No one was asking that a criminal conviction be pronounced from a custody file.

The judge reminded counsel that longer-term decisions would require the appropriate process and a fuller record.

Even so, the request mattered enormously.

If it were granted, the babies could leave the placement arrangement before we had finished examining the concerns that brought them there.

I took the oath and answered the county attorney’s questions.

Where had I stopped?

What did I see?

What did I do first?