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January 2010
OHIO
Mom Makes Federal Case Out of
Latest Student Hairstyle Rights Fight
By
Martha Neil, ABA Journal
01-28-10 --
Headlines about school district battles over student hairstyles are
now focusing on Ohio, where a mother of an 11-year-old boy says he
was publicly humiliated by a teacher and a classroom aide and has
filed a federal lawsuit over their alleged "gender-based harassment"
of the boy. . . . When the unidentified boy was younger, some
children teased him about his professionally styled, apparently
shoulder-length hair. At that point, his mother, Amanda Anoai, says
she told her son to toughen up or cut his hair, reports the
Associated Press.
. . . But when her son told her that the teacher and the aide had
made him stand at the front of his sixth-grade classroom, put his
hair in ponytails, and then introduced him to students there as new
female student—before the aide walked him to other classrooms and
performed similar introductions there—this was "a totally different
story," Anoai says.
NEW YORK
Don't chain kids to court unless it is needed, judge rules
By Jose
Martinez , Daily News Staff Writer
01-27-10 --
A judge on Tuesday slapped the agency in charge of the state's
juvenile prison system for shackling kids being taken to court
appearances in the city. . . . Manhattan Supreme Court Justice
Milton Tingling ruled the Office of Children and Family Services
violated a policy that says shackles should be used only in extreme
cases in which the child is found to be uncontrollable and a danger
to himself or others.
FLORIDA
Young Lawyers bring Santa back
for an encore
by Joe
Wilhelm Jr., Jacksonville Daily Record Staff Writer
01-25-10 --
Outside was gray and dim due to a morning rain storm, but inside the
office of Family Support Services of Northeast Florida the smiles of
foster kids were wide and bright. . . . The Young Lawyers Section of
the Jacksonville Bar Association and Northeast Florida Paralegal
Association volunteers co-hosted the event Jan. 16 to provide a
“Holiday in January” for foster kids who may not have received
presents without the party. . . . “It is geared toward children who
were relocated during the holiday season due to an unsafe,
neglectful or even abusive homes,” said Fraz Ahmed, chair of the
project. “The purpose is to give these children a holiday they did
not otherwise get to enjoy.” . . . The event served 25 children from
the Jacksonville area, providing 20 bikes and toys for kids.
FEDERAL
COURTS
3rd Circuit Panel Mulls if Teen 'Sexting' Is Child
Pornography
Shannon
P. Duffy, The Legal Intelligencer
01-19-10 --
As the nation's first case involving criminal prosecutions of
teenagers for "sexting" made its way to a federal appeals court in
Philadelphia, all three judges seemed skeptical of the prosecutor's
claim that child pornography laws are violated when a teen transmits
a nude image of herself. . . . The three 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of
Appeals judges also appeared poised to declare that former Wyoming
County District Attorney George Skumanick Jr. violated the First
Amendment rights of three girls with
his threat of a criminal prosecution if they refused to take a
class he had designed to educate youths about the dangers of sexting.
. . . "I don't know of anything that says a district attorney's
office is allowed to, in effect, play the role of teacher," Judge
Thomas L. Ambro said.
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NEW
JERSEY
Federal monitors give largely positive marks for N.J. child welfare
By
Statehouse Bureau Staff, The Star-Ledger - NJ.com
01-07-10 --
Children in New Jersey's child welfare system are safer and many are
kept with their brothers and sisters when they enter foster care,
according to a federal report issued today. . . . But too many
children under state supervision remain in the system for too long
without a plan for their futures and are kept from their parents
once separated. . . . In the first look at whether the more than $1
billion overhaul of the state system is actually helping the 48,000
kids it oversees, a federal monitor said New Jersey "exceeded
expectations" in several areas directly connected to children's
well-being and continued to strengthen the structure of the
once-broken system. . . . Federal Monitor Judith Meltzer added,
however, that much work remains and said Gov.-elect Chris Christie
and lawmakers must maintain the financial investment made over the
last four years in order to continue improving children's lives.
RHODE
ISLAND
Federal appeals court judges
question dismissal of R.I. child advocate’s lawsuit
By Katie
Mulvaney, Providence Journal Staff Writer
01-06-10 --
A federal appeals court panel that includes retired U.S. Supreme
Court Justice David H. Souter appeared perplexed Tuesday by the
dismissal of a lawsuit that accuses the Rhode Island Department of
Children, Youth and Families of widespread abuse and neglect of
children in state foster care. . . . Rhode Island Child Advocate
Jametta O. Alston and the New York-based advocacy group Children’s
Rights asked the First U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to overturn
Senior U.S. District Judge Ronald R. Lagueux’s dismissal of the
lawsuit alleging the system was underfunded, understaffed and
mismanaged, and that children were being molested, beaten and
shuffled from home to home while in state foster care. They argued
that Lagueux had used a law intended to guarantee children access to
the federal courts instead to bar them from seeking justice. . . .
The DCYF countered that Lagueux was correct in finding that the
children’s interests were already being served in state Family
Court, where guardians had been appointed to handle each child’s
case.
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Federal judge asks prosecutors to put a price on child porn
A federal judge pushes
prosecutors to demand restitution from those caught with
explicit photos.
By James Walsh, Minneapolis Star Tribune
01-05-10 --
She goes by the name of "Amy," and the photos her uncle took
of her a decade ago -- when she was 8 or 9 years old -- are
among the most widely circulated series of child pornography
images in the United States. . . . Now her fight for damages
from those who possess or distribute those photos is
emerging as a big issue in federal courtrooms across the
country. Including here. . . . The question is: How much can
one offender possessing any of the millions of images
circulating on the Internet be expected to pay to any of the
thousands of victims worldwide? Amy is seeking a total of
more than $3.3 million. . . . On Monday, Judge Patrick
Schiltz in U.S. District Court in St. Paul issued an order
demanding to know why restitution was not even requested by
the U.S. attorney's office in the case of a Minnesota man
who pleaded guilty to possession of child pornography.
NEW YORK
Juvenile Injustice
New York Times
Editorial
01-05-10 --
Gladys Carrión, New York’s reform-minded
commissioner of the Office of Children and Family
Services, has been calling on the state to close
many of its remote, prison-style juvenile facilities
and shift resources and children to therapeutic
programs located in their communities. Her efforts
have met fierce and predictably self-interested
resistance from the unions representing workers in
juvenile prisons and their allies in Albany. . . . A
recent series of damning reports have underscored
the flaws in New York’s juvenile justice system and
the urgent need to shut down these facilities. The
governor and the State Legislature need to pay
attention. . . . A report by a task force appointed
by Gov. David Paterson describes a failing system
that damages young people, fails to curb recidivism
and eats up millions of tax dollars. Children should
be confined only when they present a clear threat to
public safety. But the most recent statistics show
that 53 percent of the youths admitted to New York’s
institutional facilities were placed there for minor
nonviolent infractions. . . . The report also says
that judges often send children to these facilities
because local communities are unable to help them
with mental problems or family issues. But once they
are locked up, these young people rarely get the
psychiatric care or special education they need
because the institutions lack trained staff. . . . A
report from the Justice Department, which has
threatened to sue the state, documents the use of
excessive and injury-causing force against children
in juvenile facilities, often for minor offenses
such as laughing too loudly or refusing to get
dressed. And last week, the Legal Aid Society of New
York City filed a class-action suit on behalf of
youths in confinement, arguing that conditions in
the system violate their constitutional rights.
CALIFORNIA
Major Legal Changes Ahead for
California Minors
Cheryl
Miller, The Recorder
01-04-10 --
They haven't grabbed any headlines, and they're not particularly
easy to explain. . . . But a
new set of court rules
that go into effect in the New Year offer some of the most
significant changes in the field of minors' personal injury claims
in years, lawyers on both sides of the issue say. . . . The rules,
the product of two years of negotiation among the plaintiffs bar,
defense counsel and judges, address the complex and confusing area
of law known as minor's compromise. . . . Broadly stated, the phrase
refers to the practice of a court approving any settlement of a
child's personal injury claim or the claims of certain disabled
adults. California Family and Probate codes also give courts
authority to approve or actually set the amount of contingency fees
paid to the child's attorney.
What The Divorce Revolution Has Meant For Kids
by Sasha Aslanian
Divorced
Kid'
To
listen to the entire hour-long radio documentary and see
more photos, visit the
"Divorced Kid"
site.
01-03-10 --
The 1970s saw changes great and small in American society.
More women began to move into the workforce and began to
define themselves as more than wives, mothers or
girlfriends. . . . While men grew their hair and wore
flowered shirts, children were listening to Marlo Thomas
singing "Free to Be... You and Me." . . . Gender roles were
changing. It was OK for Mom to be a doctor and Dad to be a
nurse. It was also increasingly OK to leave behind the
confines of marriage. The divorce rate, which had begun to
climb in the 1960s, soared in the 1970s, as states began to
adopt no-fault divorce laws. . . . But what did the 1970s
divorce boom mean for the kids? . . . Producer Sasha
Aslanian spent five years working on a documentary about the
children of divorce. Here's some of what she found:
Kramer vs. Kramer was the quintessential divorce movie
of the 1970s. It won five Academy Awards, including Best
Picture, in 1979. Dustin Hoffman and Meryl Streep starred as
the estranged couple, locked in a custody battle over their
young son.
But the
child they were fighting over doesn't have much of a voice
in the movie. It's more a drama about his parents.
Avery
Corman wrote the novel the movie was based on.
"I know
when I saw a screening of it in a movie house for the first
time, when I got up, there were kids all around kind of
slumped all in their seats," Corman says. "And I knew
exactly who they were."
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December 2009
MICHIGAN
Law firm offers free legal services to families of Ferndale students
Help aimed at those who can't afford it
By Peggy
Walsh-Sarnecki, Free Press Education Writer
12-29-09 --
Families of more than half the students at Ferndale High School fall
below the federal poverty rate, so if they ever are in a legal bind,
they likely wouldn't be able to afford an attorney. . . . That's one
reason a law firm chose Ferndale schools for a new pro bono project.
. . . Lawyers from Dykema, a national law firm with local offices in
Detroit, Bloomfield Hills and Ann Arbor, began offering a free legal
clinic in September and plan to do so once a month, indefinitely. .
. . The firm specifically wanted to offer its services free to a
community where a large proportion of the people were unlikely to be
able to afford a lawyer, said Heidi Naasko, Dykema pro-bono counsel.
. . . Right now, any Ferndale Public Schools parent, guardian or
student qualifies for free legal advice. And several families have
taken advantage of the offer.
NEW
JERSEY
Middlesex County aims to
put juvenile offenders on right track, not behind bars
By Gene Racz • New Brunswick Home News Tribune Staff Writer
12-29-09 --
Juveniles who break the law in Middlesex County but pose no
real public safety or flight risk may soon be spending more
time in a new support program than at a youth detention
center. . . . Middlesex County has applied to participate in
the Juvenile Detention Alternatives Initiative. The primary
goal of the program is making sure that secure detention is
used only for serious and chronic youthful offenders. . . .
Launched in 1992 by the private charitable organization
Annie Casey Foundation, the Juvenile Detention Alternatives
Initiative is in place in 10 of the state's 17 counties
operating juvenile detention centers: Atlantic, Camden,
Essex, Hudson, Monmouth, Bergen, Burlington, Mercer, Ocean
and Union. . . . The application is under review by the
state's Juvenile Justice Commission.
DELAWARE
Delaware Pediatrician Is
Accused of Raping Patients
By Ian Urbina, New York Times
12-23-09 --
For more than a decade, Dr.
Earl B. Bradley was a trusted fixture of the small coastal
town of Lewes, Del., seeing thousands of children at a
private practice he called BayBees Pediatrics. . . . On
Wednesday, an official from the state attorney general’s
office said that Dr. Bradley might have raped or molested as
many as 100 children over the last 11 years, and the police
scrambled to identify victims seen on videos that they say
the doctor made of the assaults. They also began contacting
law enforcement agencies in Florida, New Jersey and
Pennsylvania, where they believe the doctor may have also
seen patients. . . . Last week, Dr. Bradley, 56, was charged
with molesting or raping at least seven patients, including
some infants. A court hearing in the case was canceled
Wednesday because Dr. Bradley had been placed on suicide
watch. . . . “We are acting as quickly as possible,” the
attorney general, Joseph R. Biden III, said Wednesday at a
news conference.
Cut the Power of the
Family Courts
by Phyllis Schlafly
12-22-09 --
Do you think judges should have the power to decide what
religion your children must belong to and which churches
they may be prohibited from attending? We have long
suspected that family courts are the most dictatorial and
biased of all U.S. courts, routinely depriving divorced
fathers of due process rights and authority over their own
children, but this December a Chicago judge went beyond the
pale. . . . Cook County Circuit Judge Edward Jordan issued a
restraining order to prohibit Joseph Reyes from taking his
3-year-old daughter to any non-Jewish religious activities
because the ex-wife argued that would contribute to "the
emotional detriment of the child." Mrs. Rebecca Reyes wants
to raise her daughter in the Jewish religion, and the judge
sided with the mother. . . . As Joseph Reyes' divorce
attorney, Joel Brodsky, said when he saw the judge's
restraining order: "I almost fell off my chair. I thought
maybe we were in Afghanistan and this was the Taliban." The
lawyer is appealing. . . . Doesn't the First Amendment
extend to fathers? Apparently not, if they are divorced.
This case sounds extreme, but it is a good illustration of
how family courts, the lowest in the judicial hierarchy,
have become the most dictatorial of all courts because of
the tremendous number of families and amounts of private
money they control and the lack of accountability for their
decisions. . . . In another divorce case this year, a family
court in New Hampshire (where the state motto is "Live Free
or Die") ordered 10-year-old Amanda Kurowski to quit being
homeschooled by her mother and instead to attend fifth grade
in the local public school. Judge Lucinda V. Sadler approved
the court-appointed expert's view that Amanda "appeared to
reflect her mother's rigidity on questions of faith" and
that Amanda "would be best served by exposure to multiple
points of view."
FLORIDA
Fla. Supreme Court Bans Shackles for Juveniles in Courtroom
Jordana
Mishory, Daily Business Review
12-21-09 --
The Florida Supreme Court has
banned the widespread practice of shackling juvenile defendants
in courtrooms, calling it "repugnant, degrading, humiliating
and contrary to the state's primary purposes of the juvenile justice
system." . . . In an unsigned 6-1 opinion, the court amended the
rules of judicial procedure to state a juvenile defendant cannot be
placed in handcuffs, chains, irons or straitjackets unless the court
finds it necessary in specific instances. . . . In courtrooms around
the state, children were being shackled by the wrists and ankles
with belly chains, chained to furniture or chained to each other,
the justices noted. The court suggested shackling may violate the
children's due process rights.
FLORIDA
Florida Supreme Court limits 'degrading' shackles
for juveniles
Florida's highest court will limit the use of handcuffs and shackles
on juveniles who appear in court.
By Carol
Marbin Miller, MiamiHerald.com
12-18-09 --
Calling the widespread shackling of juveniles in court ``repugnant,
degrading [and] humiliating,'' the Florida Supreme Court issued a
new rule Thursday that forbids the restraint of juvenile offenders
unless a judge finds that the youth is likely to be violent. . . .
In a lengthy amendment to the rules that govern Florida's
juvenile-court system, the state's highest court adopted the
recommendations of a national advocacy group, the National Juvenile
Defender Center, which argued that the wholesale shackling of
juveniles is contrary to the purpose of rehabilitating youths. . . .
The new rules reverse a long-standing practice in many courthouses
-- including Broward and Palm Beach counties -- of permitting
juvenile defendants to be handcuffed and leg-shackled for all court
appearances, regardless of whether they are believed to be
dangerous. . . . In Broward County, Public Defender Howard
Finkelstein said, juveniles facing a court appearance are
``paraded'' through the courthouse in shackles. . . . Thursday's
high-court decision comes at a time of uncertainty for
juvenile-justice systems in many states.
NEW
YORK
Monroe County judge rules
that DHS must pay foster care money for kinship care
Daniel Weaver, Albany CPS and Family Court Examiner
12-18-09 --
In a decision of November 25, 2009 but just released three
days ago, Monroe County Family Court Judge, Patricia E.
Gallagher, ruled that the Monroe County Department of Human
Services must pay foster care money to Loretta K., the
friend of the family of a neglected child, who took the
child in. According to the ruling, the Department of Human
Services must treat Ms. K. in a equal manner to the way it
treats a foster mother who is a stranger to the child. . . .
New York State's definition of kinship care not only
includes people related by blood who care for a neglected or
foster child, but also includes people who have a
significant or close relationship with the child, even if
they are not related by blood. . . . While foster care
support is automatically provided to strangers who foster
children, it is not automatically provided if for kinship
care. A relative has to request foster care money.
MASSACHUSETTS
Man accused of raping 2d child while free on bail
By John
R. Ellement and Andrew Ryan, Boston Globe Staff
12-14-09 --
A man accused of sexually assaulting a 3-year-old girl in Kingston
this weekend had been charged this summer with raping another child.
But Joseph Gardner, 26, had been released on $10,000 cash bail and
was free when he allegedly attacked the second victim on Friday,
according to police and court records. . . . Prosecutors had asked
that Gardner be held on bail of $150,000 to $200,000 after his
arrest on Aug. 22 on charges of daytime breaking and entering and
the rape of a 5-year-old girl, according to Bridget Norton
Middleton, a spokeswoman for the Plymouth District Attorney's
office. . . . But Judge Joseph M. Walker III ordered bail set at
$10,000, which Gardner posted on Oct. 8, court records show. On
Friday night, Gardner is accused of raping a 3-year-old child with
force and intimidating a witness.
NEW YORK
Paterson Admin. to Judges: Stop Sending Kids to State
Facilities
NBCNewYork.com obtains advance copy of state report
By
Melissa Russo, NBC New York
12-14-09 --
After repeated fits of rage at home a 16-year-old is about to head
upstate to what's been described as one of the most brutal juvenile
detention facilities in New York. . . . "I am a single mom. My son's
father is deceased so it's been hard for me. I depend on the state
to help me out and I feel like I haven't gotten anywhere," his
mother told NBCNewYork.com. . . . She says her attempts to get her
son counseling close to home failed. . . . "My son is an adolescent
he's going through puberty he's overall a good kid. He might be a
little misguided at this moment. I don't feel like sending him to a
secure locked facility is the type of situation that that's gonna be
helpful to any child." . . . What's remarkable is that the officials
running the state juvenile detention system agree children should
not be sent there because the system is failing and children are
regularly subjected to excessive physical force.
Lesbian awarded custody of Christian's only child
Decision sets up showdown
over claim from ex-partner
Posted: December 05, 2009
By Bob Unruh, © 2009 WorldNetDaily
12-5-09 --
A Vermont court ordered a Christian child taken away from
her mother and given to a lesbian ex-partner, setting up,
according to a lawyer for the Christian family, a dispute
that the U.S. Supreme Court likely will have to resolve. . .
. Mathew Staver, founder of
Liberty Counsel, told WND the recent order from
the Vermont judge that Lisa Miller turn over her young
daughter, Isabella, to the lesbian ex-partner, Janet
Jenkins, on New Year's Day is being appealed. . . . In the
interim, a separate court hearing on the dispute is
scheduled to be heard in a Virginia court during this coming
week. . . . "We're arguing that the state of Virginia cannot
enforce an out of state, Vermont, civil union because it's
contrary to Virginia law," Staver said. . . . Ultimately, he
said, the issue probably will have to be resolved by the
U.S. Supreme Court, because the case is being moved along
parallel tracks in both Vermont, where Jenkins lives, and
Virginia, where the Millers live.
MAINE
Task force outlines plan for transforming juvenile justice
By Judy
Harrison, Bangor Daily News Staff
12-4-09 --
Increasing the state’s high school graduation rate will decrease the
number of Maine’s children in the criminal justice system, and
offering more alternatives to incarceration will give juveniles in
that system a better chance of staying out of prison and succeeding
as adults, Maine Supreme Judicial Court Chief Justice Leigh I.
Saufley said Thursday. . . . “Maine cannot afford to lose one more
of its young people to prison and jails, to homelessness, to
hopelessness,” Saufley said at a press conference in her office in
Portland. “Maine’s response to juveniles in our communities is in
urgent need of improvement.” . . . Saufley, along with Peter
Pitegoff, dean of the University of Maine School of Law in Portland,
announced the recommendations of a 70-member task force that has
spent the past eight months strategizing on improving the options
for at-risk youth. The results will be discussed in detail today at
a forum called “Maine Rising: An Innovative Approach to Transforming
Juvenile Justice” at the Augusta Civic Center.
MINNESOTA
Judge: State can take, keep newborns' data
'Blood samples are biological, not genetic, information'
By Bob
Unruh, © 2009 WorldNetDaily
12-4-09 --
A judge in Minnesota has ruled the state can routinely collect,
analyze, store and retrieve biological samples that include DNA from
all newborns even though a state law specifically requires prior
written authorization. . . . The decision from Hennepin County
District Judge Marilyn Rosenbaum dismissed a case brought by members
of nine families who alleged the state was going beyond what it was
authorized to do. . . . Although not part of the lawsuit, Twila
Brase, president of
the Citizens' Council on Health Care, has been monitoring
the dispute since its beginning, battling the state Department of
Health, which reportedly has been taking and warehousing newborns'
genetic makeup for years but not following "written consent
requirements." . . . The group has cited a number of cases in which
the state's genetic privacy act law apparently was ignored, or there
was an attempt to ignore it.
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November 2009
ILLINOIS
Babysitter's Custody Win
May Be Short-Lived
Tresa Baldas, The National
Law Journal
11-30-09 --
Family law attorneys call it
a first: a babysitter winning custody of a child. Now the
mother's lawyer has won a rehearing -- just in time for the
holidays. . . . In an emergency hearing in a Chicago
courtroom on Nov. 24, the same judge who last month gave a
babysitter custody of a two-year-old boy vacated the
guardianship order at the request of the child's parents.
The toddler will stay with the babysitter pending a Jan. 20
status hearing, although he will spend Thanksgiving and
Christmas with his parents and grandmother, who will also
get weekly visits. . . . "I've been practicing law for 30
years, and I've never seen anything like this," said Jeffrey
Leving of the
Law Offices of Jeffrey M.
Leving in
Chicago, who represents the mother.
ALASKA
New fight develops over
rights of fetuses
Abortion Issue:
Lawsuit filed to keep initiative off the ballot.
By Sean Cockerham, The Anchorage Daily News
11-28-09 --
A ballot initiative that
sponsors hope will outlaw abortion in Alaska by declaring
fetuses to be "legal persons" appears headed for a court
fight. . . . It's questionable whether the initiative could
actually lead to abortion being illegal -- the state
attorney general issued an opinion that it wouldn't. But
opponents argue the measure is so broad it could have huge
consequences regardless of whether it halts any abortions,
ranging from women potentially sued following miscarriages
to a legal argument that fetuses should be receiving
Permanent Fund dividend checks. . . . "It is just insane,"
said Jeffrey Mittman, executive director of the Alaska Civil
Liberties Union.
NEW
HAMPSHIRE
Hearing for homeschooler forced
into gov't system
Judge: 'Lost opportunity'
if child's Christian views not challenged in public setting
By
Chelsea Schilling, © 2009 WorldNetDaily
11-24-09 --
The New Hampshire Supreme Court has agreed to hear the case of a
10-year-old homeschool girl who has been ordered into a
government-run school because she was too "vigorous" in defense of
her Christian faith. . . .
As WND reported,
a girl identified in court documents as "Amanda" had been described
as "well liked, social and interactive with her peers, academically
promising and intellectually at or superior to grade level." . . .
Nevertheless, a New Hampshire court official determined that she
would be better off in public school rather than continuing her
homeschool education. . . . The August decision from Marital Master
Michael Garner reasoned that Amanda's "vigorous defense of her
religious beliefs to [her] counselor suggests strongly that she has
not had the opportunity to seriously consider any other point of
view." . . . The recommendation was approved by Judge Lucinda V.
Sadler, but it is being challenged by attorneys with the
Alliance Defense Fund,
who said it was "a step too far" for any court. . . . The ADF filed
motions with the court on Aug. 24 seeking reconsideration of the
order and a stay of the decision sending the 10-year-old student in
government-run schools in Meredith, N.H. On Sept. 17, a lower-court
judge refused to reconsider or stay the order. . . . The
denial of the motions,
signed by Judge Sadler of the Family Division of the Judicial Court
for Belknap County in Laconia, states, "Amanda is at an age when it
can be expected that she would benefit from the social interaction
and problem solving she will find in public school, and granting a
stay would result in a lost opportunity for her."
PENNSYLVANIA
Ex-Pa. Judges in 'Kids for Cash' Scandal Win Partial Civil
Immunity
Leo Strupczewski, The Legal Intelligencer
11-23-09 --
Two former Luzerne County,
Pa., judges who are facing federal criminal charges have
been granted partial immunity in a civil suit brought by a
class of juveniles who claim their rights were violated in
the wake of the Luzerne County judicial scandal. . . .
Writing that judicial immunity does not operate on a
"sliding scale," U.S. District Judge A. Richard Caputo has
ruled, in Wallace, et al. v. Powell, et al., that Michael T.
Conahan and Mark A. Ciavarella Jr. are protected by immunity
from facing legal action for their courtroom acts. . . .
"The degree of corrupt behavior is not the touchstone of the
immunity doctrine's application," Caputo wrote. "The
doctrine holds that judges with bad intentions, as well as
those with good intentions, are immune from suit." The
ruling is a blow to the juveniles.
FLORIDA
Gov. Charlie Crist orders probe of juvenile justice chief
Florida launched an
investigation into the extensive taxpayer-funded travel of
the state's juvenile justice chief, Frank Peterman.
By Steve Bousquet and Lee Logan, Herald/Times Tallahassee
Bureau
11-20-09 --
Gov. Charlie Crist ordered an internal investigation and a
citizen lodged an ethics complaint Wednesday over the
extensive taxpayer-funded travel of Juvenile Justice
Secretary Frank Peterman between the state capital and
Tampa, near his family home. . . . Crist ordered his
inspector general, Melinda Miguel, to review Peterman's
travel after seeing a Times/Herald report that Peterman has
spent $44,000 in tax dollars on travel in less than two
years. Miguel's mission is to root out waste, fraud and
abuse in state government, Crist spokesman Sterling Ivey
said.
America's dead children and Child Protective Services
Lisa Nixon, Surry County CPS Examiner
11-11-09 --
The list is long and
heartbreaking, the children on it have been beaten, broken,
drowned, burned, strangled, starved or neglected, and all of
them are dead. Headlines have drawn attention to the cases
of some of them,
Danieal Kelly,
Erin Maxwell,
Kayla Allen,
and
Christopher Thomas,
but there are many more,
Phoenix Jordan
Cody-Parrish,
Brandon Williams,
Elizabeth Goodwin,
Logan Marr and
Alexis (Lexie)Agyepong-Grover,
just to name a few. . . . . The children on this list died
in very different settings; some died in their own homes,
some in foster care, while others were killed by their
adoptive parents. Yet, all of these dead, abused, children
had one thing in common, Child Protective Services. . . . .
Statistics /
Bill Bowen in his
short documentary film, Innocents Destroyed, states that,
"Over 1,000 children die of neglect or are tortured and
murdered each year, in the care of an entity where children
are up to 600% more likely to die a horrific death, CPS." .
. . . According to
Child Welfare Information
Gateway, "The
National Child abuse and Neglect Data System (NCANDS)
reported an estimated 1,760 child fatalities in 2007." All
of these deaths are attributed to child abuse or neglect.
VIRGINIA
State Supreme Court
censures Va. Beach judge
By Kathy Adams, The Virginian-Pilot
11-6-09 --
The state Supreme Court reprimanded a Virginia Beach
Juvenile and Domestic Relations District Court judge
Thursday for violating ethical conduct standards in a 2007
case. . . . The court censured Judge Ramona D. Taylor after
finding that she intentionally blocked a 15-year-old boy
from appealing her decision to detain him. Her actions
constituted "conduct prejudicial to the proper
administration of justice," Justice LeRoy F. Millette Jr.
wrote in the 53-page opinion. . . . Taylor declined to
comment, but her attorney, Kevin Martingayle, said they plan
to petition for a re hearing within 30 days. If that doesn't
go in Taylor's favor, she can appeal to the U.S. Supreme
Court. . . . "We're obviously disappointed with the majority
decision," Martin-gayle said. "We believe that it contains
some mistakes of law and fact."
MASSACHUSETTS
SJC rebukes state agency
and judge for emergency removal of newborn
By John R. Ellement, Boston Globe Staff
11-4-09 --
In a sharply worded rebuke, the state’s high court today
said that a judge and the Department of Children and
Families moved too fast to remove a newborn from a Western
Massachusetts mother – who had already lost custody of two
older children because they were not being properly cared
for. . . . In a unanimous ruling written by Chief Justice
Margaret H. Marshall, the Supreme Judicial Court said that
judges handling emergency custody cases must wipe from their
minds any information gleaned from other cases involving the
same mother or family. The girl was identified only as Zita.
. . . “It may be impossible to erase a judge's memory of the
prior case,’’ Marshall wrote. “But each party is entitled to
an impartial magistrate and a decision based on the evidence
presented in her case… Zita's removal by the Commonwealth
from her custodial parent implicates constitutional rights
of the highest order.’’
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October 2009
Most States Fail to
Adequately Protect the Legal Rights of Abused Children, New
Study Finds
Second Edition State-By-State
Report Card Shows Improving Grades in Some States; Most
Leave Children's Voices Muted in Legal Proceedings That
Decide Their Fate
PRNewswire-USNewswire via COMTEX/ --
Stronger State/Federal Laws
Needed
10-15-09 --
Most U.S. states do not adequately protect the rights of
abused and neglected children, leaving our most vulnerable
citizens exposed to the vagaries of the juvenile court
system without adequate legal representation, according to a
state-by-state study conducted by two national child
advocacy organizations. . . . The peer-reviewed study -- A
Child's Right to Counsel: A National Report Card on Legal
Representation for Abused and Neglected Children -- was
released today on Capitol Hill by First Star and the
Children's Advocacy Institute at the University of San Diego
School of Law (CAI). To view the full report, visit
www.firststar.org, or www.caichildlaw.org. . . . "The
federal government reported that nearly 800,000 children
were abused or neglected in 2007," said Amy Harfeld,
Executive Director of First Star. "In the current economic
recession, these children are suffering more than ever -
reports of child abuse have skyrocketed while resources to
help them have been placed in jeopardy. Most of these
children will go through court proceedings that will
determine their lives and futures. Yet while the state and
the allegedly abusive or neglectful parent stand in court
with attorneys by their sides, the children often stand
alone and silent. They are herded through the system without
a strong voice to advocate on their behalf. This is a
troubling double-standard."
CAI and First Star Release
(Oct. 15, 2009)
2nd Edition of Child's Right to Counsel
National Report Card
FLORIDA
Runaway Teen Must Return To Ohio
By Stephanie Coueignoux, Central Florida News 13
10-14-09 --
The case of Ohio runaway Rifqa Bary returned to court
Tuesday. A judge has ruled that the teen needs to return to
her home state. . . . Rifqa Bary said she ran from her
parents out of fear they would kill her because she
converted from Islam to Christianity. . . . It's a claim her
parents and their lawyer have repeatedly denied. . . . Rifqa
is currently in the custody of the Department Of Children
and Families. . . . Rifqa Bary will stay in Florida for at
least another week and a half. That's because the judge
says he needs to have a couple of documents in his hands
before he will let Bary go back to Ohio. . . . The main
document deals with the family's immigration records and the
question of whether the family is here in the United States
legally.
NEW YORK
Juvenile justice expert says judge children as children
By James
T. Mulder / The Post-Standard
"How
can we hold adolescents accountable as adults in adult courts
for not exercising a level of maturity that they are not
physically, emotionally, or intellectually expected to possess?
... America and its children deserve a system of justice that
not only holds children accountable for their behavior, but also
protects and nurtures those who can learn from their mistakes."
—From the Prologue
10-6-09 --
Treating children as adults in the court system is a bad policy that
is ruining youngsters’ lives and exacting a heavy economic toll on
society, according to juvenile justice expert
Michael A. Corriero. . . . Corriero, who served as a
state Supreme Court judge for 28 years and now runs
Big Brothers Big Sisters of New York City, was in
Syracuse today to speak at the
Salvation Army’s annual civic celebration luncheon in the
Oncenter. More than 500 people attended the event. . . . “You can’t
try kids as adults because they are not,” Corriero said in an
interview before the luncheon. “Locking kids up, which may appear to
be expedient, is not the answer.” . . . Corriero is a harsh critic
of
Juvenile Offender Act of 1978, which allows children as
young as 13 to be tried in adult court for crimes such as murder and
receive the same penalties as adults.
MISSOURI
Missouri ‘Judge’ Lets Admitted Child Molester off with Probation
By Bob
Ellis, Dakota Voice
 |
|
Judge John M. Torrence |
10-1-09 --
From Fox News comes a story on
another worthless judge. Granted, not all judges are this kind of
despicable scum, but far too many are, and they are the reason the
word “justice” is becoming a mockery of the actual concept in
America. . . . Jarred Elwood in Missouri plead guilty to molesting a
girl for 8 years beginning when she was only 6 years old. Elwood
plead guilty to charges of first-degree statutory sodomy, child
molestation, and enticement of a child. . . . “Judge” John Torrence
(I put quotes around the word “judge” because the title deserves
more respect than this man’s name can bring to it) let the molester
off with probation only. . . . Notice in the attempted interview
below, this creep won’t even bother to try and explain his
reprehensible actions. . . . This is the kind of trash we have
passing itself of as a “judge” in this country these days.

September 2009
ARKANSAS
If you have been unfairly treated by Arkansas Judge Joe
Griffin, CPS Watch needs your story
Daniel Weaver Albany CPS and
Family Court Examiner
9-25-09 --
If you have been or are being treated unfairly by Judge Joe
Griffin of Miller County Circuit Court, Juvenile Division in
Texarkana, Arkansas,
CPS Legal Watch would like to hear from you. . .
. CPS Legal Watch is currently involved in
defending the parents of children taken by the state
simply because they had an association with Tony Alamo
Christian Ministries, not because they have committed any
crimes. . . . You can contact CPS Legal Watch at
(772)341-4068 or (417) 294-9955. You can also email them at
tcpr@gate.net or cheryltbarnes@yahoo.com.
ARIZONA
Bath Time Photos Prompt
Child Porn Allegations
Arizona Couple Suing Wal-Mart
for Calling Cops Over Bath Time Photos
By Dan Przygoda, Sarah Netter & Lee Ferran, ABC News
9-21-09 --
For A.J. and Lisa Demaree, the photos they snapped of their
young daughters were innocent and sweet. . . . But after a
photo developer at
Wal-Mart
thought otherwise, the Demarees found themselves in a
yearlong battle to prove they were not child pornographers.
. . . "I don't' understand it at all," A.J. Demaree told "Good
Morning America" Monday. "Ninety-nine percent of the
families in America have these exact same photos." . . . The
eight photos in question were among a batch of 144 family
photos the Demarees had taken to their local Wal-Mart. The
developer alerted the police and the investigation into
child pornography began in earnest, even though the parents
maintained they were innocent bath time photos. . . . The
Peoria, Ariz., couple had their home searched by police and
worse, their children -- then ages 18 months, 4 and 5 --
were taken away from them for more than month. Their names
were placed on a sex offender registry for a time and Lisa
Demaree was suspended from her school job for a year. The
couple said they have spent $75,000 on legal bills.
Chinese babies stolen by
officials for foreign adoption
In some rural areas, instead
of levying fines for violations of China's child policies,
greedy officials took babies, which would each fetch $3,000
in adoption fees.
By Barbara Demick, Los Angeles Times
9-20-09 --
Reporting from Tianxi, China - The man from family planning
liked to prowl around the mountaintop village, looking for
diapers on clotheslines and listening for the cry of a
hungry newborn. One day in the spring of 2004, he presented
himself at Yang Shuiying's doorstep and commanded: "Bring
out the baby." . . . Yang wept and argued, but, alone with
her 4-month-old daughter, she was in no position to resist
the man every parent in Tianxi feared. . . . "I'm going to
sell the baby for foreign adoption. I can get a lot of money
for her," he told the sobbing mother as he drove her with
the baby to an orphanage in Zhenyuan, a nearby city in the
southern province of Guizhou. In return, he promised that
the family wouldn't have to pay fines for violating China's
one-child policy. . . . Then he warned her: "Don't tell
anyone about it." . . . For five years, she kept the
terrible secret. "I didn't understand that they didn't have
the right to take our babies," she said. . . . Since the
early 1990s, more than 80,000 Chinese children have been
adopted abroad, the majority to the United States. . . . The
conventional wisdom is that the babies, mostly girls, were
abandoned by their parents because of the traditional
preference for boys and China's restrictions on family size.
No doubt, that was the case for tens of thousands of the
girls.
OREGON
The child welfare system:
What we need isn't another study
by Timothy Travis, guest opinion
9-11-09 --
The state's proposed outside review of Oregon's foster care
system will not be helpful. Reviews, including mandatory
federal reviews, have been done. They all told us that we
have the same problems every other state has. There is
nothing new here to know. . . . The first step to improving
foster care outcomes is the realization that the "child
welfare system" is much larger than the state child welfare
agency -- the Department of Human Services. . . . The
department does not and cannot control all the agencies and
entities whose mission is to address and ameliorate child
abuse and neglect, or those entities that do not directly
identify as part of the child welfare system but whose
actions -- or inactions -- contribute as much to forging
outcomes as the efforts of those who do. . . . This is why,
when there is some spectacular failure of the child welfare
system, it's not fair that the bright light of TV news
should shine on only one part of that system: the Department
of Human Services. The agency takes the blame for the
inadequacies of the system as a whole. No measures the
department can take, on its own, will bring about
satisfactory improvement of outcomes.
TEXAS
Insult lands man in jail
Judge's sentencing in
out-of-court incident is questioned.
By Chuck Lindell, American-Statesman Staff
9-8-09 --
This summer, incensed by a ruling in a child-custody case
involving his granddaughter, 69-year-old Don Bandelman
followed the judge into a public courthouse restroom and
berated him as "a fool," court records show. . . . District
Judge Jack Robison, Bandelman said, angrily told him to
leave. . . . Then Robison did something more problematic,
raising questions about whether he abused his power as a
judge. Robison directed bailiffs to arrest Bandelman and
then sentenced the man to 30 days in jail for contempt of
court. . . . There was no hearing, no notice of charges and
no lawyer present for Bandelman, who was handcuffed and
taken to the Caldwell County Jail to serve his term in a
cell with 12 bunk beds and 23 far younger inmates. After the
first two nights of near-constant noise and
never-extinguished lights, the grandfather said, he was
physically wrecked and doubted he could survive another 28
days in captivity.
Controlling Children's
Minds
by Ken Klukowski, Townhall.com
9-5-09 --
Most people have now
heard that President Obama is going to address America’s
school children on September 8. He’ll be speaking to them
directly, without their parents there to serve as a filter.
. . .
Taken with an outrageous
situation unfolding in New Hampshire, where a home-schooling
mother has been ordered to put her daughter in public school
because the daughter is too outspoken in her Christian
beliefs, a terrifying truth emerges: If you can force a
child into government schools, you can control that child’s
mind. . . .
On Tuesday, around the nation,
millions of children will be in a setting where they’re
expected to accept what adults tell them, and where they are
required to obey. . .
. Many teachers will
carry out White House instructions (now officially modified)
to give writing topics to their students. The original
theme: How can I help President Obama? Children are also
encouraged to read books about Obama, and even
kindergarteners will be asked, “Why is it important that we
listen to the president?”
MINNESOTA
Who pays for the
lawyer? The
county does
Appeals Court rules that in
child protection cases, counties must pay for poor parents'
attorneys.
By Joy Powell, Star Tribune
9-1-09 --
Counties must pay for attorneys for poor parents in child
protection cases, the Minnesota Court of Appeals ruled on
Tuesday. . . . The decision grew out of a Rice County case
in which County Judge Thomas Neuville appointed a private
lawyer to represent a woman whose newborn baby was taken
away by the county. Neuville ordered the county to pay the
lawyer, but Rice County commissioners refused and challenged
the judge's order in the Court of Appeals. . . . Tuesday's
ruling was a victory for attorney Grant Sanders, who said he
is still owed money by the county for representing the
impoverished 19-year-old woman, who he helped regain custody
of her baby.
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August 2009
FLORIDA
Mom's Suit Claims Son
Voted out of Kindergarten
Travis Reed, The Associated Press
8-28-09 --
A woman who claims her 5-year-old was kicked out of his
kindergarten class after the teacher held a
"'Survivor'-style vote" among fellow students about his
disruptive behavior on Thursday sued the teacher, school
officials and others. . . . Melissa Barton said that on May
21, 2008, her son Alex was "forced to stand in front of his
peers and be told why 'they hated him,' with such comments
as (Alex) is 'disgusting' and 'annoying,' 'He eats crayons,'
'Lies on the floor,' 'He eats paper' and 'He eats his
boogers.'" . . . The boy didn't return to the class and
finished the year in homeschooling. . . . The complaint in
federal court in Florida's Southern District targets the St.
Lucie County School Board, teacher Wendy Portillo, the
principal and vice principal at Morningside Elementary in
Port St. Lucie, Superintendent Michael Lannon, the local
head of education for special needs and St. Lucie County
Classroom Teachers Association and Classified Unit. . . .
Alex Barton was diagnosed with a form of autism called
Asperger's syndrome after the incident, in which classmates
voted 14-2 against him. The lawsuit alleges the school
caused emotional distress and neglected Alex's equal
protection and
Americans with
Disabilities Act
rights.
NEW
HAMPSHIRE
Court orders Christian
child into government education
10-year-old's 'vigorous'
defense of her faith condemned by judge
By Bob Unruh, © 2009 WorldNetDaily
8-28-09 --
A 10-year-old homeschool girl described as "well liked,
social and interactive with her peers, academically
promising and intellectually at or superior to grade level"
has been told by a New Hampshire court official to attend a
government school because she was too "vigorous" in defense
of her Christian faith. . . . The decision from Marital
Master Michael Garner reasoned that the girl's "vigorous
defense of her religious beliefs to [her] counselor suggests
strongly that she has not had the opportunity to seriously
consider any other point of view." . . . The recommendation
was approved by Judge Lucinda V. Sadler, but it is being
challenged by attorneys with the
Alliance Defense Fund,
who said it was "a step too far" for any court. . . . The
ADF confirmed today it has filed motions with the court
seeking reconsideration of the order and a stay of the
decision sending the 10-year-old student in government-run
schools in Meredith, N.H.
FLORIDA
In Fla. Adoption Case,
State Argues Gays Prone to Mental Illness, Breakups
Jordana Mishory, Daily Business Review
8-27-09 --
Frank Martin Gill took in two young boys on a temporary
basis five years ago. Now, the North Miami, Fla., foster
father said he would be "absolutely devastated" if the state
removed his two foster children. . . . "Children need
permanency, and I feel strongly they need permanency with
our family," Gill told a horde of reporters, lawyers and
spectators Wednesday after his attorneys challenged the
constitutionality of a 1977 state law banning adoptions by
gay parents at a hearing before the 3rd District Court of
Appeal. . . . Gill, who is openly gay, attended the hourlong
appellate argument about the future of his foster sons. He
applied to adopt them in 2006. Miami-Dade Judge Cindy
Lederman
ruled for Gill last
November when
she found the law irrational. Whoever loses the appeal
before the 3rd DCA is expected to appeal to the Florida
Supreme Court.
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SOUTH
DAKOTA
Judge: SD Doctors Must
Say Abortion Ends Life
Associated Press, Newsmax.com
8-20-09 --
A federal judge has ruled that doctors in South Dakota must
tell women seeking abortions that the procedure terminates
the life of a human being. . . . U.S. District Judge Karen
Schreier (SHRY'-er) ruled Thursday on a lawsuit filed by
Planned Parenthood Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota
after an informed consent law passed in 2005 that requires
several disclosures. . . . She says though doctors must make
the human being disclosure, the term can be used in a
biological sense and not an ideological one.
Planned Parenthood's CEO
'thrilled' by ruling
Josh Verges • argusleader.com
8-20-09 --
Planned Parenthood’s CEO said she “couldn’t be happier” with
today’s rulings on South Dakota’s informed consent for
abortion law. . . . “We’re thrilled. It’s a major victory
for women in South Dakota and doctors who want to be free”
from having to make ideologically-charged statements, Sarah
Stoesz said. . . . Judge Karen Schreier’s ruling today means
doctors still must tell pregnant women that abortions
“terminate the life of a whole, separate, unique, living,
human being.” . . . But Schreier also struck down provisions
requiring doctors to tell women that abortion increases the
risk of suicide and suicide ideation and that women enjoy a
legally protected “relationship” with their unborn children.
. . . “On balance, we see this as a significant victory,”
Stoesz said.
OKLAHOMA
Law Requiring Ultrasounds
for Abortions Is Struck Down
Oklahoma Judge Says Measure
Violates State Constitution
By Kari Lydersen, Washington Post Staff Writer
8-19-09 --
An Oklahoma judge decided Tuesday that doctors do not need
to perform ultrasounds and offer women detailed information
about the tests before performing abortions, striking down
the strictest such law in the country. . . . Oklahoma County
District Judge Vicki L. Robertson ruled that the 2008 law,
which included other abortion-related provisions, violated a
state constitutional provision that requires laws to address
only one subject. . . . Thirteen states regulate the
provision of ultrasounds by abortion providers, according to
the Guttmacher Institute, a reproductive-health think tank.
The provisions have been pushed by abortion opponents as a
means of deterring women from having the procedures.
DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
Lawyers for D.C. special-needs kids
bringing city back to court
By: Bill Myers, Washington Examiner Staff Writer
8-12-09 --Lawyers
for thousands of special-needs children in the District of
Columbia are taking the city back to court, alleging the
Fenty administration is routinely violating their federal
rights to a quality education. . . . In a letter to D.C.
Attorney General Peter Nickles, the lawyers say they're
going to ask U.S. Judge Paul Friedman to sanction the city
for routinely violating federal deadlines on testing,
treating and caring for children in the $300 million special
education system. . . . Mayor Adrian Fenty has said publicly
that he would risk "everything" to fix the city's $1 billion
school system. He has laid his bet on schools Chancellor
Michelle Rhee and her pledge to bring accountability to the
schools.
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MARYLAND
Judge says he intends to approve foster care agreement
But will wait to weigh effect
of Supreme Court case
By Julie Bykowicz | baltsun.com
8-6-09 --
A federal judge said Wednesday that he intends to approve a
carefully constructed settlement agreement in L.J. v.
Massinga, a decades-old case over the treatment of Baltimore
foster children, but he delayed his decision to consider the
state's new argument that the long-standing court oversight
should end altogether. . . . U.S. District Judge J.
Frederick Motz called the exit strategy, crafted over eight
months by Department of Human Resources officials, state
attorneys and lawyers representing the city's more than
5,000 foster children, "not only fair but commendable." . .
. Under the agreement, to come out of federal oversight, the
state would have to document improvements to the city's
child welfare system for 18 months, something the children's
attorneys say provides a vital check on a long-dysfunctional
department. . . . But a U.S. Supreme Court opinion issued
June 25 indicates that a federal court might not have
jurisdiction to approve the new exit strategy - or enforce
the 1988 consent decree, according to lawyers for the
Maryland Attorney General's Office.
MARYLAND
Judge says he intends to approve foster care agreement
But will wait to weigh effect
of Supreme Court case
By Julie Bykowicz | baltsun.com
August 6, 2009
8-6-09 --
A federal judge said Wednesday that he intends to approve a
carefully constructed settlement agreement in L.J. v.
Massinga, a decades-old case over the treatment of Baltimore
foster children, but he delayed his decision to consider the
state's new argument that the long-standing court oversight
should end altogether. . . . U.S. District Judge J.
Frederick Motz called the exit strategy, crafted over eight
months by Department of Human Resources officials, state
attorneys and lawyers representing the city's more than
5,000 foster children, "not only fair but commendable." . .
. Under the agreement, to come out of federal oversight, the
state would have to document improvements to the city's
child welfare system for 18 months, something the children's
attorneys say provides a vital check on a long-dysfunctional
department. . . . But a U.S. Supreme Court opinion issued
June 25 indicates that a federal court might not have
jurisdiction to approve the new exit strategy - or enforce
the 1988 consent decree, according to lawyers for the
Maryland Attorney General's Office.
FEDERAL COURTS
3rd Circuit Upholds 10-Year Internet Ban in Child Porn Case
Shannon P. Duffy, The Legal Intelligencer
8-4-09 --
A man who was indicted as the leader of a child pornography
ring in Delaware has lost an appeal that challenged both his
20-year prison term and a ban on using the Internet for
another decade after he is released. . . . Paul Thielemann,
26, pleaded guilty to one count of receiving child
pornography and claimed in the appeal that his punishment
was premised on conduct for which he was never formally
charged -- encouraging others to commit acts of child
molestation. . . . The appellate panel flatly rejected
Thielemann's challenge to the length of his prison term,
concluding that it was within the range suggested by the
sentencing guidelines and not out of line with the sentences
imposed on other leading members of the ring. . . . But the
decision in United States v. Thielemann is legally
significant because it helps define a still emerging area of
the law that trial judges have found perplexing: how far
judges can go in crafting the "conditions of release" that
restrict a criminal defendant's behavior in the period just
after a prison term.
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July 2009
NEW
YORK
NY Lawyer Shirked Obligations to 11-Year-Old Client
By Joel Stashenko | New York Law Journal | New York Lawyer
7-31-09 --
A state appeals court yesterday ordered that an attorney be
removed as assigned appellate counsel to an 11-year-old in a
paternity and visitation case because of the lawyer's
unfamiliarity with the youth's wishes. . . . Contrary to
state law, court administrative rules and legal canons
pertaining to attorneys for the child, J. Mark McQuerrey
professed he did not know his client's position in the
Broome County Family Court case when it was argued on appeal
in April before the Appellate Division, Third Department, in
Albany, a panel ruled yesterday in Matter of Mark T. v.
Joyanna U., 504630. . . . The child "was, at the least,
entitled to consult with and be counseled by his assigned
attorney, to have the appellate process explained, to have
his questions answered, to have the opportunity to
articulate a position which, with the passage of time, may
have changed, and to explore whether to seek an extension of
time within which to bring his own appeal of Family Court's
order," Justice Bernard J. Malone Jr. wrote for the 5-0
panel. "Likewise the child was entitled to be appraised of
the progress of the proceedings throughout. It appears that
none of these services was provided to the child."
NEW
JERSEY
Justices clarify requirements for juveniles' representation
Mary Fuchs, Star-Ledger Staff
7-30-09 --
The state Supreme Court ruled yesterday that those charged
as juveniles must have an attorney present at "every
critical stage" of their criminal proceedings -- including
when they are asked to waive their Miranda rights. . . . The
5-2 ruling clarifies when a minor is required by law to have
a lawyer present to protect their interests. . . . "Under
the Juvenile Justice Code, a juvenile is entitled to have
counsel at every critical stage of the proceeding, which in
the opinion of the court may result in the institutional
commitment of the juvenile," Justice John Wallace Jr. wrote
for the court. . . . Laura Cohen, a clinical law professor
at Rutgers School of Law-Newark, said some counties with
smaller public defender offices and juvenile courts
frequently allowed juveniles to appear for their first
hearing without a lawyer present.
SOUTH
CAROLINA
S.C. case looks on child obesity as child abuse. But is it?
By Ron Barnett, USA TODAY
7-23-09 --
Jerri Gray was doing all she could to help her son lose
weight, her attorney says. But something had gone terribly
wrong for the boy to hit the 555-pound mark by age 14. . . .
Authorities in South Carolina say that what went wrong was
Gray's care and feeding of her son, Alexander Draper. Gray,
49, of Travelers Rest, S.C., was arrested in June and
charged with criminal neglect. Alexander is now in foster
care. . . . The case has attracted national attention. With
childhood obesity on the rise across the USA, according to
the
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention,
Gray's attorney says it could open the door to more criminal
action against parents whose children have become
dangerously overweight. . . . "If she's found guilty on
those criminal charges, you have set a precedent that opens
Pandora's box," Grant Varner says. "Where do you go next?" .
. . State courts in Texas,
Pennsylvania, New York, New Mexico, Indiana
and California have grappled with the question in recent
years, according to a 2008 report published by the Child
Welfare League of America.
June 2009
ARIZONA
Police: Child Porn Linked To Attorney
Flash Drive Found In Busy
Parking Lot
Omadelle Nelson, Reporter, KPHO.com
6-27-09 --
A Valley attorney was booked on suspicion of having child
pornography on his computer. . . . David William Curtis Jr.,
63, faces 10 counts of sexual exploitation of a minor, the
maximum amount of charges a person can face for crime, said
a Tempe police spokesman. . . . Police said an employee of
Tempe Marketplace found a computer flash drive in a parking
lot south of Harkins Theater at Tempe Marketplace. . . .
Police said after the employee found the device, he took it
home and put it in his computer and found several files with
"images that depict the sexual exploitation of a minor." . .
. “I’m Mr. Curtis,” replied Curtis Jr.'s father when he
answered to the door to their Phoenix home. “I have nothing
to say to you. Goodbye.”
ARIZONA
The People Speak: Dismiss judge in child rape case
from bench
Sharon Tidwell, Council Hill / published in Muskogee Daily
Phoenix
6-27-09 --
I couldn’t disagree more with the opinion stated in the June
21 article of “Editorially speaking” regarding the Pittsburg
County child rape case. The punishment Judge Bartheld
imposed on David Earls is shameful. It is high time that
people (yes, even judges) are held accountable for their
actions. . . . Regardless of who initiates the action of
removing Bartheld, public opinion is clear and stands firmly
on the side of right. I applaud the resolution Reps. Mike
Ritze and Mike Reynolds have submitted. These gentlemen are
elected officials who are speaking for and acting on my
behalf. Since I don’t have the resources to voice my
concerns to the Council on Judicial Complaints, I am
thankful they are making an effort to correct what is wrong
with our society and judicial system. . . . Why not let of
the people, for the people, and by the people work for a
change?
TEXAS
Sweet Victory:
Texas Governor Vetos “Take Away Your Child Act”
By Sarah Foster, © 2009 NewsWithViews.com
6-24-09 --
In a move that has parents and children’s rights advocates
cheering, Texas Gov. Rick Perry on Friday vetoed
Senate Bill 1440, a contentious measure designed
to make it easier for the state
Department of Family and Protective Services (DFPS)
to remove children forcibly from their homes for
interrogation and examination during investigations of
alleged child abuse or neglect. . . . In his
veto statement the governor said the bill
“overreaches and may not give due consideration to the
Fourth Amendment rights of a parent or guardian.” . . . The
governor’s action was the result of an intense veto campaign
spearheaded by the
Parent Guidance Center, an Austin-based
grassroots organization that helps low- and middle-income
families caught in the snares of the state’s child welfare
and protection systems. . . . Launched by PGC co-founders
Johana Scot and her sister Judy Powell as soon as the bill
was passed on May 30, the three-week campaign mobilized an
opposition that cut across political lines, generating
17,373 letters and phone calls to the governor’s office from
concerned Texans and their sympathizers across the country,
according to spokeswoman Allison Castle.
UNITED STATES SUPREME COURT
Supreme Court Sides With Student's Family in Special Ed
Funding Case
Zach Lowe, The American Lawyer
6-23-09 --
Experts are already debating the impact of Monday's U.S.
Supreme Court ruling in a case pitting the family of a
special needs high school student (and his legal team at
Bingham McCutchen) against the school district
that had been ordered to pay the student's hefty private
school tuition (and the district's lawyers at
Sidley Austin). . . . Educators and public school
officials everywhere were watching the case, and they had
claimed that millions -- maybe hundreds of millions -- of
public money was at stake. If that's so, public officials
might be cringing today, because the Court sided, 6-3, with
the student's family and Bingham. . . . The ruling upholds a
decision from the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals
mandating that the school district pay $65,000 for the boy's
private school tuition.
MICHIGAN
Michigan Class Action Settlement on Autism Treatment Hailed
as Landmark Case
Tresa Baldas, The National Law Journal
6-23-09 --
In what plaintiffs lawyers are calling a landmark autism
case, a Michigan insurance company has
agreed to reimburse at least 100 families for costs
involving treatments for their autistic children. . . . The
$1 million class action settlement from Blue Cross Blue
Shield of Michigan comes amid a legislative wave in which a
growing number of a states are passing laws that require
insurance companies to pay for autism treatments and
screenings. To date, 13 states have such laws, the most
recent being Connecticut,
Colorado and Nevada.
New Jersey is currently considering an autism bill,
and Pennsylvania's law goes into effect July 1. . . . The June 17 Michigan settlement,
meanwhile, has autism advocates hopeful that insurance
companies will stop claiming that behavioral therapy for
autistic children is experimental, and start paying for it.
OKLAHOMA
Our Opinion: Despicable human being
Judge's short sentence for
child rapist causes furor
Times Record News Editorial
6-21-09 --
David Harold Earls is a sick
individual. . . . That much is indisputable fact. . . .
He’ll even tell you so, in so many words. . . . Instead of
pleading innocent to rape, charges that lacked substantial
testimony and forensic evidence, Earls pleaded no contest.
By giving up the fight, he painted himself as a menace. . .
. The 64-year-old McAlester, Okla., man pleaded no contest
in May to first-degree rape and forcible sodomy of a
4-year-old, a no-doubt traumatized little girl, now 5, who
at one point became so upset on the witness stand that she
fled the room and ran down the hallway, away from this harsh
reality. . . . Can you blame her? . . . But because her
testimony, as described by prosecutors, included
“contradictory statements” during pretrial hearings, a plea
bargain was made. Prosecutors thought Earls could get five
years to life for such a despicable act against a child. . .
. He faced decades behind bars, but in an outrageous turn of
events, Earls struck a deal that whittled down his 20-year
sentence to simply one year in prison. . . . Charges that he
raped the little girl’s older brother, 5 years old at the
time, were dropped because the youngster changed his story
and said he couldn’t recall the incident. . . . Forensic
evidence, according to several wire reports, revealed the
girl had been assaulted, but none pointed to Earls’
involvement. . . . One year in jail — all because a little
girl was too scared to talk about what had happened to her.
. . . Again, can you blame her?
Daughter Says Oklahoma Rapist Deserves Life Sentence
By Jennifer Loren, The News On 6
6-20-09 --
The daughter of a convicted
rapist speaks out, saying he deserves more than one year
behind bars. She says her father deserves a life sentence.
David Earls' rape conviction made national headlines this
month after a Pittsburg County judge sentenced him to only
one year in prison. . . . His own daughter says Earls is a
monster and needs to be put away forever. . . . David Harold
Earls is a convicted rapist. Earlier this month, he pleaded
no contest to charges he raped and sodomized a 5-year-old
girl. Pittsburg County District Judge Thomas Bartheld
accepted a plea deal of 20 years in prison, 19 of them
suspended, meaning Earls will only spend one year in prison.
. . . The story infuriated cable news audiences across the
country and led some state legislators to call for the judge
to be kicked off the bench. . . . "In Oklahoma, when
somebody commits this crime on a 5 or 6 year old and only
give them a year, it really needs to be looked into. What
are we doing in our court system?" said Representative Mike
Ritze of Broken Arrow. . . . Now, Earls own daughter,
Denise, is calling for action. . . . "My father is a monster
and he needs to stay, he needs to stay in prison," said
Denise Earls. . . . Denise Earls says when she was young
Earls raped her. She hoped he was finally going to get the
punishment he deserved.
GEORGIA
Ga. Supreme Court overturns ban on kids visiting father’s
gay friends
Justices also reverse 10-year
sentence of female teacher who had sex with former student
By: Matt Schafer. Sovo.com
6-19-09 --
In two separate decisions handed down this week, the Supreme
Court of Georgia ruled a gay father does not have to shield
his children from his gay friends and reversed a ruling that
sentenced a female teacher to 10 years in prison for having
an affair with a female 16-year-old former student. . . .
The state Supreme Court chastised a ruling made by a Fayette
County Superior Court judge in a divorce case for barring a
gay man from allowing any of his gay or lesbian friends near
his children. In the unanimous opinion, the justices said
Fayette County Superior Court Judge Christopher Edwards
abused his judicial discretion when he ordered that gay
father Eric Mongerson was prohibited from allowing his
children to be in contact with gay friends. . . . Edwards is
one of several nominees for the seat on the high court that
will be left open when Chief Justice Leah Ward Sears retires
at the end of June. . . . The court also reversed the
conviction of Melissa Lee Chase, who was sentenced to 10
years in prison and five years probation for having a sexual
relationship with a 16-year-old former student. . . . The
rulings were among a batch of decisions released on June 15.
GEORGIA
Court throws out ban on exposing children to gays
By Bill Rankin, The Atlanta
Journal-Constitution
6-15-09 --
The Georgia Supreme Court on Monday threw out a judge’s
order that prohibited children in a divorce case from having
any contact with their father’s gay and lesbian friends. . .
. The ruling was hailed by gay rights groups who said the
decision focuses on the needs of children instead of
perpetuating a stigma on the basis of sexual orientation. .
. . The state high court’s decision overturned Fayette
County Superior Court Judge Christopher Edwards’ blanket
prohibition against exposing the children to their father’s
gay partners and friends. . . . “Such an arbitrary
classification based on sexual orientation flies in the face
of our public policy that encourages divorced parents to
participate in the raising of their children,” Justice
Robert Benham wrote. /
Decision in Mongerson v. Mongerson
CALIFORNIA
As L.A. County spun its wheels, children died
Innocents Betrayed
By Garrett Therolf, Los
Angeles Times
6-14-09 --
Sarah Chavez was returned to the home of her great-aunt and
great-uncle in Alhambra despite having shown signs of abuse.
She later died, primarily from a severed lower intestine,
caused by a blow to her abdomen, the coroner found. She had
just turned 2. The uncle was later convicted of involuntary
manslaughter and child abuse. The aunt pleaded no contest to
being an accessory. . . . Agencies have long failed to share
information that could save lives. Repeatedly, ghastly cases
shock officials, who call for action, which eventually
fizzles. An effective database remains elusive. . . . By the
time he was rescued last year, the 5-year-old South Los
Angeles boy was so malnourished his kidneys were failing.
His hands were so badly burned he could barely open them. .
. . Child welfare officials traced his history, trying to
make sense of what had happened. According to documents
obtained by The Times, they learned that eight separate
agencies in Los Angeles County had pieces of information on
the household: . . . One had evidence that the mother and
her girlfriend were abused and neglected as children. Others
knew both had committed violent crimes. Still others were
aware that both women had been ordered into mental health
treatment and that the sickly boy had missed appointments
with county doctors. . . . Over the years, these agencies
had come into contact with the boy or his caregivers 108
times -- yet no one had pieced together how much danger the
child was in. Indeed, county social workers had closed a
2005 child abuse investigation because the evidence was
"inconclusive." They might never have stepped in but for a
concerned stranger who delivered the child into their hands.
WISCONSIN
Child-care providers with criminal past getting licenses,
state funds
Cashing in on Kids | A
Journal Sentinel Watchdog Report
By Raquel Rutledge of the
Journal Sentinel
|

The Journal Sentinel spent
four months investigating the $340 million
taxpayer-financed child-care system known as
Wisconsin Shares and uncovered a trail of phony
companies, fake reports and shoddy oversight.
Read the series and ongoing coverage |
6-13-09 --
A couple of days before Thanksgiving in 1996, Lisa Johnson
took her 12-year-old foster daughter to the basement, pulled
out an extension cord and whipped her with it, repeatedly. .
. . Johnson turned on some music and cranked up the volume
to drown out the girl's cries. Still, other foster children
in the house later told Milwaukee police that they could
hear the girl beg for mercy. . . . "I swear to God, Mama, I
will be good," the children reported hearing. . . . Good -
meaning she would never chew gum in school again. . . .
Johnson, now 42, was charged with felony child abuse and in
1997 pleaded guilty to battery and domestic abuse. Her
foster license was revoked. . . . Yet three years later, she
opened a certified day care center in Milwaukee County
called Planting Seeds. . . . And as of April 2009, she had
taken in more than $430,000 from the taxpayer-supported
Wisconsin Shares child-care program, while running a center
with numerous violations and recurring problems. . . .
Johnson's story isn't that unusual. The Journal Sentinel
found that child abusers and people who have committed other
serious crimes are becoming licensed child-care providers
and are earning hundreds of thousands of dollars through the
Wisconsin Shares system. Nearly 500 child-care providers in
Wisconsin with criminal records have received funding from
the state in the first half of 2009 alone, according to a
computer analysis by the Journal Sentinel. . . . The $350
million-a-year program subsidizes child-care costs for
roughly 35,000 low-income working families. But the system
has been easily scammed by parents and providers. . . . In
addition to posing a potential safety risk to the state's
neediest children, some criminals appear to be conning the
child-care system, doctoring attendance records, the Journal
Sentinel found.
MASSACHUSETTS
Kids attend prom from 'sexual hell'
You won't believe how
children as young as 12 years old partied
By Chelsea Schilling, © 2009 WorldNetDaily
Note: This story contains
material that readers might consider graphic and offensive.
6-12-09 --
Family advocates are outraged by a prom held at Boston City
Hall that was open to children apparently as young as 12
featuring crossdressers, homosexual heavy petting, suspected
drug use and a leather-clad doorman who teaches sexual
bondage classes. . . . Children from middle schools and high
schools across Massachusetts on May 9 attended a Youth Pride
Day event ending with a prom inside of Boston City Hall
sponsored by the
Boston Alliance of Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender
Youth, or BAGLY, a group seated on the Massachusetts
Commission for GLBT Youth. . . .
Boston Mayor Thomas Menino issued a proclamation
welcoming homosexual and transgender youth to the
celebration. A man in drag introduced a homosexual activist
from Menino's office to read the letter. A video of that
proclamation is below. . . .
MassResistance, an organization that describes
itself as a pro-family action center, sent a 20-year-old
college student named Max to the prom to take pictures and
learn more about what Massachusetts children were doing
there. . . . Brian Camenker of MassResistance said Max was
astonished by the number of children who appeared to be
between 12 and 14 years old. . . . "They look pretty darn
young," Camenker told WND. "He said there were a lot of
middle school kids there. It really bothered him." . . . The
day's events began with a transgender Elvis and a parade.
Attendees were given condoms and pro-homosexual material
such as a bookmark for kids on how to get involved with
several homosexual groups and "Transgender Rights Now"
stickers. Then many children attended the prom that evening
at City Hall.
NEW
JERSEY
N.J. justices uphold law in child sex abuse cases
Emotional effects key to
timing of lawsuits
By Mary Fuchs, Statehouse Bureau
6-12-09 --
The state's highest court yesterday upheld a statute of
limitations law that determines when victims of childhood
sexual abuse can bring charges against their alleged
abusers. . . . Advocates for sex abuse victims lauded the
decision, saying the state Supreme Court was lending its
authority to a law they say was loosely interpreted by lower
court judges. . . . "It's a game-changer," said Stephen
Rubino, a Margate lawyer who has represented victims in
clergy sex scandals. . . . The Child Sexual Abuse Act,
enacted in 1992, gives victims two years to sue the accused
offender once they have realized the emotional and
psychological effects of the abuse. But Rubino said courts
often misinterpreted the law and threw out valid cases of
sexual abuse. . . . "Trial courts routinely misunderstood
the law. The test for most courts was, 'Do you remember the
abuse,'" said Rubino. Remembering the abuse is not enough to
show a victim completely understands the extent of the
injuries caused by it, Rubino said.
GEORGIA
Ga. Lawyers Pursue Family Values Vision With Abortion Case
State parental notification
law at issue in case of minor who had abortion
Andy Peters, Fulton County Daily Report
6-8-09 --
Attorneys S. Fenn Little Jr. and Jonathan D. Crumly earn
most of their money from construction law and criminal
defense cases. But their passion is pressing litigation to
protect religious freedom and their view of family values. .
. . The two are pursuing litigation against an Atlanta-area
abortion clinic that has gained nationwide attention among
groups opposed to legal abortion. The attorneys also have
been promised funding help from a conservative legal action
organization. The case allows the courts an opportunity to
clarify how diligent health care providers must be in
complying with a state law that requires parental
notification -- but not permission -- when a minor requests
an abortion.
WEST
VIRGINIA
W.Va. court sides with gay couple in custody case
Tim Huber, Associated Press Writer, Daily Mail
6-5-09 --
The West Virginia Supreme Court ruled Friday that a gay
couple should have custody of an 18-month old foster child,
overturning a judge's order that the girl should be placed
with a heterosexual couple who might adopt her. . . . In an
unsigned opinion issued Friday, the court barred enforcing
Fayette County Circuit Judge Paul Blake Jr.'s order that the
girl should be taken away from Kathryn Kutil and Cheryl
Hess. The girl has remained in the couple's custody
throughout the court proceedings. . . . The court noted
there was no reason to believe the girl wasn't thriving with
Hess and Kutil, and said there was no legal reason to take
her away from the couple. . . . "As a matter of fact, the
court was never presented with any actual evaluation of the
home or evidence of the quality of the relationship" the
girl had with Kutil and Hess, the justices said. "All
indications thus far are that (the girl) has formed a close
emotional bond and nurturing relationship with her foster
parents, which can not be trivialized or ignored."
FEDERAL COURTS
3rd Circuit: Parent Can't Read Bible to Son's Public School
Class
Shannon P. Duffy, The Legal Intelligencer
6-2-09 --
In the court battles over prayer in school, the cutting-edge
cases are increasingly coming from the kindergarten
classrooms. . . . The latest such case,
Busch v. Marple Newtown School District,
attracted six friend-of-the-court briefs when it went before
the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals and resulted in a
48-page decision with all three judges on the panel weighing
in. . . . Voting 2-1, the court rejected the claims of the
mother of a kindergarten student who said public school
officials violated her First Amendment rights when they
prohibited her from reading verses from the Bible -- which
she said was her son Wesley's favorite book -- during a
program called "All About Me" week. . . . Writing for the
court, 3rd Circuit Chief Judge Anthony J. Scirica said
"parents of public school kindergarten students may
reasonably expect their children will not become captive
audiences to an adult's reading of religious texts."
CALIFORNIA
Children to Learn about Penguin with Two Daddies
Posted By Bobby Eberle, GOPUSA
6-2-09 --
Think back to when you were in elementary school. Those
first years of education were (at least for me) so much fun.
There was the thrill of math (don't laugh), the excitement
of making new projects, and the joy of reading. These
fundamentally important years were spent on... the
fundamentals. They were done in a way that 6 to 11 year olds
could understand, but the focus was clear: build a base of
learning in math, reading, science, history, and more. . . .
My how times have changed. Now, in addition to teaching the
basics (in a watered-down way) and then letting the kids
burn off energy by playing tag (oops... we can't do that
anymore), the children are being exposed to the liberal
ideology of gay, lesbian, and transgender issues. It appears
that every lifestyle is not only accepted, but embraced...
that is, unless you believe in traditional, religious
definitions. . . . As noted in a story on
CNSNews.com, "The Alameda, Calif., public schools
are adopting a curriculum that will require first graders to
read literature that equates same-sex unions with a family
made up of a mother, father and child." . . . Members of the
Alameda United School District (AUSD) school board voted 3
to 2 last week to implement the "Safe Schools" curriculum,
which supporters say is aimed at stopping anti-homosexual
bullying in schools. . . . The program includes between one
and four lessons each year between grades 1 and 5 to
introduce students to "LGBT" (lesbian, gay, bisexual, and
transsexual) issues. . . . There are a number of problems
here, and they speak to the liberal mindset and the problems
our country is facing. The overall issue of whether you
believe that gay marriage is right or wrong is not even one
of the issues to which I am referring. That can be left for
another day.
|

ParentStock 2009 - A simultaneous, nationwide
celebration of Faith, Family & Fun, with music,
speakers, and so much more, centered around the
official [36 USC § 135] federal holiday of
Parents Day, Sunday, July 26th
Sponsored by the faithful families of
United Civil Rights Councils of America
Similar to the "Tea Parties" - but even
better, all as is provided by
Federal Law - every single city,
town, village and hamlet, all across America,
should take full advantage of the golden
opportunity to have their own local free Parents
Day celebration, by simply using
the ready materials, easy 1-2-3
instructions, and contact information
provided.
Are you a REAL go-getter for better Family
Values? Then, you should be listed as the local
Coordinator for the ParentStock 2009 event in
your area. Please see the comprehensive USA list
of County Seats linked below, and check if your
faithful service is needed. If so, please do not
hesitate to submit your immediate request, by
clicking through to
your respective UCRCoA Regional Membership
Director, to let her know today, or, by
emailing your details to
events@parentstock2009.com
Click here to see the USA Master ParentStock
2009
Event Locations spreadsheet
|
May 2009
FLORIDA
Court: Fla. must recognize states' gay adoptions
The Associated Press, The Palm Beach Post
5-13-09 --
Florida must recognize gay couples' adoptions that were
granted in other states even though its laws bar granting
such adoptions, a state appeals court ruled Wednesday. . . .
A trial court erred when it wouldn't recognize a former
lesbian couple's adoptions that had been completed when the
women lived in Washington state, the 2nd District Court of
Appeal ruled unanimously. Florida is the only state that
prohibits all gays from adopting, but the judges said the
U.S. Constitution requires it to give "full faith and
credit" to the actions of other states. . . . While living
as a couple in Seattle, Kimberly Ryan and Lara Embry each
gave birth to one child. Each then adopted the other's child
as the second parent. They moved to Sarasota and then split
up, originally agreeing to share custody. . . . Ryan then
became engaged to a man and cut off contact between her
biological child and Embry, saying that under her new
Christian beliefs she didn't think the relationship was good
for the child. Embry sued for custody.
NEW
MEXICO
Former Santa Fe judge jailed over child support
Associated Press NewsWest9.com
5-9-09 --
Former Santa Fe Municipal Judge Tom Fiorina is in jail for
not paying child support of $13,500. . . . State District
Judge Stephen Pfeffer ordered the 70-year-old Fiorina to be
jailed for up to three months. No bail is set on the civil
contempt order. . . . Fiorina was not available for comment.
. . . As Santa Fe's municipal judge for 13 years, Fiorina
was known for dismissing parking tickets for those who
donated turkeys and other foods for distribution to the
needy at Thanksgiving.
NEW
YORK
Kaye Scholer Partner Says She Was Wrong to Leave Kids on
Curb
Jim Fitzgerald, The Associated Press
5-8-09 --
The New York suburban mother who ordered her bickering
daughters out of her car and drove off without them said
Thursday that she made a mistake. A charge against her is
likely to be dismissed. . . . Madlyn Primoff, 45,
a partner in Manhattan law firm Kaye Scholer, had
touched off a national debate, with many people calling her
irresponsible but admitting they've been tempted to do the
same. . . . She discussed her actions for the first time
after a judge said he would dismiss
the child-endangerment charge against her in six
months if she stayed out of trouble. . . . "Clearly, I made
a mistake," Primoff said outside court, her husband Richard
standing beside her. "But I truly love our children and I
know that I am a good parent."
PENNSYLVANIA
PA Child Care's Lawyers Say Payoffs to Former Judges Were
for Case Fixing
Leo Strupczewski and Hank Grezlak, The Legal Intelligencer
5-5-09 --
In a potentially explosive document filed Monday, the
attorneys for
PA Child Care and
Western PA Child Care claim that money paid to
two former Luzerne County, Pa., judges was not a "kids for
cash" arrangement, but was part of a corrupt courthouse
system that included fixing civil cases. . . . The
attorneys, who also represent Gregory Zappala and the
juvenile detention facilities, allege that
former Luzerne County President Judges Mark A. Ciavarella
Jr. and Michael T. Conahan Jr. were paid more than
$2.6 million for "favorable panels or results in automobile
arbitration cases or other civil cases, and not for
adjudication and commitment of the delinquents." . . . The
child-care provider defendants in the case deny all
knowledge of any alleged kickback scheme. . . . They claimed
the "information relevant to this belief … is in the control
of" the U.S. attorney for the Middle District of
Pennsylvania. They also claimed that they could not conduct
thorough discovery while the investigation is ongoing and
that "if the outcome of the investigations is as provider
defendants expects, all discovery will be unnecessary." . .
. The allegations represent a clear departure from those
made by federal authorities in criminal cases. . . . PA
Child Care and Western PA Child Care, though, claim their
allegations can be backed by Luzerne County Common Pleas
Court judges and attorneys who have received target letters
from federal investigators. . . . The attorneys for the
juvenile detention centers, Bernard M. Schneider of
Brucker Schneider & Porter in Pittsburgh and
Jonathan Vipond III of
Buchanan Ingersoll & Rooney in Harrisburg, Pa., did not provide the names
of attorneys under investigation or specific judges. . . .
The new allegations are found in a 32-page case management
plan filed by plaintiffs in a series of civil cases against
Ciavarella, Conahan, former PA Child Care co-owner Robert
Powell, builder Robert K. Mericle, Zappala and several
others. . . . Schneider did not return a reporter's phone
call. Conahan's attorney,
Philip Gelso, said he had no comment. Ciavarella,
who is representing himself in the civil case, did not
return a reporter's phone call. . . . When asked about the
assertions, Martin C. Carlson, the acting U.S. attorney for
the Middle District of Pennsylvania, said, "I wouldn't
comment on speculative claims in civil litigation." . . .
Marsha Levick of the
Juvenile Law Center, which represents some of the
plaintiffs, called the defense "ludicrous." . . . "I was
surprised they put that in a public document," Levick said.
"I wonder what the
U.S. attorney will do with that." . . . She said that none of the assertions
in the case management document, including that the payments
were allegedly for fixing arbitration cases, "diminish our
claims in any way."
Child Protective Services & the Business of 'Legalized
Kidnapping'
by adeeba folami, www.opednews.com
5-1-09 --
The suffering endured by Africans who were kidnapped from
their native land and brought to America as slaves is
sometimes referred to as the Black holocaust, which some say
ended years ago but, that is not the case according to
parents who have had their children taken from them by the
Denver Department of Human Service (DDHS) or the Adams
County Social Service Department (ACSSD). Jo Nash-Conner’s
son Quentin, 10, currently resides at Mount St. Vincents
Children’s Home (MSVCH), a facility which proclaims to
provide programs and services to “help children with a wide
range of emotional and behavioral problems.” . . .
Nash-Conner, however, has not found the center to be helpful
and instead has been disallowed from visiting her son and
has not seen him since February. The mother’s horror story
began just over a year ago and is outlined in a typed
statement entitled “A Declaration and A Desperate Mother’s
Cry for Justice.” . . . “My 10-year-old son was kidnapped by
the Child Protective Services (CPS) Department of DDHS on March 20,
2008,” she said. “My then 9-year-old son had walked away
from our home on March 19, 2008 and was returned that
evening by the Denver Police. I was informed that we would
need to report to CPS for questioning the next day.” . . . So began the long journey which
saw Quentin placed into two foster homes, the mental ward of
Denver Health Medical Center (DHMC), back to a foster home,
then to the Tennyson Home for Children (THC),
the Ft. Logan Mental Hospital (FLMH), MSVCH, Children’s
Hospital, back to Ft. Logan and then once again to MSVCH,
where he is now. “All of this happened or is happening
without my consent,” reads Nash-Conner’s statement. In an
interview from her home, she explained she was originally
charged with child abuse based on a CPS worker’s claim that marks were found on Quentin’s back and also that
police said the boy accused his mother of hitting him. . . .
Take action -- click here to contact your local newspaper or
congress people:
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April 2009
FLORIDA
Florida Supreme Court hears Bar's support of gay adoption
case
By Kathleen Haughney • News Service of Florida
4-22-09 --
The Florida Supreme Court considered a case today that could
affect a controversial gay rights case moving through the
courts system. . . . The case at hand deals with whether a
section of the Florida Bar can submit an amicus, or “friend
of the court” brief on a gay adoption case in the Third
District Court of Appeal, even though it is a politically
divisive issue. . . . In November, a Miami-Dade circuit
judge delivered a swift punch to a state law prohibiting the
adoption of children by gay people. The court case involved
47-year-old Martin Gill, who hoped to adopt two young
brothers he had cared for as foster children. The judge
ruled that there was no rational reason to say that a gay
person could provide foster care, but not adopt a child. . .
. "Electing to parent and assume full responsibility for a
child not one's own is one of the most noble decisions made
in a lifetime; it is respected by many, considered by some,
made by few and approved for fewer still," wrote Judge Cindy
Lederman.
ALABAMA
Judge criticizes zero-tolerance bully policies
By Megan Matteucci, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
4-21-09 --
Students used to handle bullies on their own: with a good
beatdown on the playground. . . . Now bullies and their
victims are both punished for fighting. . . . Most schools
across the metro area — and across the nation — have a
“zero-tolerance” policy against fights, which means both the
bully and the victim are disciplined, said Steven Teske,
president of the Council of Juvenile Court Judges of
Georgia. . . . “Zero tolerance is zero intelligence,” said
Teske, a juvenile court judge in
Clayton County. “It’s merely a political
response, a knee-jerk reaction and often not put much
thought is put into it.” . . . Last week, 11-year-old Jaheem
Herrera committed suicide after relentless bullying at
Dunaire Elementary School in
DeKalb County, his family said.
MASSACHUSETTS
Amid layoffs, child support pacts fraying
Stressed-out parents ask
family court for help, relief
By Joseph P. Kahn, Globe Staff
4-13-09 --
A Massachusetts family court system that is strained during
the best of times and taxed with implementing new
child-support guidelines faces another challenge: divorced
parents seeking relief from - or enforcement of - support
arrangements as their financial and employment situations
deteriorate. . . . Although the probate court system, which
has jurisdiction over child-support cases, does not keep
statistics on modification petitions, judges and lawyers
within the system say such filings have increased noticeably
in recent months as the ranks of the unemployed and
underemployed have swollen. Layoffs, cutbacks, and battered
investment portfolios have affected custodial and
noncustodial parents on all ends of the socioeconomic
spectrum, along with tens of thousands of Massachusetts
children. . . . Nationally, the picture is just as grim,
according to a survey released last month by the American
Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers. The 1,600-member group
reports a 39 percent increase in the number of divorced
spouses seeking changes to child-support arrangements in a
tight job market and deepening recession.
NEW
YORK
Same-Sex Partner Who Is Child's Genetic Mother Granted
Adoption
Mark Fass,New York Law Journal
4-13-09 --
A Manhattan surrogate judge has granted an adoption petition
filed on behalf of a woman whose donated egg was fertilized
and then implanted in her same-sex partner. . . . Although
the couple's Dutch marriage is recognized by New York and
the donor's genetic relationship to the 15-month-old boy is
"unquestioned," the donor filed for adoption in order to
safeguard her parental rights under federal law and in the
states that do not recognize the same-sex marriage. . . .
The issue, Surrogate Kristin Booth Glen wrote in
Matter of Sebastian (pdf), 38-08, is whether
adoption is appropriate and permissible when the petitioner
was not only legally married to the child's mother at
conception and birth, but in fact is the child's genetic
mother.
GENERAL
Associates provide pro bono help to untangle family
kidnapping cases
Tasha Norman / Staff reporter
4-10-09 --
Three years ago, Sullivan & Worcester partner Barry Pollack
launched the S&W International ChildFind Program, which
provides pro bono legal assistance to parents of limited
financial means whose children have been kidnapped by family
members and taken overseas. The program also represents
parents who feel compelled to take their children out of
dangerous situations. . . . According to seventh-year
associate Kevin M. Colmey and fourth-year associate Lindsay
Barna, who both work on ChildFind cases, the program
provides a unique training experience for associates who
want to get involved in the cause and obtain courtroom
experience. Colmey, a 2002 graduate of Syracuse University
College of Law, is a member of the litigation department in
the Boston office. Barna, a 2005 graduate of American
University Washington College of Law, is a member of the
environmental and natural resources department in the
Washington office.
NEW
HAMPSHIRE
Chief judge launches internal review
Panel will investigate
release of child rapists
By Annmarie Timmins Monitor staff
4-10-09 --
The chief justice of the state's superior courts has
launched an investigation into why the Hillsborough County
Superior Court missed deadlines that set free two child
rapists deemed sexually violent predators. . . . The release
of Raymond Fournier, 40, and Richard Hilton Jr., 49, on
technicalities has outraged the public and prompted the
state Senate on Wednesday to tighten the new state law
governing violent sexual offenders. Fournier has settled in
Mont Vernon with relatives; Hilton has moved to Manchester.
. . . Wayne Sawyer, 45, a third sex offender also considered
dangerous and likely to re-offend, could be released soon on
the same technicality. At issue is a 10-day window in which
the judges had to find probable cause to hold the men for
further proceedings. The judge missed the deadline in each
case by several days, according to court records.
FLORIDA
Parents of hurt child say embattled attorney Clark Cone
mishandled lawsuit
By Jane Musgrave, Palm Beach Post Staff Writer
4-8-09 --
The fallout from the downfall of a once respected West Palm
Beach attorney continues. . . . A
West Palm Beach couple that claims their son suffered hearing loss and possible
neurological damage when he was misdiagnosed at St. Mary's
and Palm Beach Gardens
medical centers discovered their lawsuit was dismissed
because their attorney A. Clark Cone mishandled the case. .
. . At a hearing today, attorney David Kelley tried to
persuade Palm Beach County Circuit Judge David French to let
him salvage the lawsuit. . . . "It's a very sad story, and
an unfortunate one," Kelley said. . . . Cone, whose ability
to practice law was suspended by the Florida Supreme Court
last month for using at least $600,000 meant for injured
clients as his own, gave Shawn and Samantha Bennett no clue
that he wasn't pursuing their lawsuit against the hospitals.
When Cone didn't return their phone calls, they looked up
the court records and discovered the suit had been
dismissed, Kelley said. . . . Kelley said he has heard from
at least one of Cone's other clients who is in a similar
situation.
NEW
JERSEY
Top court blasts DYFS in custody case
The agency is criticized for
placing two children without a hearing
By Mary Fuchs, Statehouse Bureau
4-8-09 --
The state Supreme Court yesterday criticized the state
Division of Youth and Family Services for ending an
investigation of a woman who had "abused and neglected" her
two children, saying a full hearing process is needed before
determining where children should live. . . . In a unanimous
decision, the justices said DYFS and the trial judge should
have decided in court where the children could live, free
from harm, instead of awarding custody to the woman's
ex-husband. . . . "Rather than relying on the wishes of the
children, the division should have focused on whether the
children could be safely returned to the custody of the
mother," Justice John Wallace Jr. wrote. . . . Public
defender Yvonne Smith Segars said the precedent-setting
decision establishes rules all Family Court judges must now
follow.
Editorial: 'Sexting' overkill
Philadelphia Inquirer
4-6-09 --
Any district attorney who said he wanted to pursue one out
of every five teenagers on felony child pornography charges
would be laughed out of the courthouse - then booted from
office by voters at the next election. . . . But that's the
implication of the disturbing crackdowns by prosecutors in
upstate Pennsylvania, North Jersey, and other communities
over teens' immature practice of circulating racy photos of
themselves by cell phone message and online. . . . Fully
one-fifth of teenagers and a third of young adults in their
early 20s have told pollsters that they have sent sexually
suggestive text messages - so-called sexting - or posted
nude or seminude photos of themselves on the Web. . . .
Prosecutors like Wyoming County District Attorney George
Skumanick Jr. say criminal charges against these teens is
the best way to send a message on the dangers of children
baring themselves in cyberspace. Perhaps, but they are on a
fool's errand.
Sole custody harms kids: Report
Children "robbed of love" in
divorce cases
Susan Pigg, Torstar News Service
4-3-09 --
Family court judges are misguidedly harming children by
granting sole custody to one parent – usually the mother –
in bitter divorce battles, says a comprehensive new report.
. . . Too many children are being "robbed of the love of one
parent" by a legal system that is out of touch with the
needs of children and treats them like property to be won or
lost, says Edward Kruk, an expert on child custody issues. .
. . "The system is set up to polarize parents, to make them
enemies, to set up fights over custody and exacerbate
conflict rather than reduce it," says Kruk, an associate
professor of social work at the University of British
Columbia, whose three-year study is now in the hands of
Canada's justice minister. . . . He calls what's happening
in Canada's divorce courts "a national shame" that leaves
families bankrupt from legal fees and pushing parents,
especially fathers, to suicide. . . . Especially devastating
are the long-term effects of court orders that essentially
cut one parent out of children's lives – usually the dad –
in a misguided effort to foster peace between warring
parents, the report says.
FEDERAL COURTS
3rd Circuit: Kids Hurt by Vaccines Can't Pursue Design
Defect Claims
Ruling could prompt U.S.
Supreme Court to take up significant pre-emption case
involving drug product liability
Shannon P. Duffy, The Legal Intelligencer
4-2-09 --
Pre-emption is the buzz word at the U.S. Supreme Court this
year, and the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals may just
have done its part to pump up the volume of that buzz. . . .
In a ruling that could prompt the justices to take up yet
another significant pre-emption case in the area of drug
products liability, the 3rd Circuit ruled that children
allegedly injured by vaccines are barred from pursuing any
design defect claims because Congress expressly prohibited
such suits in an effort to guarantee immunity to
manufacturers. . . . By rejecting the analysis of a recent
ruling from the Georgia Supreme Court, the 3rd Circuit's
Friday ruling in
Bruesewitz v. Wyeth Inc. creates a direct
split between the federal courts and a state's highest court
on the question of how broadly courts should read the
pre-emption clause in the National Childhood Vaccine Injury
Act. . . . In its October 2008 decision in American Home
Products Corp. v. Ferrari, the Georgia justices held that
alleged victims of vaccine side effects have a right to
court review of whether those side effects were truly
"unavoidable."
FEDERAL COURT
Federal Judge Blocks Child Porn Charges Against Teens in 'Sexting'
Case
Michael Rubinkam, The Associated Press
4-1-09 --
A federal judge on Monday temporarily blocked a prosecutor
from filing child pornography charges against three
northeastern Pennsylvania teenagers who appeared in racy
photos that turned up on classmates' cell phones. . . . U.S.
District Judge James Munley ruled against Wyoming County
District Attorney George Skumanick Jr., who has threatened
to pursue felony charges against the girls unless they agree
to participate in a five-week after-school program. . . .
One picture showed two of the girls in their bras. The
second photo showed another girl just out of the shower and
topless, with a towel wrapped around her waist.

March 2009
GEORGIA
Jury Awards $2.3 Million for Botched Circumcision
Katheryn Hayes Tucker, Fulton County Daily Report
3-31-09 --A
Fulton County, Ga., State Court jury on Friday awarded a
4-year-old boy and his mother $2.3 million in damages from
an injury the boy suffered during a circumcision when he was
an infant. . . . The jury awarded $1.8 million to the boy
and $500,000 to the mother, whose name the Fulton County
Daily Report is not reporting to protect her son's privacy.
. . . The jury did not find the hospital, Tenet South Fulton Medical Center,
negligent. It laid the blame on two doctors, Haiba Sonyika,
the obstetrician who performed the circumcision, and Cheryl
J. Kendall, the pediatrician who treated the child later. .
. . Represented by David J. Llewellyn of Johnson & Ward and
Craig T. Jones of
Edmond Jones Lindsay, the plaintiffs convinced
the jury that Sonyika cut off a portion of the boy's penis
in the circumcision -- a part that could have been
re-attached if the pediatrician, Kendall, had acted quickly
enough to come to the boy's aid. . . . Kendall's attorneys,
Roger E. Harris and Shannon C. Shipley of Owen, Gleaton,
Egan, Jones & Sweeney, are "evaluating appeal options,"
according to Harris. "We believe the verdict against Dr.
Kendall was unjustified and not supported by the evidence
against her," Harris said. "We believe there were errors in
the case."
PENNSYLVANIA
Juvenile Records to Be Expunged in Response to Judicial
Kickback Case
Leo Strupczewski, The Legal Intelligencer
3-30-09 --
The Pennsylvania Supreme Court has granted a senior judge
from Berks County the authority to expunge
the records of a "substantial number" of juveniles who
appeared before former Luzerne County President Judge Mark
A. Ciavarella Jr. between 2003 and 2008. . . . The decision
comes two weeks after Senior Judge Arthur E. Grim
recommended that the justices allow him to expunge the
records of juveniles who had been charged with summary
offenses and certain low-level misdemeanors and who were not
represented by an attorney when they appeared before
Ciavarella. . . . "The basis for my recommendation below
that certain categories of cases should have the consent
decrees and/or adjudications therein vacated and the records
expunged, rather than having new proceedings is this," Grim
wrote. "Had the juveniles in these cases been represented by
competent counsel, had they appeared before an impartial
tribunal, and had their other constitutional rights been
protected, the vast majority of cases would have resulted in
consent decrees, or some lesser sanction. Had these cases
resulted in consent decrees or lesser sanctions, all the
juveniles would be entitled to have their juvenile
delinquency case records expunged by now pursuant to 18
Pa.C.S. § 9123."
A debate swirls over teens' lurid pictures
Should self-portraits draw
harsh penalties?
By Jennifer Golson And Joe Ryan, Star-Ledger Staff
3-29-09 --
In Pennsylvania, authorities are threatening to prosecute
three teenage girls after finding risqué images of them on a
cell phone. . . . In Indiana, a middle-school boy faces
obscenity charges for transmitting naked photos of himself
to female classmates. . . . And last week in Passaic County,
authorities accused a 14-year-old Clifton girl of
distributing child pornography, saying she posted nude
portraits of herself on MySpace. . . . In a growing number
of states, law enforcement agencies are cracking down on
teens who use cell phones and social networking sites to
share lurid photographs. Prosecutors say they are trying to
stamp out a dangerous trend. But their use of stringent
child-pornography and sex-offender laws has ignited a
debate. . . . "Do we really want to tag this 14-year-old
girl as a sex offender for the next 30 years?" asked Bill
Albert, spokesman for the National Campaign to Prevent Teen
and Unplanned Pregnancy. "Communities nationwide are
scratching their heads about what role, if any, law
enforcement should play in these cases."
NEW
JERSEY
Girl Faces Child Porn Charges for Posting Nude Photos of
Herself on MySpace
Beth DeFalco, The Associated
Press
3-27-09 --
A 14-year-old New Jersey girl has been accused of child
pornography after posting nearly 30 explicit nude pictures
of herself on MySpace.com -- charges that could force her to
register as a sex offender if convicted. . . . The case
comes as prosecutors nationwide pursue child pornography
cases resulting from kids sending nude photos to one another
over cell phones and e-mail. Legal experts, though, could
not recall another case of a child porn charge resulting
from a teen's posting to a social networking site. . . .
MySpace would not comment on the New Jersey investigation,
but the company has a team that reviews its network for
inappropriate images. The
National Center for Missing and Exploited Children
tipped off a state task force, which alerted the Passaic
County Sheriff's Office. . . . The office investigated and
discovered the Clifton resident had posted the "very
explicit" photos of herself, sheriff's spokesman Bill Maer
said Thursday.
PENNSYLVANIA
Clean Slates for Youths Sentenced Fraudulently
By John Schwartz, New York Times
3-26-09 --
The Supreme Court of
Pennsylvania on Thursday ordered the slate cleaned for
hundreds of youths who had been sentenced by a corrupt
judge. . . . The young people had been sent to privately run
detention centers from 2003 to 2008 as part of a judicial
kickback scheme that shocked Pennsylvania and the nation.
The judge in the cases, Mark A. Ciavarella Jr. of Luzerne
County, is one of two who pleaded guilty last month to wire
fraud and conspiracy for taking more than $2.6 million in
kickbacks. . . . The exact number of records to be expunged
was not stated in
the court’s order; a special master is
investigating the cases. . . . Judge Ciavarella and the
other judge, Michael T. Conahan, admitted that they had
agreed to send teenagers to two privately run youth
detention centers that paid them for the business. Under
their agreements, the judges will serve 87 months in federal
prison and will resign from the bench and from the bar.
ACLU Sues DA Over Threat to Prosecute 'Sexting' Teens
Shannon P. Duffy, The Legal Intelligencer
3-26-09 --
In one of the first civil rights suits to focus on the
growing practice of "sexting," lawyers for the ACLU of
Pennsylvania will be asking a federal judge Thursday to
protect three teenage girls from the threat of criminal
charges for using their cell phones to take and send
semi-nude photographs of themselves. . . . The suit accuses
Wyoming County District Attorney George Skumanick Jr. of
violating the three girls' First Amendment rights and seeks
a court declaration that the photos "are not child
pornography or any other crime." . . . "Kids should be
taught that sharing digitized images of themselves in
embarrassing or compromised positions can have bad
consequences, but prosecutors should not be using heavy
artillery like child-pornography charges to teach them that
lesson," said Witold Walczak, the legal director of the ACLU
of Pennsylvania. "These are just kids being irresponsible
and careless; they are not criminals."
LOUISIANA
La. must add 2 dads' names to birth certificate
By Janet McConnaughey, Associated Press Writer, San Jose
Mercury News
3-19-09 --
Louisiana has 15 days to add the names of both fathers to
the birth certificate of a boy born in Shreveport and
adopted by a gay couple from out-of-state, a federal judge
has ruled. . . . The state is asking the 5th U.S. Circuit
Court of Appeals to overturn the ruling by U.S. District
Judge Jay Zainey, and to halt the order in the meantime,
state Attorney General Buddy Caldwell said Thursday. . . .
"The federal district court has significantly misinterpreted
Louisiana vital records law, forcing Louisiana to import and
adopt New York law," he wrote in a brief e-mailed statement.
. . . Oren Adar and Mickey Ray Smith, who now live in San
Diego, but adopted the boy in New York state, want both
their names on his birth certificate.
TEXAS
Funding a child custody case: Attorney’s fees are only part
of it.
James Roark, Houston Family Law Examiner
3-19-09 –
A hotly contested child custody case in Harris County is
likely to rack up some hefty attorney’s fees. No surprise
there. Not everyone has the ready funds to match an
attorney’s retainer demands in such cases. . . . Often,
waiting to save up for a retainer is not an option. Either
you have been served a petition and have a short time to
respond, or you learn of a situation that requires fast
legal action to assure the well-being of the child. You
manage to pull it together from a variety of sources, at
least enough to get things started. At least now you have
some breathing room, right? Maybe. . . . The first order of
business is the hearing for temporary orders. That is,
giving the court a preliminary presentation of the facts so
it can set some ground rules for the parties to abide by
during the pendency of the case. Witnesses testify,
documents, pictures, and other exhibits are presented. What
follows is hypothetical, but not beyond the realm of
possibilities. . . . The judge can’t decide and needs more
facts. An amicus attorney is appointed to represent the
child. Ideally, this attorney will interview you, the
child, the other party, and visit the homes to compare
living environments, and participate in all other aspects of
the case.
Cost: $1500 per side to start, and if it goes to trial,
could be more than what you pay your own attorney.
Sexting, Seduction and Spring Breaks
by Chuck Norris
3-18-09 --
Sending nude photos and sexual videos via cell phone (called
"sexting") is a fast-growing and dangerous trend among
youths. And with spring breaks upon us, YouTube won't be the
only one streaming videos during these juvenile siestas. . .
. Sexting is not new, but it is on the rise. Cases are
bubbling up all over the country. Just this past week in
Virginia, at least two Spotsylvania County students were
facing child pornography charges in a sexting case. The
naked images of three girls (including an elementary-school
student) were discovered on seven phones and traced back to
the two accused students. . . . Last month, high-school
girls in Greensburg, Pa., also were charged with
child pornography after they sent semi-nude photos of
themselves to male classmates. . . . Other similar incidents
have resulted in charges in Ohio,
Kentucky, Wisconsin, Georgia and
Florida. Law enforcement has been called out recently to
investigate sexting-related crimes by dozens of teens in
many states across the nation. . . . And sexting is not just
a male-dominant problem. A new national survey says that at
least one-fifth of all youths have sent nude or explicit
photos or videos of themselves via cell phone or have posted
such images online.
ARKANSAS
Trial on adoption ban approved
By John Lynch
3-18-09 --
A lawsuit seeking to undo Arkansas' voter-approved law
limiting access to adoption and foster care survived its
first challenge on Tuesday when a Pulaski County circuit
judge ruled the case should go to trial. . . . But Judge
Chris Piazza did side with state attorneys in throwing out
one part of the 11-point lawsuit by the American Civil
Liberties Union - a challenge to the title of the ballot
initiative that became Initiated Act 1 of 2008 by attracting
57 percent of the vote in the November election. The ACLU,
representing 24 adults and children, is seeking to overturn
the law, which bars cohabiting unmarried adults from
fostering or adopting children, claiming the measure is
unconstitutional. . . . Piazza concluded Tuesday's 1 1
/2-hour hearing by finding the ACLU had raised enough
questions about the validity of the law to proceed to trial,
setting a Dec. 7 date for proceedings expected to last two
weeks. The judge indicated he had some doubts about the
ACLU's interpretations of federal constitutional law, and
said he might be swayed by further arguments as the case
progresses.
ILLINOIS
Sagging economy hits child support
More Kane parents appealing
to courts for reduced child support, citing unemployment
By Gloria Carr, scn1.com
3-15-09 --
The argument spilled out into the hallway of Courtroom 101,
where an anxious dad paced back and forth. He stopped, then
leaned against a wall and touched his jaw as the mother of
his child and her new partner berated him over missed child
support payments. . . . The air became so tense; a guard was
quickly called. . . . A few feet away, Joanna Ramirez sat
with her 5-year-old son. The boy paid no attention to the
grown-ups around him. He played in the hallway, happily
zigzagging between his parents, who were sitting on benches
on opposite sides of the hallway. He laughed heartily as his
father tried grabbing his hand and catching him. . . .
Reality hits home. . . .Courtroom 101 at the Kane County Judicial Center can be a
place of conflicting emotions. This is where sometimes
still-angry ex-spouses square off over child support,
whether it is to ask for more or for a reduction. . . . It
is a safe place -- there are security guards going in and
out maintaining order -- but emotions run high. Nowadays,
those feelings are even more raw as the sagging economy has
custodial and noncustodial parents struggling and heading
back to court to renegotiate child support. . . .
Kane County Assistant State's Attorney
Marzenia Vandeburgt has noticed more motions being filed to
reduce child support, usually because noncustodial parents
are losing their jobs or had hours slashed.
 
MINNESOTA
Parents sue state over babies' DNA
Minnesota accused of
depriving newborns 'of lawful privacy rights'
By Bob Unruh, © 2009 WorldNetDaily
3-12-09 --
Nine families have filed a lawsuit against
Minnesota's health department over its practice
of collecting DNA from newborns and then keeping and using the private information. . . .
The announcement was made by the
Citizens' Council on Health Care, which said the
department has been violating the state's 2006 genetic
privacy law by collecting, storing, using and disseminating
blood samples and DNA information. . . . Agency spokesman John Stine said the lawsuit was
being reviewed, but he confirmed the department takes the
blood samples from about 70,000 infants annually, and unless
the parents specifically choose to opt out of the program,
their children's DNA is saved. . . . He said the agency relies on "clinicians" to let
parents know of the requirement that they choose to opt out
of the program and only provides that information to parents
through a website and if they call and ask.
ARKANSAS
Ark. judge allows group to help defend foster law
By Andrew DeMillo, Associated Press
3-6-09 --
A conservative group behind a successful ballot measure
banning unmarried couples from adopting or fostering
children can help defend the ban in a lawsuit, a judge ruled
Friday. . . .Pulaski County Circuit Judge Chris Piazza said
he believes allowing the Arkansas Family Council's request
to help the state defend the law would allow the case to be
"fully developed." . . . "I'm a firm believer that you can't
be afraid of what someone is going to say," Piazza said. . .
. Byron Babione, an attorney for the family council, said it
had a unique interest in the case because it pushed to get
the measure on the November ballot and mobilized volunteers
during its successful fall campaign. . . . He noted that
Gov. Mike Beebe and state Attorney General Dustin McDaniel,
both Democrats, opposed the measure, and that McDaniel's
political action committee gave $1,000 to a group that
campaigned against the restriction.
VERMONT
Custody case of same-sex couple back in state court
Woman filed suit to be sole
parent in Frederick in 2004
By Garren Shipley -- Daily Staff Writer
3-4-09 --
A two-state, same sex custody fight is once again making its
way through Virginia courts. . . . Lisa Miller, formerly of
Winchester, has asked the Virginia Court of Appeals to
overturn a Frederick County Circuit Court judge's decision
and prevent the enforcement of a visitation order from a
Vermont court. . . . Miller and Janet Jenkins, who were
until recently both known by their shared surname
Miller-Jenkins, became romantically involved in 1997. In
late 2000 they traveled to Vermont to be joined in a civil
union. . . . The two later decided to have a child via
artificial insemination, and Isabella was born in April
2002, not long before the couple moved to Vermont. . . . The
relationship went sour a little over a year later, and
Miller filed papers to dissolve their civil union. On July
1, 2004, she also filed suit in Frederick County Circuit
Court seeking to be declared Isabella's sole parent. . . .
Since then, the case has bounced back and forth among courts
in both Virginia and Vermont as the two sides fought for
jurisdiction over the matter. . . . In the end, both the
Vermont and Virginia supreme courts either ruled or let
stand rulings giving Vermont's legal system the final say in
the matter. . . . The Virginia Supreme Court ruled in June
that Miller's legal team had not appealed the case in a
timely fashion -- the legal equivalent of giving up. . . .
Miller might have some support on the seven-member panel.
ARKANSAS
ACLU Asks Judge To Keep Adoptions Suit Alive
by Andrew Demillo, Associated Press
3-2-09 --
An Arkansas law banning unmarried couples from adopting or
fostering children does not help promote marriage because
the state does not allow gay or lesbian couples to wed,
opponents of the act told a state judge Friday. . . . The
Arkansas chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union asked
Pulaski County Circuit Court Judge Chris Piazza to deny the
state’s attempt to dismiss a lawsuit over the new law, which
went into effect Jan. 1 after voters approved the ban in
November. . . . Attorney General Dustin McDaniel asked
Piazza in January to dismiss the group’s challenge of the
initiated act. . . . In a brief filed Friday, the ACLU
rejected the state’s argument the initiated act promotes a
legitimate state interest in marriage.
STRIP-SEARCHING KIDS
A bad prescription
Vivian Berger / Special to The National Law Journal
3-2-09 --
With ever younger children abusing an increasing smorgasbord
of substances, schools have become the front line of defense
against this troubling trend. On the one hand, educators
cannot responsibly ignore tips that students may be
ingesting or distributing dangerous drugs — information that
may require verification by bodily searches. On the other
hand, public employees are constrained by the Constitution:
The U.S. Supreme Court has long recognized that students do
not abandon their rights at the schoolhouse door and are
entitled to obtain redress if these are infringed on. Yet
school personnel are not law enforcement officers, trained
in the subtleties of changing search and seizure doctrine.
Thus, administrators confront the Hobson's choice of doing
too much and doing too little, when either option threatens
to invite community outrage and civil suits. But sympathy
for these officials' plight should not eclipse concern for
students who endure extreme intrusions — often because of
dubious, if good- faith, judgment calls. . . . On Jan. 16,
the Supreme Court granted certiorari in Reddick v. Safford
Unified School District. This case reviews whether the en
banc 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals erred in holding
unconstitutional the strip search of a 13-year old
eighth-grade girl believed to possess prescription-strength
ibuprofen, and in rejecting qualified immunity for Kerry
Wilson, the assistant principal who ordered the search.
Although the war on drugs has yielded countless casualties
over the years, rarely have its victims been as young, and
imposed upon, as Savana Redding.
FLORIDA
Florida judge criticized for castigating runaway foster
child
By Carol Marbin Miller, The Miami Herald
3-1-09 --
A child-welfare judge drew the ire of his chief and local
children's advocates when he told a 15-year-old runaway
foster child she would end up a "toothless, dead crack
whore" if she didn't mend her ways. . . . Exasperated that
the girl was refusing to return to a home where she said her
caregiver hit and cursed at her, Miami-Dade Circuit Judge
Spencer Eig lectured the sobbing teen about making bad
choices during a hearing Tuesday. . . . "You're throwing
your life away," Eig told the girl. "You could end up on the
street toothless. You've seen these toothless hags on the
street? You know how they get there? They blow their
opportunities in life when they're 15. They run away ...
people turn them into whores." . . . He added, "Toothless,
dead crack whore; dead at age 19? Is that the destiny you're
looking for?"
 
February 2009
OHIO
Judge tells Whitehall parents tying boy to bed, chair too
extreme
By Bruce Cadwallader, The Columbus Dispatch
2-25-09 --
A Whitehall couple were placed on probation yesterday after
a judge sternly reminded them that tying their hyperactive
son to a bed and chair was a crime. . . . Kimberly A.
Bogardus, 33, and Dennis O. Desenberg, 49, were each charged
with two felony counts of child endangering after Bogardus'
12-year-old son told a clinical counselor about the abuse in
April 2007. . . . The counselor contacted Whitehall police,
who found a rope tied to a bed in the home at 4689 Harbinger
Circle W. . . . The couple said they tied the boy to the bed
to control his night wanderings and tied him to a chair
because he violated house rules. . . . An investigation
showed that the restraints left marks on his wrists and
ankles and that he was not permitted out of bed to use the
bathroom.
Court Battle Over a Child Strains Ties in 2 Nations
By Kirk Semple
2-24-09 --
When David Goldman’s wife, Bruna, and their 4-year-old son,
Sean, boarded a plane at Newark Liberty International Airport in
June 2004, Mr. Goldman was planning to join them a week
later in Rio de Janeiro. Several days later, Ms. Goldman
called and said she wanted a divorce. She was staying in
Brazil, her native country, and so was the boy, she
announced. . . . With that call, the Goldman family was sent
into a high-profile international abduction and custody case
that continues in American and Brazilian courts and has now
reached the highest levels of the Obama administration. . .
. Mr. Goldman has seen his son, now 8, only once since the
boy boarded that flight: a fleeting reunion in Rio this
month. And he never saw his wife again. She died of
complications from the birth of a daughter with her second
husband, a lawyer who represented her against Mr. Goldman. .
. . The case has become a sore point in the relationship
between the United States and Brazil and may be on the
agenda when Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton and
Celso Amorim, the Brazilian foreign minister, meet on
Wednesday afternoon in advance of a scheduled meeting next
month between President Obama and the Brazilian president,
Luis Inácio Lula da Silva, former and current State
Department officials said.
FEDERAL COURTS
Vaccine Ruling Could Spur Appeals, Suits in State Court
Jordan Weissmann, Legal Times
2-13-09 --
By finding that vaccines do not play a role in causing
autism, the
U.S. Court of Federal Claims handed a significant
defeat Thursday to thousands of parents who blame the
injections for their childrens' disorders. . . . But while
the rulings may prove to be a major hurdle for their cause,
lawyers for many of the plaintiffs say their legal efforts
may only just be starting. They are already contemplating
possible appeals, and talking about suing the pharmaceutical
companies directly. . . . The decisions were handed down
Thursday in a trio of test cases meant to help guide future
decisions by the claims court. More than 5,500 families have
filed autism-related claims in the
Federal Vaccine Compensation Program, many of
which have been pending for more than a decade.
PENNSYLVANIA
Pa. Judges Plead Guilty in Cash-for-Kids Corruption Scandal
Leo Strupczewski, The Legal Intelligencer
2-13-09 --
In a proceeding devoid of drama, two Luzerne County, Pa.,
judges told a federal court judge Thursday they were
guilty of accepting more than $2.6 million in kickbacks
from the owner and builder of two juvenile detention
centers. . . . Former President Judge Mark A. Ciavarella Jr.
and retired Judge Michael T. Conahan sat quietly for about
75 minutes, speaking only when U.S. District Judge Edwin
Kosik spoke to them. They answered in short sentences and
alternated between folding their hands and resting their
chins on their hands. . . . They pleaded guilty to both
counts -- honest services wire fraud and conspiracy to
defraud the United States -- in the criminal information
filed against them.
Suit Names 2 Judges Accused in a Kickback Case
By Ian Urbina
2-13-09 --
Several hundred families filed a class-action suit Friday
against two Pennsylvania judges who pleaded guilty on
Thursday to accepting $2.6 million in kickbacks for sending
juveniles to private detention facilities. . . . “At the
hands of two grossly corrupt judges and several
conspirators, hundreds of Pennsylvania children, their
families and loved ones, were victimized and their civil
rights were violated,” said Michael J. Cefalo, one of the
lawyers representing the families. “It’s our intent to make
sure that the system rights this terrible injustice and
holds those responsible accountable.” . . . Pennsylvania
lawmakers called on Friday for hearings into the state’s
juvenile justice system. And the Juvenile Justice Law Center
in Philadelphia, which blew the whistle on the judges, said
it had sworn affidavits from families who said they had
sought court-appointed counsel but were told that their
children would have to wait weeks, sometimes months, for a
lawyer. During that time, the children would have to remain
in detention, the families said.
Judge picked to review Ciavarella juvenile cases
By Terrie Morgan-Besecker, a Times Leader staff writer, Law
& Order Reporter
2-13-09 --
The state Supreme Court has appointed a senior Berks County
judge to review potentially thousands of cases that were
handled by Luzerne County juvenile court judge Mark
Ciavarella dating back to 2003. . . . In appointing Senior
Judge Arthur E. Grim, the high court said it wanted to
ensure a thorough review is conducted of all cases to
determine whether a “travesty of juvenile justice” occurred
under Ciavarella’s tenure, and, if so, to take whatever
action is necessary to provide relief to the affected
juveniles. . . . That relief could include holding new
hearings, filing petitions to expunge their records or to
vacate their adjudications entirely, the court said. . . .
The court was prompted to act following the filing of
criminal charges on Jan. 26 against Ciavarella and Judge
Michael Conahan that alleged, in part, the judges profited
from Ciavarella’s sentencing of juveniles to detention
centers once owned by Butler Township attorney Robert Powell.
MASSACHUSETTS
Mass. court voids DYS custody based on 'dangerousness'
Justices' ruling to free 12
held
By Shelley Murphy, Globe
Staff
2-11-09 --
The highest court in Massachusetts struck down a law
yesterday that allows the state to keep juvenile offenders
who are slated to be released at 18 in custody for three
more years if they are believed to be dangerous. . . . The
Supreme Judicial Court's ruling that the law is
unconstitutional will result in the release of a dozen
juvenile offenders whom state officials had kept
incarcerated after their 18th birthday. . . . One of those
was among a group of young offenders who had challenged the
law. The high court wrote that the law fails to define
dangerousness, gives "unbridled discretion" to the
Department of Youth Services, and violates the due-process
rights of offenders. . . . "The language contains no
indication of the nature and degree of dangerousness that
would justify continued commitment and offers the department
no guidance on how to make such a determination," wrote
Justice Judith Cowin.
DELAWARE
Child custody involves more than legal rights
The News Journal Opinion
2-9-09 --
Emotional bonds between children and loving adults who have
acted as their guardian are undeniable. . . . But they are
not sacrosanct, Delaware’s
Supreme Court
has unfortunately but lawfully ruled. . . . The decision
came in a dispute between two women whose 10-year, same-sex
relationship ended 13 months after one of them adopted a
child. . . . After the 2004 breakup, the woman without legal
adoptive status sought custody of the child. She won her
argument in Family Court, which ruled that the bond between
her and the child was sufficient to award parental rights.
The adoptive parent appealed. . . . Unanimously the state’s
high court said that to seek custody of a child, an adult
must have legal parental status - not just an emotional
bond. In short, except in cases of abuse or neglect, no one
but a legally recognized parent can seek custody. . . . This
decision strikes at a traditional assumption: A consistent,
committed level of care and involvement with a child has the
same value as legally granted custodial agreements.
FEDERAL COURTS
Judge in autism case injects insult to Sarah Palin
By Thomas Zambito, Daily News Staff Writer
2-6-09 --A
federal judge got political Wednesday, taking a swipe at
Sarah Palin while powwowing with lawyers in the case of an
autistic boy whose parents are fighting a ban on big dogs at
their luxury upper East Side building. . . . Manhattan
Federal Judge Naomi Reice Buchwald blasted the Alaska
governor and former vice presidential candidate for bringing
her Down syndrome child on stage after a debate. . . . "That
kid was used as a prop," Buchwald told lawyers during a
hearing on Wednesday. "And that to me as a parent blew my
mind." . . . Buchwald, a 62-year-old Democrat appointed by
former President Bill Clinton, said Palin should have put
her child to bed. Such conferences are often held behind
closed doors, but Buchwald held yesterday's session in open
court. "Tell me who told the reporter," Buchwald demanded
after realizing her words were on the record.
DELAWARE
Court says lesbian can't seek child custody
By Randall Chase, Associated Press Writer
2-6-09 --
A lower court judge was wrong to grant a lesbian joint
custody of her former partner's adopted daughter, the
Delaware Supreme Court has ruled. . . . . In a unanimous
decision handed down this week, the justices said the woman
had no standing to petition for custody in Family Court
because she was not the child's legal parent. The court
affirmed that under Delaware law, a person who is considered
a "de facto" parent of a child does not have the same rights
as a legal parent and is not entitled to custody. . . . .
Citing existing law, Justice Randy Holland wrote that a
person who does not qualify as a legal parent has no
standing to petition for custody of a child unless the child
is dependent or neglected and a judge determines that he or
she should not be placed in the custody of the legal parent.
CONNECTICUT
Judges concerned about how custody battles affect mental
health of children
Video offers advice to
divorcing parents
By Amanda Norris, Hour Staff Writer
2-1-09 --
A new video created by the state's Judicial Branch is urging
divorcing parents to set aside their own concerns and settle
their disputes out of court for the benefit of their
children. . . . Two Superior Court judges got tired of
wielding Solomon's sword after learning about the specific
impact of custody battles on children's mental health. . . .
Psychological research conducted at Massachusetts General
Hospital has had a shocking impact on the legal community,
according to family court Judge Elaine Gordon, who is
featured in the 20-minute long video. . . . Researchers
found that children who are subjected to high-conflict
custody disputes, that is those that take a judge's ruling
or court orders to resolve, have the same psychological
profile as children whose parents have had their custodial
rights severed due to neglect or abuse. . . . Called
"Putting Children First: Minimizing Conflict in Custody
Disputes," the video's production was spearheaded by Gordon
and Judge Linda Munro, who both have decades of experience
as lawyers and judges. The video has become the latest tool
for divorce lawyers and therapists, who seem to agree with
the judges that everyone benefits when conflicts are
minimized and resolved quickly. . . . In the video, Gordon
emphasizes that the stereotype of divorce as being ugly and
contentious of necessity is not true. The statistics Gordon
quotes from the Massachusetts General study only apply to
the 10 percent of cases, those considered "high conflict."
January 2009
Attorney: Lesbian custody case now an 'agenda' item
Charlie Butts - OneNewsNow
1-27-09
-- A lesbian child
custody case goes back to court this week. . . . Lisa Miller
had a child named Isabella while in a lesbian relationship
with Janet Jenkins in Vermont, but Miller left the
relationship after converting to Christianity and moved to
Virginia. Now, a Virginia judge
is honoring Vermont's civil union law by ordering that
Jenkins have visitation rights. (Previous
article) . . . Mat Staver of Liberty
Counsel says that ruling was handed down in court
with all three present. He notes Isabella has been
negatively affected by the forced visitations. . . . "Just
for a little while visiting with Janet, Isabella has already
had a reaction," he notes. "And in fact little Isabella,
six-and-a-half years old who otherwise is just an absolutely
adorable little girl, came away from that visitation and
said she wished she were dead."
OREGON
Judge criticized for allowing child-rape suspect care for
son
The Associated Press, Seattle PI
1-24-09 --
The Oregon attorney general's office has accused a Clackamas
County judge of gross abuse of discretion for ordering bail
for a child-rape suspect to help decide custody for his
13-year-old son. . . . Judge Deanne Darling had ordered
state child welfare officials to help release Russell Paul
Hamblen of Wilsonville, who had been charged in April with
rape, sodomy and sexual abuse of underage teenage girls. . .
. The judge said Hamblen should have a chance to care for
his son while the case was pending because his wife,
Christine, suffers from drug and alcohol abuse and has her
own legal problems. . . . The boy, meanwhile, remains in
foster care. . . . The attorney general's office called the
bail order unprecedented and inappropriate, and appealed it
to the Oregon Court of Appeals. . . . The appeals court
stayed Darling's bail order last month but declined to
release a copy of its decision or related documents. . . .
The paperwork was released Thursday in response to a motion
filed by The Oregonian.
HAWAII
Judge stumbled on child-abuse ruling
Honolulu Star-Bulletin Opinion
1-23-09 --
An outwardly indignant
state judge finally succumbed to the law in ordering a woman
convicted of child abuse to wait behind bars during an
appeal based on her assertion that she is untouchable by
Hawaii law. The appeal lacks an ounce of merit, as the judge
should have recognized from the outset before mistakenly
allowing the defendant to be free during the appeal. . . .
The error might have escaped public notice if the crime had
not been so heinous. Rita Makekau was accused of mistreating
her sister's five sons and daughter, now ages 10 to 18, in
her custody. She did not deny accusations that she hit their
heads with knifes and cans of dog food, their fingers with
metal and wooden spoons and their mouths with a hammer. . .
. Instead, Makekau, who calls herself royal minister of
foreign affairs for the separatist "Hawaiian Kingdom
Government," claims to be immune from state and U.S. laws.
Like other state laws, Hawaii's law allows defendants to
remain free while awaiting the process of a meritorious
appeal. By allowing Makekau to remain free last month,
Circuit Judge Virginia Crandall essentially found that her
claim of immunity had merit. The judge claims the deputy
prosecutor assigned to the case did not object during plea
negotiations to granting bail to Makekau, who pleaded no
contest. Crandall said the deputy left the issue of bail up
to the judge, which would have been either complacent or
overconfident. . . . City Prosecutor Peter Carlisle was
outraged by the judge's misstep, and Crandall accused him of
having been "very disrespectful of this court and the
judicial process." Responded
Carlisle: "The key here is a
wrong has been righted, and this lady is in jail where she
belongs." . . . An outwardly indignant state judge finally
succumbed to the law in ordering a woman convicted of child
abuse to wait behind bars during an appeal based on her
assertion that she is untouchable by Hawaii law. The appeal
lacks an ounce of merit, as the judge should have recognized
from the outset before mistakenly allowing the defendant to
be free during the appeal. . . . The error might have
escaped public notice if the crime had not been so heinous.
Rita Makekau was accused of mistreating her sister's five
sons and daughter, now ages 10 to 18, in her custody. She
did not deny accusations that she hit their heads with
knifes and cans of dog food, their fingers with metal and
wooden spoons and their mouths with a hammer. . . . Instead,
Makekau, who calls herself royal minister of foreign affairs
for the separatist "Hawaiian Kingdom Government," claims to
be immune from state and U.S. laws. Like other state laws,
Hawaii's law allows defendants to remain free while awaiting
the process of a meritorious appeal.
WISCONSIN
Trials for Parents Who Chose Faith Over Medicine
By Dirk Johnson
1-20-09 --
Kara Neumann, 11, had grown so weak that she could not walk
or speak. Her parents, who believe that God alone has the
ability to heal the sick, prayed for her recovery but did
not take her to a doctor. . . . After an aunt from
California called the sheriff’s department here, frantically
pleading that the sick child be rescued, an ambulance
arrived at the Neumann’s rural home on the outskirts of
Wausau and rushed Kara to the hospital. She was pronounced
dead on arrival. . . . The county coroner ruled that she had
died from diabetic ketoacidosis resulting from undiagnosed
and untreated juvenile diabetes. The condition occurs when
the body fails to produce insulin, which leads to severe
dehydration and impairment of muscle, lung and heart
function. . . . “Basically everything stops,” said Dr. Louis
Philipson, who directs the diabetes center at the University
of Chicago Medical Center, explaining what occurs in
patients who do not know or “are in denial that they have
diabetes.”
TEXAS
‘Too Old’ Grandparents (59 and 52) Hope for Custody Under
New Judge
By Martha Neil, ABA Journal
1-15-09 --
A judge in a controversial child custody case in Texas has
angrily stepped down after apparently being persuaded that a
related judicial conduct investigation required him to do
so. . . . After Juvenile Court Judge John Phillips decided
last year that Yolanda and Arnold Del Bosque were too old to
raise the young grandchildren they had been caring for since
infancy and had the two boys removed to a foster home, the
couple—who were 59 and 52, respectively, at the time of the
ruling—made an age bias complaint against him. Armed with a
letter from the State Commission on Judicial Conduct stating
that it is investigating the Del Bosques' complaint, their
lawyer, law professor Barbara Stalder of the University of
Houston, asked Phillips to recuse himself from the custody case, according to
an opinion piece in the
Houston Chronicle. . . . Although Phillips,
according to Stalder, had no choice but to do so while
awaiting an administrative judge's ruling on her recusal
motion, "high drama ensued" at a Jan. 8 pretrial hearing,
when Stalder objected to Phillips' continuing on the case,
the newspaper writes. Raising his voice, an increasingly
angry Phillips accused Stalder of arguing with him and
ordered a bailiff to escort her from the courtroom, the
Chronicle recounts. . . . “Honest to God, I really thought
he was going to have the bailiff taking me directly to a
holding cell,” Stalder, who works for a
University of
Houston legal aid clinic, tells the newspaper.
CALIFORNIA
Federal Appeals Court Finds CPS Tactic Unconstitutional
Pacific Justice Institute
As families gather for the
holidays, a recent ruling from the Ninth Circuit Court of
Appeals offers hope to hundreds of thousands of parents
haunted by the nightmare of unproven child abuse
allegations. . . . For years, attorneys with Pacific Justice
Institute have warned parents that, once
CPS decides to investigate them
for child abuse - sometimes based on anonymous tips from
neighbors or vindictive ex-spouses - their names can end up
on California's Child Abuse Central Index (CACI). Parents
are listed on the CACI even when
CPS eventually deems the charges
"inconclusive" and closes its files. The CACI listing shows
up on background checks for years to come and prevents
parents from obtaining jobs or state licenses. . . . In
Humphries v. County of Los Angeles, the Ninth
Circuit Court of Appeals sharply criticized the ease with
which people are listed on the CACI and the obstacles which
prevent their names from being removed. The court was also
troubled by a study indicating that as many as half of the
more than 800,000 individuals listed on the CACI "may have a
legitimate basis for expungement." Calling the list "the
reverse of the presumption of innocence in our criminal
justice system," the court ordered the state to enact
greater procedural safeguards.
TEXAS
Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott’s Child Support
Enforcement Operation Does the Right Thing
Glenn Sacks
1-11-09 --
I've been very critical of Texas Attorney General Greg
Abbott (pictured) and his child support enforcement
operation in the past, and they've deserved every word of
it. To learn more, see my co-authored column
When Beating up on 'Deadbeat Dads' is Unfair
(Houston Chronicle, 1/7/07) or click
here. . . . However, I do like to commend
opponents when they do the right thing, and here's an
example. Jim, a Texas reader, told me this story the other
day and I asked him to write it up for a blog post. . . .
Jim writes: . . . In 2004, the Texas Attorney General had
anti-father propaganda on their website such as this
definition:
Good Cause
A legal reason for which a
Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF) recipient is
excused from cooperating with the child support enforcement
process, such as past physical harm by the child's father.
It also includes situations where rape or incest resulted in
the conception of the child and situations where the mother
is considering placing the child for adoption.
NEBRASKA
Custody case tip: Don't bug kid's teddy bear
By Todd Cooper, World-Herald
Staff Writer
1-7-09 --
Turns out, Little Bear was nothing more than Big Brother. .
. . An Omaha man has sued his ex-wife after she or someone
on her behalf inserted an audio recorder into their
4-year-old daughter's teddy bear during the couple's custody
battle. . . . According to the lawsuit, Dianna Divingnzzo or
her father planted a listening device inside Little Bear in
an effort to lay bare any secrets of Divingnzzo's
ex-husband, William "Duke" Lewton. . . . The plan backfired,
however, when the judge presiding over child custody
proceedings refused to hear the recordings. Sarpy County
District Judge David Arterburn noted that under Nebraska
law, at least one person in a conversation must consent to a
recording. . . . No one - not even the bear - consented in
this case. . . . Now Lewton, 36, and several people recorded
by the bear want Divingnzzo, her dad and her former
attorneys to pay for invading their privacy.
WASHINGTON
Investigators: Trial could lead to loss of grandchild
forever
By Susannah Frame / KING 5 News
1-6-09 --
The fate of a 3-year-old girl taken from her family and
placed in foster care a year ago is about to be decided by
the court system. . . . Last month, the KING 5 Investigators
brought you the heartbreaking story of an Enumclaw toddler
who was taken away from the only stable home she'd ever
known and put in foster care. . . . AnneMarie Stuth of
Enumclaw doesn't come into her granddaughter's empty room
very often. Seeing her things is too painful. . . . “It’s a
part of your heart and life gone,” said Stuth. . . .
AnneMarie and her husband Doug helped raise their grandchild
for the first two years of her life. Their daughter had the
baby at 16 and needed their help. . . . “She was the center
of our world," said AnneMarie. . . . The teen mom and her
baby moved away from the Stuths when the child was 9 months
old. Moving out didn't go well: A doctor found the teenager
let the baby get dangerously thin.
MINNESOTA
Child custody law up for review
by Elizabeth Stawicki, Minnesota Public Radio
1-5-09 --
Within the next two weeks, a state court official must
report a study group's findings to the Legislature on
whether Minnesota should change its child custody laws. At
issue is whether judges should automatically presume that
children split their time living with each of their divorced
parents. . . . St. Paul, Minn. — When a couple with a child
divorces, a judge is supposed to start with a clean slate
before deciding whether the child will live solely with mom,
dad, or split living with each of them. . . . But under a
legislative proposal, judges would presume the child would
live with both parents unless there's a good reason not to
-- such as child abuse. . . . While adding the word
"presumption" to a statute may seem trivial, it would level
the legal playing field that fathers' rights groups say is
currently tilted against them. . . . That's the way Les
Jobst of Andover sees it. He drives a semi with a picture of
his smiling 9-year-old daughter on the dash. He's also a
member of the fathers' rights group called,
Fathers-4-Justice, which contends that the court system
tends to favor mothers in divorce cases. . . . Jobst says
once a judge decides that a child will live solely with one
parent, society views the other parent as having no rights.
. . . "I'm a concerned father. I'm here, I'm trying to work
and find out what's going on with my child," said Jobst. "It
happens in the doctor's office, it happens in the dentist's
office, wherever you go. All you have to have is one parent
say, 'I've got sole physical custody,' all bets are off."
SOUTH
DAKOTA
Commission: Boost child support payments from
low-income parents
By Mary Garrigan, Journal staff
1-4-09 --
Child support obligations for non-custodial parents will
start at $216 per month for even the lowest-income South
Dakotans if new guidelines proposed by the Governor's
Commission on Child Support are adopted by the 2009
Legislature. . . . Every four years, after public hearings
held throughout the state, child support guidelines and
statutes are reviewed by the commission, which issues a
report and recommendations to the governor and the
Legislature. The laws are used to set child support amounts
among divorced, separated and never-married parents and
parents in situations that otherwise involve a continued
absence of the parent or child from the home, such as
incarceration. . . . This year's report included 10
recommendations, any or all of which would become state law
if approved by the 2009 Legislature. |