Zeitner v. Shank, 290 P.3d 180

Zeitner (Mother) challenged district court ruling denying petition for modification of custody; no trial transcript and statement of evidence not approved; appellate briefing deficient under W.R.A.P. 7.01; court affirmed.
Parties have two children; formerly shared joint legal custody with Mother primary residence; Arizona orders awarded custody to Father in 2005 and subsequently to Father on default; maternal grandparents Trembley had visitation rights.
In 2011-2012, Laramie County District Court held a custody hearing (Sept 27, 2011 to Jan 17, 2012) with no record of proceedings; final ruling issued by email Jan 19, 2012 and memorialized May 16, 2012.
Court applied Wyoming statutes on best interests (Wyo. Stat. §§ 20-2-101) and found a substantial and material change of circumstances but denied emergency custody, continuing custody with Father per a 2005 Arizona Minute Entry; notes longstanding interstate custody considerations under UCCJEA.
On appeal, the Court emphasized lack of transcript/substitute evidence, deficiencies in Mother’s brief, and limited scope of review; concluded no reversible error under the constrained record and affirmed the district court.
UCCJEA framework and lack of complete record were central to the appellate outcome.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Due process impact of late consideration of evidence	Zeitner claims judge admitted evidence in Sept 2011 and failed to acknowledge it later.	Zeitner failed to provide transcript; record inadequate for review.	No reviewable error; transcript deficiency limits scrutiny.
Judicial conduct concerns about the trial judge	Zeitner alleges personal prejudice and unfounded opinions.	Record lacking substantiation of such claims without transcript.	Issue not reviewable due to lack of transcript.
Ex parte communication with Father	Zeitner alleges improper ex parte notification about a document.	Record shows no improper contact; claim lacks harm.	No merit; record lacks evidence of ex parte communication.
Whether the petition was properly ruled on under UCCJEA/Wyo. statutes	Mother sought emergency custody under UCCJEA/Wyoming provisions; district court failed to rule on issues.	Petition lacked explicit Wyoming statute references; guardian ad litem not applicable.	No reversible error; issues not clearly presented in petition.
Appellate briefing and record sufficiency	Briefs failed to meet W.R.A.P. 7.01 requirements; lack of cogent argument.	Pro se status does not excuse noncompliance; record deficient due to missing transcript.	Affirmed due to briefing and record deficiencies.

Harshberger v. Harshberger, 117 P.3d 1244 (Wy. 2005) (review limited when no transcript; presumption of regularity)
Stadtfeld v. Stadtfeld, 920 P.2d 662 (Wy. 1996) (transcript deficiency limits appellate review)
Combs v. Sherry-Combs, 865 P.2d 50 (Wy. 1993) (precedent on documentary record sufficiency)
Burt v. Burt, 53 P.3d 101 (Wy. 2002) (regularity of district court judgment presumed)
Capshaw v. Schieck, 44 P.3d 47 (Wy. 2002) (standard for reviewing evidentiary findings without transcript)
Call v. Town of Thayne, 288 P.3d 1214 (Wy. 2012) (pro se briefing not excused from noncompliance with rules)
Harshberger v. Harshberger, 117 P.3d 1244 (Wy. 2005) (see above)