Legal Question in Family Law in California

I have a 5.5 year old daughter whom I have raised for the past 4.5 years on my own without help. Months ago I filed for child support because even working full time, its not an easy thing raising a child as a single parent. As a response my ex-filed for full custody of a child he refused to acknowledge was his until I filed for support at Los Angeles Superior Court in Pomona, Ca.

As a result, custody is shared 50/50 in a 2 day me, 2 day him and alternating weekends (2-2-3) and I was awarded support for our child, but every few months he files "emergency" orders and lies about me in court documents. The most recent basis for the emergency order was him claiming that I have our daughter sleeping at several men's houses during the week who I date and that I have had 3 fiancees and numerous boyfriends in the passed year and that she sleeps on random couches and that I never spend any time with her. He also said that all I feed her is top ramen and that she goes to bed hungry most nights and that she is behind in school and is "habitually tardy" to class and that I have been a no show to 2 parent teacher conferences.

I cannot afford a lawyer, so I spent a great deal of time researching what I would need to respond to his and his lawyers "Request for Order" and I types out my response on the proper forms and filed them. My response noted that I actually had just moved into my own place (prior to that I lived with my mom and dad) and that our daughter has her own bed, is well fed and that she is in fact not behind in school or habitually tardy and that I have been in the same committed relationship with the same guy for the last year. I had attached her attendance record (5 tardies since school started in September, 3 of which happened while she was with him), and I sat down with the teacher who gave me a signed form that stated that our daughter was at grade level and that she was in no way at all behind in her class.

His response filed was that I do not own a refrigerator, that she is not fed properly, and that her sleeping arrangements consisted of a mat on the floor, that I lived in a rented house with "several other couples" and that my daughters room "is actually shared with 2 other couples" and that while I "may be ok with our daughter performing at grade level, he is sure she is capable of top notch work".

In my response to his response, I attached my lease agreement that states the place is mine, the receipt for my fridge which I had to buy because the place didn't come with one, I attached pictures of my daughters full sized bed and wooden bed frame with her belongings (tv, dvd player, disney movies, dolls, art supplies), and grocery receipts for the entire month that reflected purchases above and beyond top ramen.

The result was that I work retail full time, and that custody would still be 50/50 and that my 50% would come when I'm not working, so he would have to work with me and be flexible. This has turned into a nightmare because he refuses to give me my time with our child. So far, I have only gotten to see her on my 2 days off and when I brought it up he screams at me, threatens me and then refers me to his lawyer. Any time I attempt to engage this man I am screamed at, threatened, bullied and attacked verbally (during our relationship he used to physically abuse me).

In this case there are 2 lawyers, 1 is his lawyer (his parents pay for him) and the other is a court appointed lawyer for our child. I never get to see the commissioner, its always his lawyer, and the court appointed lawyer in closed quarters and I wait in the hallways of Pomona court while they decide whats best. When I have an issue, he refers me to his lawyer or our child's lawyer, who literally wont return my calls until I give her a down payment of $800 which I cannot afford. Our child's court appointed lawyer with me is often times rude, insults me and gives commentary on how I dress. I am literally the only party who is not represented by anyone and I want to be able to stand in front of the commissioner and share the things that are happening. If I could afford a lawyer, I would, but I cannot. I went into a local lawyers office and the average for someone to represent me is $1500-$2000 just as a down payment.

My ex is now using this new custody arrangement to keep my daughter from me and keeps bullying me over a co-parenting website the court had us sign up for.

How am I able to see the commissioner instead of being an unrepresented party in the decision making? How should I handle this? For every lie and personal attack, I can and have proven the truth with paper work or pictures. What hes doing has to be blatantly apparent to the court, because I'm sure they've seen it all before. What steps should I consider taking to help me and my daughter? Please Help.

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