On the face of it, this Declaration entered by Made Jati's lawyer in Bali to the California Superior Court appears to be extraordinarily stupid.

• Wikantara is a lawyer in Bali with no standing in a California court; why did he enter a Declaration? Does he actually think he is a lawyer all over the world?
• He covers a variety of arguments from a variety of angles—sort of "if you think that's a lie, would you believe this one...?" Made Jati and Julie Duncan had already tried all these at different times anyway, but they are mutually contradictory, so you really need to go with just one.
• He claims that Made only came to California to see her children and had no intention of petitioning for custody. But travel documents Made herself entered to the court already showed she was running from an arrest warrant in Tabanan. And other documents, some with Wikantara's name on them, were clearly dated and prepared for a custody battle in advance. And of course, she was the Petitioner.
• But most important, he makes clear that he was fully informed of all the events in California, and he advised his client not to cooperate with the court and to return to Indonesia. Disobeying a court order is criminal. Disobeying a court order on the advice of an attorney does not make it any less criminal. Wikantara with his Declaration removes any possible defense Made might have had as an excuse for disobeying the court, making it clear that she did it willfully and with purpose to evade deposition to the court.

But given that he did advise his client to disobey court orders and abandon her children to avoid giving testimony which might lead to criminal charges in Indonesia, why on earth would he tell the California court about it? What was he thinking??!!

I've called Wikantara several times to ask about this. The first time we talked he said "I can't talk to you!" and hung up. Every time I've called him since then, he's hung up as soon as he heard my voice.

The entire declaration may be opened as a PDF file HERE .

Complete transcripts of all the California hearings are available at PDF Downloads. Summary - I.