24

THE COURT: Okay. So, you know, I don't see why 1

that can't continue in the future and if that's done 2

the kids win, which is the most important thing, 3

because we want the kids to get out of this -- as 4

close to being unscathed as possible, thats always 5

our goal and quite often they do not always, but our 6

goal is to make sure that they suffer as, you know -- 7

ATTY. MATHERS: As little as possible. 8

THE COURT: -- as little as possible and then we 9

want the parties to go on with their lives. Your 10

client wants to go on with her life, right? 11

ATTY. FICARRA: Very much so. 12

THE COURT: Very much so. Very much so. Im 13

confident that if you use the same skills and 14

understand and have confidence in the process and 15

have respect for the process and understand that it 16

is a process, okay, if everyone has that then you can 17

get through this, okay. But you have to all deal in 18

good faith, respect -- both sides need to respect 19

whatever agreements they reach, understand that 20

theres some consequences if they dont respect the 21

agreements, understanding, and I say this a zillion 22

times, that this is not a battle to be won between 23

mom and dad. If youve appeared in front of me 24

youve heard me say this, this is not a battle to be 25

won, this is a problem to be solved, okay. The 26

Taupier family has a problem right now, we have to 27

25

solve the problem in a way that they can go on with 1

their lives. Okay. So Mr. Taupier can go back to 2

work someday in the not too distant future, can start 3

earning, can be productive, can be contributing 4

towards, you know, whatever he has to contribute 5

towards. 6

ATTY. FICARRA: Mr. Taupiers worked at home for 7

years. 8

ATTY. MATHERS: He has not ability to get a job 9

at this time and -- well, Ill leave it at that. 10

THE COURT: Okay. Well, whatever he -- my guess 11

is, is that whatever -- I mean, I wouldnt be 12

surprised, honestly, if the restrictions based upon 13

him didnt have some effect on his ability to earn. 14

ATTY. MATHERS: The judge revoked his ability to 15

go to work when he had -- 16

THE COURT: Okay. I mean, I would be surprised 17

if there wasnt some impact upon him, whether its 18

substantial, and I dont know, but I would imagine 19

theres some impact. But so this is what were going 20

to do then -- 21

ATTY. FICARRA: And just to say, this is not of 22

our making. 23

ATTY. MATHERS: I dont think I was suggesting 24

that it was. 25

THE COURT: Im not blaming anybody. I mean, if 26

thats the thing if we start blaming people, if dad 27

26

says its all moms fault and mom says its all dads 1

fault I can't change the path, I cant change what 2

got you all here, okay, whatever it is it is, okay. 3

ATTY. FICARRA: Whats keeping Mr. Taupier home 4

right now is the case where Judge Bozzuto -- 5

ATTY. MATHERS: I would object to -- 6

THE COURT: No. I mean, I just know some basic, 7

I know that theres an issue, it doesnt concern me 8

about the case, Im not involved in that. Ive tried 9

to stay away from whatever the facts are in the case 10

because Im going to decide this case, if I decide 11

it, based upon what happens in these four walls not 12

what, you know -- so I havent -- Im basically 13

clueless as to the basic, underlying stuff because 14

thats how I get through life. Okay. 15

ATTY. MATHERS: Sometimes (indiscernible). 16

THE COURT: But in any event, I dont have a dog 17

in the show or a horse in the race, you know. I 18

dont have an interest other than to have the parties 19

enter fairly an agreement, you know. So in any 20

event, if whatever happens if your client wants to 21

settle this case and move on I think we can 22

accomplish that, and if your client has the same 23

goal, if they both have the same goal we can 24

accomplish that. 25

ATTY. FICARRA: We filed proposed orders, 26

settlement proposed orders. 27

27

THE COURT: Okay. Well, then Im sure that 1

theyll review them. 2

Have you seen them? 3

ATTY. MATHERS: Im not -- unless theyve been 4

submitted -- 5

ATTY. FICARRA: They were e-mailed to you 6

yesterday. 7

ATTY. MATHERS: I have not -- Ive been in 8

Manchester court all morning, so I have not looked at 9

my e-mail -- 10

ATTY. FICARRA: They were e-mailed to you 11

yesterday. 12

THE COURT: So thats a good starting point, 13

right? 14

ATTY. MATHERS: Dont always check my e-mail 15

every day, but yes, thats a great start. 16

THE COURT: Thats a good starting point. 17

ATTY. MATHERS: Yes. And my lesson is to check 18

my e-mail every single day. 19

THE COURT: So is it the case that your client 20

cant come here except for the criminal case? 21

ATTY. MATHERS: The issue is the protective 22

order that precludes him from being within 100 feet 23

or 100 yards of the wife and being in the same 24

courtroom wasnt necessarily carved out and we dont 25

want any issues. 26

THE COURT: Okay. So we can't schedule a 27

28

Special Masters pre-trial, so -- 1

ATTY. MATHERS: Without Judge Gold modifying it 2

to permit that. 3

THE COURT: And as a result we couldn't try this 4

case next month because, I mean, unless Judge Gold 5

changes his order, you know, he couldnt be in the 6

same courtroom with your client at the time of the 7

trial. Right? 8

ATTY. FICARRA: I thought that the courtrooms 9

were a free-fire zone. 10

THE COURT: Not necessarily, not unless it says, 11

you know, sometimes yes, sometimes no. So in any 12

event, so this is what were going to do, Im going 13

to talk to Judge Gold about amending -- okay. All 14

right. 15

Im told that from the clerk or actually my 16

caseflow coordinator, we can try this case January 17

26th through the 30th or February 23rd through the 27th 18

in 2015. Those days are available, the 26th through 19

the 30th of January or the 23rd to the 27th. Im going 20

to let you talk to him without me being here. And we 21

can do a Special Master's in early January. And that 22

should give you all the time to get those orders 23

changed with Judge Gold so that he can have access to 24

his kids in the meantime. 25

ATTY. MATHERS: Okay. Could there possibly be 26

at least a contact date back if were unable to reach 27

29

an agreement outside of -- well, I guess first it 1

being how long are we going to give Judge Gold to 2

make a decision regarding his ability to leave the 3

house, I dont want to put pressure on him, but I 4

dont want to wait three weeks for him to make a 5

decision and then decide not to and then have to try 6

to find an agreement -- get an agreement about where 7

were going to do the visits or whos going to be 8

doing the visits. 9

ATTY. FICARRA: Were going to be in court 10

anyway because now Im forced to make some motions 11

for contempt that I was hoping to have heard at the 12

trial. 13

THE COURT: But, okay. We need to put the 14

swords away and try to resolve this case. I mean, 15

you know, thats the key here is that -- so in any 16

event, Ill be happy to get you back here for a 17

status conference in a few weeks if you want. 18

ATTY. MATHERS: Yeah. I mean, I just certainly 19

dont -- you know, the holidays are coming, I 20

certainly dont want to delay this, the kids are -- I 21

mean, they are in crisis and they need to have 22

access. 23

THE COURT: I mean, you need to talk to your 24

client, but the order, the protective order has 25

nothing to do with anything he did with the kids, 26

right? 27

30

ATTY. MATHERS: Correct. 1

THE DEFENDANT: No. 2

THE COURT: Right? 3

ATTY. FICARRA: Right. 4

THE COURT: Okay. So the kids are not victims 5

of any offense, theres no accusation that his 6

behavior to the kids is inappropriate. 7

ATTY. FICARRA: Correct. 8

ATTY. MATHERS: Correct. 9

THE COURT: Okay. So with all due respect, that 10

makes this a whole lot easier and calmer heads should 11

prevail in working out access between dad and the 12

kids. If the kids were a victim, with all due 13

respect, if the kids were a victim of bad behavior 14

then in that case, no doubt about it, this would be a 15

lot harder. 16

ATTY. MATHERS: Absolutely. 17

THE COURT: But theres no allegation that I 18

heard from the two of you that the kids are victim of 19

anything that dad has done, so the key now is it's 20

easy, you guys have to use calmer heads, you have to 21

just figure out how to solve the problem. If theres 22

money issues, you know, I dont know the answer as 23

to, you know, I dont know all the facts, I dont 24

know any of the facts about the money to be honest 25

with you so I dont know anything about that. Your 26

contempt is what, money issues? 27

31

ATTY. FICARRA: Yes, that Mr. Taupier was 1

supposed to be paying half of the mortgage, my 2

clients paying half of the mortgage. You know, and 3

I know the complaint here is he doesnt have -- he 4

just paid $75,000 to get himself out on bail, hes -- 5

ATTY. MATHERS: Borrowed. 6

ATTY. FICARRA: -- had about eight attorneys 7

now, I mean, come on. 8

ATTY. MATHERS: Im cheap. 9

THE COURT: Okay. Well, he has a right to post 10

bail. 11

ATTY. FICARRA: Absolutely. 12

THE COURT: Okay. And so he has a right to do 13

that. 14

ATTY. FICARRA: Absolutely. 15

THE COURT: So we certainly cant hold that 16

against him. 17

ATTY. FICARRA: No, but there's money there and 18

hes got an obligation to follow court orders. 19

THE COURT: Well, in any event thats true. 20

ATTY. MATHERS: And (indiscernible) 21

modification. 22

THE COURT: He does have an obligation, so let 23

him know. 24

ATTY. MATHERS: Yes. 25

THE COURT: That he does have an obligation to 26

follow the court orders, that we dont want Rome to 27

32

burn down while you guys are fiddling around, okay. 1

Please. 2

ATTY. MATHERS: Yes, Your Honor. 3

THE COURT: All right. Will you please 4

understand that. 5

ATTY. MATHERS: Yes. 6

THE COURT: You know, I want everyone to 7

understand that when they come here, mom and dad are 8

both going to get as fair a shake as I can possibly 9

give them. Theyre going to try to get through this 10

and in order for that to happen they all have to 11

follow the rules. 12

ATTY. MATHERS: Yes, Your Honor. 13

THE COURT: Okay. So youre going to pick some 14

dates from Michael for the trial, either January or 15

February, and a date for a Special Master's pre-16

trial. I'm going to talk to Judge Gold and then you 17

can schedule -- Im going to figure out from him how 18

he contacts you to get you back into court to change 19

these orders to allow that. If theres no issue with 20

dad and the kids it seems to me as though you guys 21

can figure out some sort of supervised parenting plan 22

with some third party that doesnt cost anybody any 23

money. Okay. It should be able to work. Right? 24

ATTY. FICARRA: Not necessarily. It depends, I 25

mean, if we put our heads together maybe we can find 26

some angel that can come in and -- 27

33

THE COURT: Well, he says his father. 1

ATTY. MATHERS: I can supervise. 2

ATTY. FICARRA: Well, thats a problem. 3

THE COURT: Huh? 4

ATTY. FICARRA: No. Youre not supervising. 5

THE COURT: Youre not going to supervise. 6

ATTY. FICARRA: Then you can be a witness. 7

Thats a great idea. 8

THE COURT: No. But, I mean -- 9

ATTY. MATHERS: Oh, like this. 10

THE COURT: No. I mean, or you need to do a 11

little bit more homework. But in any event, if money 12

is tight we dont need to spend it on third parties 13

if the kids have not been at risk from dad. 14

ATTY. MATHERS: Agree. 15

THE COURT: I mean, again, thats the deal. All 16

right. So we need to get you back here sometime next 17

month to see how everything is going, and so if we 18

get you back here on, you know, whats today the 19

22nd, one, two, three, like, three or four weeks, 20

like either the 12th or the 19th, probably the 19th at 21

two oclock for an updated status conference to find 22

out where were going. And in the meantime you guys, 23

the lawyers are going to be respectful and polite to 24

each other, as Im sure that they will be. 25

ATTY. MATHERS: Were always very respectful to 26

each other. We are. 27

34

THE COURT: Good. I mean, shes been doing this 1

a little bit longer than you, but youve been doing 2

this long enough to know, you know, that neither one 3

of you have a personal interest in this case. You 4

know, youre only interest is a professional 5

interest, be polite and respectful to each other, 6

always tell the truth and the case goes on. 7

ATTY. FICARRA: We still need to have some -- 8

were going to be in same the position, respectfully, 9

when we come back here. We still won't have a Family 10

Relations study thats completed. I have issues with 11

I have a financial affidavit thats ready to be 12

filed. Im going to ask the Court for some kind of 13

order for protection on that so it doesnt end up on 14

the Internet like so many other things that have come 15

out of this case. You know, were going to be right 16

back in the same position when we come back. 17

THE COURT: Well, let me tell you something, 18

everythings going to be on the internet starting in 19

December, okay. 20

ATTY. MATHERS: Are we e-filing for family? 21

ATTY. FICARRA: Yes. 22

THE COURT: Yes. So everythings going to be on 23

the Internet. 24

ATTY. MATHERS: Oh, Lord. 25

THE COURT: Very soon. So, Im sorry. And 26

listen, I always tell people don't put anything in 27

35

the file that you don't want to see on the front page 1

of The Hartford Courant, okay. I tell that to them 2

and particularly when there are kids involved because 3

the stuff, he maybe knows more about the Internet 4

than I do or most people know more about the Internet 5

than I do, but my understanding is that stuff hardly 6

ever goes away. 7

THE DEFENDANT: Its never gone. 8

THE COURT: Yeah. So its never gone, so the 9

deal is you dont want your kids to come across this 10

craziness someday and somebody will embarrass them 11

with it when theyre old enough, so keep that in mind 12

that not only are you impacting yourself and your 13

spouse but youre impacting your kids forever. So if 14

everyone, you know, just understands, again, last 15

time and then Im going to leave you with the clerk. 16

Problem to be solved, okay, and if you can figure 17

that out and understand that, you know, you can deal 18

with this. So go get some dates, well see you back 19

here on the 19th at 2:00. 20

ATTY. MATHERS: 19th at 2:00. Thank you, Your 21

Honor. 22

THE COURT: And Im going to talk to Judge Gold. 23

ATTY. MATHERS: Thank you. 24

THE COURT: All right. Recess. 25

(Proceedings end at 2:57 p.m.) 26

27

MMX-FA12-4018627-S : STATE OF CONNECTICUT : SUPERIOR COURT TANYA TAUPIER : JUDICIAL DISTRICT OF MIDDLESEX V. : AT MIDDLETOWN, CONNECTICUT EDWARD TAUPIER : OCTOBER 22, 2014

C E R T I F I C A T I O N

I hereby certify the foregoing pages are a true and correct transcription of the audio recording of the above-referenced case, heard in Superior Court, Judicial District of Middlesex, Middletown, Connecticut, before the Honorable Barry C. Pinkus, Judge, on the 22nd day of October 2014. Dated this 29th day of October 2014 in Middletown, Connecticut. _____________________________ Dana Wilson Court Recording Monitor