Let’s talk about our good buddy Harshberger. You know, the guy who went to law school but apparently skipped the class on how final orders work.
So there we are, oral arguments underway. Sara’s cool as a cucumber. Harshberger? Not so much. He’s hanging everything—everything—on the idea that the June 2nd order was final. According to him, Sara didn’t appeal that, so she waived standing.
Yes. You read that right.
He literally said you can waive standing.
At this point, even the Superior Court judges looked like they wanted to pass him a juice box and tell him to take a nap.
Let’s break this down:
Sara isn’t appealing the June 2, 2022 order. She’s appealing the October 7, 2024 order.
The case kept going after June 2nd. There was a September 6th hearing,(that one was appealed) and many others after that, for more than 2 years after!
The Superior Court quashed the September 6th appeal because…dun dun dun…. it wasn’t final.
Sooo… how can June 2nd be final if another trial happened after it?
Oh, and by the way, standing can’t be waived. It’s a jurisdictional requirement, not an RSVP to a wedding.
Sara pointed out that both the June and September orders said the same thing, the judge was considering expanding Pop Pop’s rights. Considering = not final. If the court thought the September order wasn’t final, how could the June one be? Spoiler… it couldn’t. The September hearing would not have even happened if June 2 was final. Final means over. Just to clear that up Harshy.
But did that stop Harshberger? Oh no. He clung to that June 2nd order like it was the last lifeboat on the Titanic, and he’s yelling “I have a child!” Meanwhile, he said absolutely nothing about the real issues: standing, abuse of process, vexatious litigation, due process violations, or the jurisdictional disaster this case has been from the start. So, that is called a waiver of silence. That’s right. While you can’t waive standing, you can waive your right to argue against her claims. And he did exactly that here by ignoring them, they don’t go away if you ignore them, like that annoying person in your DMs.
This man had the audacity to tell the Superior Court that they ruled the June 2nd order was final—even though they never reviewed it. What kind of next-level arrogance or ignorance does it take to tell the court they did something they never did? It’s hard to believe anyone could be this off-base, but here we are.
The Superior Court asked questions. He couldn’t explain the procedural history. Probably because it’s a tangled mess of nonsense. When you can’t explain your own case, there’s a problem. Sara could explain, but they didn’t ask her. Probably because they wanted to see if he was as lost as his brief led them to believe he was. And the answer is yes. He’s somewhere in the Bermuda Triangle right now.
Sara? She’s been raising standing since day one. Motions, preliminary objections, asking in hearings- you name it. It’s like she handed them a neon sign that said: HE. HAS. NO. STANDING. She made that record crystal clear what she was preserving for appeal.
So while Harshberger fumbled around with a timeline no one understands (including him), Sara calmly explained how standing works and reminded the court that no, “maybe one day I think she may not let me see them” is not a legal basis for custody petitions.
We’re just waiting now. But one thing’s for sure:
Harshberger had a hard time.
And the Superior Court? They’re not going to be fooled by a guy whose best argument boils down to, “She should’ve appealed the order that didn’t end the case and also standing is optional now I guess???”
Good luck with that, champ.