Stephen Jahue Moore Jr.

At the scheduled contempt hearing, attorney Stephen Joshua (Jake) Moore, Jr. requested a recess from the presiding judge, representing it would last approximately five minutes. During that recess, Mr. Moore entered a private room with opposing counsel while I was directed to wait in the hallway. The ...recess significantly exceeded the represented timeframe. Upon returning, Mr. Moore had wholly reversed his prior strategy and began pressuring me to voluntarily relinquish a portion of my court-ordered physical visitation. He made unprofessional remarks regarding his clients’ unwillingness to follow his direction, and when I declined to comply with his revised approach, his demeanor became visibly agitated and hostile. This conduct occurred in close proximity to the opposing party, who was present in an adjacent room with an open door. When the hearing resumed, Mr. Moore provided what I assessed to be minimal advocacy while opposing counsel entered multiple unsubstantiated allegations into the record without meaningful challenge. Mr. Moore then made a statement before the court characterizing the matter as a mutual failure of two parties to coexist — effectively equating my conduct with that of the opposing party, to my detriment. Notably, the court accepted opposing counsel’s recitation of purported evidence without physically examining whether that evidence existed in the record. Following the hearing, Mr. Moore communicated via email that his representation had concluded. However, more than one month later, he filed documents with the court under the apparent authority of my legal representative — despite having previously terminated the attorney-client relationship. Family court is inherently stressful for parents facing possible loss of custody, incarceration, or risks to their child's safety. Every parent deserves an advocate, not an obstacle.