News & Views

August 4, 2006

Book Ban Lifted! (At least for now)

For those who haven't heard, Judge Manzi's book ban orders have been vacated (by Mass Appeals Court) and the matter is remanded back to the lower court for findings of fact and rulings of law that demonstrate a compelling interest that the restraint on speech will serve.

I have a hearing before Judge Manzi in Lawrence's Probate and Family Court on a complaint for modification of my custody arrangement.

Quite frankly, this hearing is many times more important to me than the book ban issue because I am moving to have sole custody transferred to me as the fitter parent.  Please help me hold Manzi accountable. 

Sincerely,

Kevin Thompson -- kmtinma@COMCAST.NET -- via email from Mike Franco

April 25, 2006

Banned Book "Exposing the Corruption in the Massachusetts Family Courts," being removed from Lulu.com

Mike Franco Reports .that Kevin Thompson informed him that www.Lulu.com sent him a notice today that they are taking his book, "Exposing the Corruption in the Massachusetts Family Courts," off the site in response to Manzi's order. Apparently, his son's mother called them and sent them copies of the orders.  Thompson spoke with the Operations Director and he was told that his hands were tied because that is what Lulu.com's legal team advised him to do. He said that he would wait until tomorrow night before removing it. If you planned to get the book and have not ordered it yet or if you would like to get the book for friends who might want it, then I suggest you stock up because after tomorrow the book is history unless I can overturn Manzi's order.  Please pass this information on to anyone and everyone. Tues., Apr 25 14:15:20 CDT 2006

Candidate for MA Governor’s Council calls into question judge's ethics
By Candidate
Reprinted from “The American Daily”

The rules regarding being a judge in Massachusetts are very short. The second cannon of the Massachusetts Code of Judicial Conduct states that a Judge should avoid impropriety and the appearance of impropriety in all his activities. It also states that a judge should conduct himself at all times in a manner that promotes public confidence in the integrity and impartiality of the judiciary. The third cannon states that “A judge should disqualify himself in a proceeding in which his impartiality might reasonably be questioned, including but not limited to instances where: (a) he has a personal bias or prejudice concerning a party, or personal knowledge of disputed evidentiary facts concerning the proceeding.”

This said, I was fortunate enough to be e-mailed a book by Mr. Kevin Thompson in PDF format, “Exposing the Corruption in Massachusetts Family Courts.” Mr. Kevin Thompson is a father’s rights activist who wrote about his tribulation in the Essex County Family Court. It would be an understatement to say that Mr. Thompson was not very kind to Judge Manzi. He stated, “She made it clear to me at my initial hearing on May 28, 2003, that in her courtroom fathers are all criminals to be punished and removed from the lives of their children while mothers are all selfless, innocent victims to be pitied and excused from accountability for their actions.” He added, “Judge Manzi and the incompetents who work in the court as mediators also introduced me to the family court mindset that a mother's demand for sole custody is honorable and praiseworthy, but a father's pursuit of a 50/50 joint physical custody compromise is proof that he is selfish, rigid, and demanding.” Mr. Thompson said, “Judge Manzi was consistently rude and condescending toward me at the initial hearing, but polite and patient with the attorney for my son's mother. Before I was even called before the judge, I witnessed her rolling her eyes and asking the court clerk to point me out when she was handed my file.”

The criticism seriously questions Judge Manzi’s ethics, making claims that a tape-recording was edited, and that a Lawrence attorney could substantiate the statements were missing from the tape. In a bit of an irony, Kevin Thompson complains in his book, Judge Mainz should have recused herself for having personal bias.

Despite the book containing lengthy and scathing criticisms of the Judge Manzi, reliable statements made Mr. Thompson and Fathers and Families indicate that Judge Manzi ruled on whether to ban the book and, in fact, actually banned it.

Notes Attorney Del Gallo, “The law is quite clear. Judges cannot rule on cases where there is a conflict of interest or the appearance of a conflict of interest. What we have here is a conflict of interest on an acid trip. While completely trampling on the free speech rights of Mr. Thompson, a judge has banned a book that is scathingly critical of her. Apart from accepting an actual bribe or ruling on a case where a judge plainly has a financial interest in the outcome of a case, it is hard to imagine a more manifest conflict of interest.”

Rinaldo Del Gallo, III, Candidate for Governor’s Council, 79 Nancy Avenue, Pittsfield, MA 01201

FOR MORE INFORMATION, call Mr. Del Gallo at 413-443-3150,
or his cell at 413-329-3897.

Court Order May Violate First Amendment

By Wendy McElroy

A child custody case in Massachusetts may be placing family court procedures on a collision course with the First Amendment.

Last week, a Massachusetts family court judge issued an order restraining the distribution of a book entitled "Exposing the Corruption in the Massachusetts Family Courts." The author, Kevin Thompson, is a non-custodial parent who feels betrayed by a judicial system that he calls "anti-father."

Thompson claims that his book is "banned" in the Boston sense of that word. But according to the order, which Thompson received by mail last Friday, impounding the book is necessary to protect the privacy interests of the minor child. In other words, the book includes information about Thompson's 4-year-old son, which violates a minor's privacy in a legal proceeding.

("Family court" is commonly defined as "a separate court, or more likely a separate division of the regular state trial court" that adjudicates family conflicts, such as divorce, and legal matters involving children such as custody, child support and adoption. Its proceedings are far more cloistered than those of other courts; this protects privacy but also prohibits scrutiny.) <more>

Father's court account ruled out of order
By Rita Savard, Sun Staff

With the stroke of a pen, a Family Court judge has "swept away the Bill of Rights" by banning content in a Methuen father's book, a fathers' advocacy group charges.

Judge Mary McCauley Manzi issued an order last week restraining Kevin Thompson from using impounded court records, pictures and personal information in his new book, Exposing the Corruption in the Massachusetts Family Courts -- an autobiography about losing full custody of his 4-year-old son, Patrick, whom he is allowed to see 10 hours each week.

Describing the ruling as an attack on his constitutional rights, Thompson said he has no doubt that the judge's decision is personal. An entire chapter in the book is dedicated to Thompson's dealings with Manzi.

"These people working in the courts with black robes on that we have to call your honor, have no honor," said Thompson, 44, and a physics teacher at Methuen High School. "This action is exactly the kind of thing my book is about, the unfair treatment of fathers and the constitutional rights that are violated every day in family courts."

After last Wednesday's hearing at the Essex County Probate and Family Court, Thompson had to wait to receive the judge's ruling, which arrived in the mail on Friday. Along with the complete case file, Manzi impounded her decision in the Lawrence court, not to be accessed until 2021. <more>