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August 2010

FLORIDA

Doctor's Medical License in Jeopardy

Randy Heysek has refused to pay child support and alimony, state says.

By Matthew Pleasant, The Ledger

08-14-10 -- A pre-eminent cancer doctor with a sprawling Polk County practice could have his medical license suspended for refusing to pay child support and alimony now totaling about $673,000, the state says. . . . Randy Heysek, a radiation oncologist specializing in treating prostate cancer, has fought the Florida Department of Revenue's attempts to collect the money since it first began taking action against him last year. . . . The department's Child Support Enforcement Program began sending Heysek past-due notices in spring 2009 and has since taken increasingly aggressive steps against him, including an unsuccessful attempt to suspend his driver license, said Robert Babin, a Department of Revenue spokesman. . . . The doctor's former wife, Mary Heysek, a Plant City resident, and their four sons - including 15-year-old triplets - should have been receiving monthly payments of about $35,420 since January 2009. . . . Heysek, 51, has paid about $60,572 as a result of the Department of Revenue's efforts, which Mary Heysek has received.

NEW YORK  

Judge Transferred Over Alleged Actions in Visitation Case Involving Sex Offender

Complaint alleges judge joked about child pornography during custody proceeding, misstated the facts of the case and maintained an 'inappropriate' relationship with the father's attorney

Mark Fass, New York Law Journal

08-13-10 -- A Suffolk County, N.Y., judge who was the subject of a searing complaint by a children's advocacy group has been transferred from Family Court to the County Court's civil term. . . . A court source called the immediate transfer "unprecedented" and an indication of the how seriously the allegations are being taken by the Office of Court Administration. . . . According to the complaint, Judge Andrew G. Tarantino Jr. granted a father who had been convicted of possessing child pornography and third-degree rape of a minor overnight visitation of his three children, supervised by his own parents.

Read the complaint (pdf) and Tarantino's earlier ruling (pdf).

MINNESOTA    

Freed Toyota Driver: My Children Don't Know Me

Attorney Credits ABC News Report for Helping Koua Fong Lee Win Release from Prison

By Angela M. Hill, ABC News    

08-06-10 -- In his first interview since winning freedom yesterday, Koua Fong Lee, the Minnesota man jailed after his 1996 Toyota Camry sped out of control and killed three people, said his two youngest children don't know their father because he's been imprisoned on vehicular homicide for the past three years. . . . "The first thing I'm going to do is talk to them, to get to know them, to play with them," Lee told ABC News. "I want them to know I am their daddy. I will teach them what the word daddy means." . . . After a judge ordered Lee freed from prison Thursday pending a new trial, prosecutors announced they would not try Lee again.

OHIO  

Ohio Man Gets Probation for DWI (Daddying While Intoxicated)

Posted by Eric Lipman, Legal Blog Watch

08-04-10 -- Many a mother or father will tell you that the stress of parenting is sometimes eased by the occasional glass of chardonnay, bourbon on the rocks or other adult beverage of choice. Then there's Steven Melendez. . . . Melendez was arrested last week in Mansfield, Ohio, while walking around the streets drunk -- pushing his children, ages 1 and 2, in one of those nifty double strollers. Though reportedly unable to stand without leaning on the stroller, Melendez told the arresting officers he had consumed only "a couple of Budweiser beers." (Nice plug, Steve. Do I hear an endorsement contract in your future?)

July 2010

TEXAS

Musician Maurice Davis, Pens “Missing Children” Song and Later Discovers Family Secret Brings Song Close to Home

Maurice Davis was compelled to write a song entitled “Missing Children,” after watching a late-night episode of, “The Oprah Winfrey Show.” Then he found out he was one. Davis also found out that he is a Native American and a descendant of the legendary Apache Chief and American hero, Geronimo. Davis has pledged to donate .25 from each purchase of the song to the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children

PRWEB

07-29-10 -- Musician Maurice Davis, 27, was compelled to write a song entitled “Missing Children,” after watching a late-night episode of, “The Oprah Winfrey Show.” The episode, which featured the story of a missing child, prompted Davis to work through the night on the song, which highlights the plight of missing and abused children and encourages the public to come to their aid. . . . It was after writing the song, that Davis discovered a secret from his past that gave the issue of missing children more personal meaning. When Davis was two years old Texas natives Johnny and Rebecca Davis adopted him and his two brothers, believing that they were abandoned by their mother. . . . Two decades later, while Davis was preparing to record the song about missing children, he and his brothers received a call from their biological father, Joseph Suarez. Davis was informed that he and his brothers were abducted by their mother, given away for adoption and that his father and biological family had searched for him and his brothers for 24 years. Davis found out that he is a Native American and a descendent of the legendary Apache Chief and American hero, Geronimo.

VIRGINIA

International authorities seeking mother accused of kidnapping sons

By: Emily Babay , Examiner Staff Writer

07-28-10 -- More than 5 1/2 years after two Reston brothers went missing, and nearly four years after a kidnapping warrant was issued for their mother, authorities are still trying to track down all three. . . . Authorities say the father of Alec and Dominic Gardner last saw his sons Dec. 6, 2004. . . . That's when authorities say their mother, Stefanie Zachariadis Gardner, left Reston with the boys, then ages 3 and 1. A warrant for her arrest on international parental kidnapping charges was issued in U.S. District Court in Alexandria in August 2006. . . . Zachariadis Gardner and her sons are believed to be in Germany. . . . A notice that she is wanted in Virginia is listed on Interpol's Web site. An FBI spokeswoman said this week that the kidnapping warrant is still active.

CALIFORNIA  

Father Seeking Child Custody Ordered to Get Counseling for 'Deplorable Beliefs'

Mike McKee, The Recorder

07-01-10 -- A Santa Monica man must undergo counseling for repeated racist and sexist remarks if he wants to be with his kids. . . . A split appellate court upheld that order late Tuesday, saying the man's angry outbursts about women and minorities made it difficult, if not impossible, to implement a reunification plan with his twin daughters. . . . "The ability of the father to work with social workers and school personnel," Justice Paul Turner, of Los Angeles' 2nd District Court of Appeal, wrote, "will be enhanced if he understands ... that in a diverse culture such as in Los Angeles County, he cannot consistently insult women and all persons who are different from him."

June 2010

Fatherhood as a Luxury, Not a Necessity

Armstrong Williams, Townhall.com

06-23-10 -- We all should be absolutely alarmed by the current state of fatherhood in this country. It is terribly troubling that our society accepts fatherhood as a luxury, not a necessity. An involved, loving, active father has become the exception in this country, and it's time we make it the norm again. . . . On the surface, there are some things that only a father can provide his children. Although a mother is vital to a child's development, there are some activities that a dad just makes perfect. Shooting baskets or going ice skating becomes more than a bonding experience between father and child, it becomes a moment when boys learn how to carry themselves as men, how to strive for a goal, work hard, and strengthen their male personality. It becomes a moment when daughters learn how a man should properly treat a woman, interact with males, try their best, overcome adversity, and strive for their potential. There is little in life that can simulate these fathers – child moments that turn ordinary days into treasured lifelong memories. . . . Like most loving fathers, my father expected a lot out of me and my siblings. He constantly encouraged me and pushed me to reach my potential, but occasionally - and only when necessary - he would use his lash to get my attention. His stern face or grave words would let me know that my behavior or attitude was out of line. My healthy fear for him in these rare moments kept me focused on living a healthy, productive life. I remember his strong grip as he taught me to shake hands like a gentleman, I remember his huge arms wrapping me tight after tough family football losses, and I remember my father's extraordinary courage to do the right thing regardless of the situation. I would never be where I am today without my mother, but my father taught me how to be a man.

Modern fathers increasingly juggle work, life

-- McClatchy Newspapers, GoErie.com

06-23-10 -- "A profound shift is taking place with today's new dads," said Brad Harrington, co-author of "The New Dad: Exploring Fatherhood Within a Career Context," released this week. "Men have redefined 'good father' from breadwinner to role model, friend, mentor." . . . Harrington's research of new fathers found a strong cultural perception that when men become dads, little will change at work. . . . Peter Rega maneuvers through South Florida traffic like a man on a mission. It's nearing 5 p.m. and Rega, a divorced father, has wrapped up his sales calls and is on his way to pick his son up from after-school care. Cell phone to ear, Rega tells his customer he will call back in an hour, once he successfully shuttles his 12-year-old son, Peter, home for dinner and then to karate lessons. . . . "I'm a top salesman," Rega said. "For me, my phone rings 24/7. I have to train my customers that there are certain hours I'm not available." . . . A new report shows that fathers, much like Rega, are dramatically feeling the pull between work and family. Indeed, men reported their levels of work-life conflict have risen significantly over the past three decades, while the level of conflict reported by women has not changed much.

NEW HAMPSHIRE

Fathers 4 Justice are on song

Daily Echo  

06-17-10 -- PARENTS from across Hampshire have lent their voices to a new song being released by campaign group Fathers 4 Justice. . . . The Anthem For Justice song is being launched by the Hampshire-based campaign organisation for Father’s Day this Sunday as an Internet download track. . . . Mothers and fathers from across the county travelled to London to record the song this week and film a video for the single, which is promoting equal rights for parents.

MINNESOTA   

Stabbed by Client’s Ex-Husband, Lawyer, 54, Has ‘Horrible Injuries’ But Is Recovering

By Martha Neil, ABA Journal

06-17-10 -- A Minnesota attorney suffered "horrible injuries" but is expected to survive being stabbed a dozen times in her Fridley office a week ago, according to Anoka County Sheriff's Lieutenant Paul Sommer. . . . Within an hour or so, a client's ex-husband confessed to the attack on Terri Melcher that took place a little after 5 p.m. last Friday. Sheikh Nyane, 32, is being held in lieu of $1 million bail on two counts of attempted murder and two counts of assault, reports WCCO. He was reportedly upset over having recently lost custody of his child. . . . "He just walked into the office, found her and attacked her with a knife," Sommer tells the station. The knife was broken in the attack. . . . The 54-year-old lawyer was treated for a head injury and stab wounds to her face, throat and chest, reports the Pioneer Press. . . . A criminal complaint says Melcher told investigators her attacker at one point held her down as he cut her throat, the article states.

Start a Revolution on Father's Day

by Rebecca Hagelin, Townhall.com           

06-16-10 -- What we need when Father’s Day arrives on Sunday is nothing short of a family revolution, led by America’s fathers. . . . Ours is a broken culture — of fathers and mothers with broken vows, families with broken bonds, and children with broken hearts. . . . For every 100 babies born in America, 60 are born to a broken family. That is, they are either born out of wedlock, or to a family that will soon suffer divorce. Our teen pregnancy rate is the highest in the Western world. Our little girls are looking and behaving like sex kittens at younger and younger ages. Boys are afraid of marriage, addicted to pornography and have few or no manners. There are about 1.2 million abortions in America every year. . . . Mothers feel overwhelmed as they seek to "do it all" — earn a paycheck, nurture the children, manage the finances and keep the family together. Much of that is the fault of a radical feminist movement that perverted the battle for equal treatment into a battle for total independence from men. Many men just sat out what became a destructive force, and now all of us — men, women and children — are suffering the painful results as we realize that we really do need each other after all. . . . Imagine how our culture would be transformed if fathers refused to be bullied by angry feminists and took more of a loving role of responsibility in their own homes. What if husbands started pouring out unconditional and constant love on their wives in the same manner in which Christ pours love out for his people?

PENNSYLVANIA   

For parents, justice not served

Paperwork goes unfiled, appeals are dismissed.

By Terrie Morgan-Besecker, Law & Order Reporter,  Wilkes Barre Times-Leader

06-16-10 -- Mary Tullis was devastated last August when a Luzerne County judge terminated her rights to her son and daughter. . . . She and the children’s father, Jeff Harris, had been working to resolve the problems that led Luzerne County Children and Youth to place the children in foster care. She was confident the state Superior Court would overturn the decision on appeal. . . . She never got the chance to argue the merits of her case, however, because the assistant public defender assigned to represent her failed to file the required court papers, resulting in her appeal being dismissed outright. . . . A Times Leader investigation revealed she is not alone. . . . Since 2005, 15 of the 53 parents who challenged the termination of their parental rights or the involuntary adoption of their children have seen their appeals dismissed because the Public Defender’s Office or other court-appointed attorneys failed to follow proper court procedure, according to a review of cases filed with the state Superior Court. . . . The revelation prompted newly appointed county Chief Public Defender Al Flora Jr. to launch an investigation. He is reviewing records, including those identified by The Times Leader, to determine if anything can or should be done to seek to restore the appeals. . . . The newspaper’s review showed that in nine of the 15 cases at issue, the appeals were filed, but later dismissed because the attorneys failed to file the required legal briefs that detail the errors the trial judge allegedly committed. . . . In another six cases, the appeals were “quashed” – a legal term that refers to the dismissal of an appeal for failure to comply with some other aspect of appellate court procedure, such as filing the appeal late. . . . The lack of action by the attorneys means the parents were deprived of their right to have the Superior Court review the lower court ruling to determine if it was properly entered – a result an advocate for parental rights described as “appalling.”

NEBRASKA  

Neb. judge reprimanded for behavior in custody case

Kerri Rempp Chadron Record, Rapid City Journal

06-14-10 -- Dawes County District Court Judge Brian Silverman has been officially reprimanded by the state's Judicial Qualifications Commission for remarks he made in a child custody case last year. . . . The commission's opinion was released last week. The incident occurred during a hearing in a child custody case in February 2009 in the case of Cari Goodwin v. Derek Goodwin. According to the commission's opinion, Derek refused to acknowledge a December 2008 agreement regarding custody and a purge plan for child support. Silverman informed Derek, who was behind in his child support, if he proceeded with a trial on custody issues, the agreement would be revoked and he would be sent to jail. Derek filed a complaint saying Silverman raised his voice and addressed him in "an impatient, discourteous, angry and condescending tone and demeanor." . . . The commission agreed that Silverman's behavior violated the judicial code of conduct requiring judges to uphold the integrity and independence of the judiciary, to avoid impropriety and the appearance thereof and to perform the duties of the office impartially and diligently.

NEW YORK  

Ex-Wife Ordered Jailed for Alienating Children From Father

Mark Fass, New York Law Journal

06-08-10 -- A Long Island, N.Y., judge has sentenced a woman to six weekends in jail for repeatedly undermining her ex-husband's relationship with their two daughters. . . . Supreme Court Justice Robert A. Ross in Nassau County ruled that the mother, Lauren R., willfully violated a court order by deliberately alienating the elementary school-age children from her ex-husband, Ted R. . . . Ross held Ms. R. in civil contempt and ordered her to report to the Nassau County Correctional Facility every other weekend this summer. . . . Her term was to have begun on Friday, but was temporarily stayed pending appeal by a judge from the Appellate Division, 2nd Department, on Thursday.

NEW YORK  

Alleged 'Other Man' Had Duty to Tell Husband if He Had Herpes, Says Judge

Noeleen G. Walder, New York Law Journal

06-07-10 -- A man who says he contracted a sexually transmitted disease after his wife had an affair with her allegedly infected psychiatrist can bring a negligence action against the doctor, a state judge has ruled. . . . The man, Carl Levine, claimed that Dr. Robert Werboff had a duty to warn him that he had herpes simplex before having unprotected sex with Levine's wife. . . . Looking to "common concepts of morality, logic, and ... the social consequences of imposing the duty," Westchester County Supreme Court Justice Nicholas Colabella agreed that Werboff owed a reasonable duty of care to Mr. Levine. . . . "There is nothing unfair about extending such a duty of care to a spouse of the infected person," the judge wrote in Levine v. Werboff, 24873/09.

Nassau County judge jails mother who falsely accused ex of sex abuse and alienated him from kids

Daniel Weaver, Albany CPS and Family Court Examiner

06-07-10 -- In a decision that will surely generate controversy and fuel gender wars and the ongoing debate over parental alienation, Nassau County Supreme Court Judge, Robert Ross, has sentenced a woman to six weekends in jail for alienating her children from their father. . . . The court went into great detail describing the mother's behavior toward her ex-husband, the defendant in Lauren R. V Ted R. The mother's behavior reached a crescendo, according to Judge Ross, when she made a false report of sexual abuse against the father to Child Protective Services. . . . The factual findings concerning the mother's behavior as stated in the decision by Judge Ross are extensive but worth reading in their entirety as they form a basis for his decision. . . . Concerning the plaintiff's (mother's) behavior, Judge Ross stated:

"Plaintiff intentionally scheduled their child's (N.'s) birthday party on a Sunday afternoon during defendant's weekend visitation, and then refused to permit defendant to attend. She demanded that N. be returned home early, in order to "prepare" for her party, but D., the other child, was enjoying the time with her father and wished to remain with him until the party began.

OHIO

Divorcing dad wants to take kids to Saudi Arabia

Culture clash at root of Cincinnati custody fight

By Dan Horn • Cincinnati.com

06-05-10 -- When Rima Shaheen and Talal Bawazir go to court later this month to resolve their divorce, they will fight over more than which school their four kids attend or which parent gets to take them to movies on weekends. . . . Shaheen wants the kids to stay with her in Cincinnati, where they have lived for the past six years. . . . Bawazir wants to take them to Saudi Arabia, where he says he can get a good job. . . . Judge Elizabeth Mattingly will make the call, but she says she's not happy about her choices. . . . "You have got very few good options here," she told Shaheen at a court hearing in March. "It's not a perfect world." . . . The big legal questions in the case - who should get custody and what are the rights of the other parent - come up in countless custody battles every day in Hamilton County's domestic relations court.

May 2010

TEXAS  

Once-powerful Republican lobbyist's life in ruins

By R.G. Ratcliffe, Houston Chronicle 

05-25-10 -- For nearly 20 years, San Antonio lawyer W. James Jonas III was one of the more influential Republican lobbyists in Austin and Washington. . . . Jonas' life now is the wreckage of a messy divorce prompted by battles over two autistic children, new age medicines and another woman in his life. He has lost his job, his clients and his freedom, jailed for 180 days for more than $100,000 in unpaid child support. . . . “A lobbyist in jail is a devil without a cause,” said Jonas, clad in an orange uniform and talking over a scratchy visitor's booth phone in the Bexar County Jail this week. . . . Jonas says the judicial portrayals of him as a “deadbeat dad” are misplaced when he has paid his wife almost $500,000 in child support and medical care for their children the past three years. . . . Jonas, 48, blames his incarceration on a vindictive spouse who wants to hold him to support and medical payments of $11,000 to $18,000 a month despite a decline in his income.

WISCONSIN

Milwaukee mayor, Brewers hit road for fatherhood

By Chris Jenkins, AP Sports Writer, USA Today

05-21-10 -- Ferris Bueller would be proud: Milwaukee mayor Tom Barrett is hitting the road to catch a Brewers game in Minneapolis on Saturday. . . . OK, so Barrett isn't really taking the day off. He's using the trip to promote the Milwaukee Fatherhood Initiative, a program designed to keep at-risk fathers involved in their children's lives. . . . Barrett, Brewers executives, Wisconsin-Milwaukee men's basketball coach Rob Jeter and a group of 50 fathers and their kids will fly to Minneapolis, talk fatherhood and responsibility during a breakfast with players Rickie Weeks and LaTroy Hawkins, then attend the Brewers-Twins game. . . . Barrett is bringing one of his children and will speak about his own family experiences. But he doesn't want the conversation to be one-sided.

NEW JERSEY

Parent Can Sue Ex for Turning Children Against Him

Mary Pat Gallagher, New Jersey Law Journal

05-10-10 -- One parent can sue the other for allegedly poisoning his relationship with their children, an appeals court said May 3 in the first New Jersey recognition of a cause of action for infliction of emotional distress for such conduct. . . . A lower court had dismissed the claim as barred by the Heart Balm Statute, but the Appellate Division, in Segal v. Lynch, A-805-08, said the statute applies only to claims based on the loss of a marital or conjugal relationship. . . . "We thus see no legal impediment in permitting one spouse to bring an action against the other which asserts only emotional distress as the measure of damages," Judge Jose Fuentes wrote in a published opinion joined by William Gilroy and Marie Simonelli. . . . But the court affirmed dismissal under the parens patriae doctrine, which allows courts to intervene when necessary to protect children. "Application of this principle to the case at hand leads us to one inexorable conclusion: Plaintiff's cause of action for intentional infliction of emotional distress must be barred as inimical to and irreconcilable with the best interests of the children involved in this suit," they said. . . . As a result, Moses Segal was not allowed to pursue the claim against Cynthia Lynch, the mother of his two minor children.

IDAHO

Man faces contempt of court for not forcing daughter to wear ear implants

KHQ Right Now

05-05-10 -- 8-year-old Emma has been deaf since birth and has cochlear implants in both ears. An attorney for Emma's mother, Jennifer Miller, who has primary custody of Emma, says medical personnel have deemed it essential that she consistently wear the device in order for her to develop both verbal and social skills. . . . Emma's father, Shaun Mclaughlin, is also deaf. When Emma is in his control the two communicate using American sign language. . . . In August of 2009 during a custody trial the two parties agreed that Emma would be required to wear the implants during waking hours. . . . When it became clear that her father was not forcing her to wear the implant in her left ear while in his custody, Emma's mother filed a claim against Mclaughlin for contempt of court.

TENNESSEE

Father is Detained in Japan Trying To Reclaim Kids

Written by Amy Munday, HULIQ     

05-05-10 -- A Japanese law is keeping Christopher Savoie's children in Japan with his ex-wife who fled there after approval from a Tennessee court judge. The divorce between Christopher and his wife was bitter then ended with threats of taking the children out of the country, which she did. . . . Christopher took the matter into his own hands after his ex-wife left the country. He went to Japan and took his kids back on their way to school then was arrested a short time later. . . . Japan hasn't complied with international law for any half-Japanese children that are taken into the country. The father feels it might be a feeling of entitlement. . . . The other problem with the Savoie children being in Japan is there are no rights for visitation. Christopher's ex-wife is not being held by law to share the rights of her children with their father. . . . A divorce in Japan leaves full custody of children directly to the mother. Fathers have no rights of the children. Christopher explains that Japanese fathers have written him and explained their similar stories.

April 2010

KANSAS

Father and son reunited after boy went missing for two years

By: Beth Wurtmann, WNYT

04-29-10 -- Richard Rodriguez described the first moments after he and his son reunited after more than two years. . . . "He immediately jumped up, ran right to me, started crying. Very touching, emotional moment," he said. . . . The boy's mother reportedly took the boy from their Pittsfield home, without the father's permission. After a long search, the eight-year-old was located in Emporia, Kansas, and returned to his father. . . . "We'll figure it out," said Rodriguez to his son as they left a Kansas building, "we're going to go get some pizza, right? We are going to fly on a plane...fly home." . . . When the boy went missing, Rodriguez says he was shocked to learn that because he wasn't married to his son's mother, she technically had custody.

NEBRASKA

Nebraska appeals court overturns child custody ruling

By Nancy Hicks / Lincoln Journal Star

04-28-10 -- Mere possession of an illegal drug does not mean the state can take custody of a child, according to a Nebraska Court of Appeals decision. . . . The father, whose full name is not used in the opinion, was picked up with a small amount of crack cocaine in March 2009. . . . That summer the Douglas County Juvenile Court determined that his infant son lacked proper parental care and supervision and took custody of the child. . . . The Appellate Court, in a split decision released Tuesday, overturned that ruling . . . . Juvenile Judge Donna Taylor based her decision that the child faced potential harm because the father might be incarcerated on a drug conviction. . . . However there was no evidence that the father was actually charged with any crime.

TENNESSEE  

Dad who tried to take kids from Japan sues judge

By Kristin M. Hall, Associated Press, eTaiwan News

04-28-10 -- A Tennessee man who was arrested in Japan when he tried to take his children back from his ex-wife is suing the local judge and an attorney who handled the divorce. . . . Japanese prosecutors eventually dropped the case against Christopher Savoie after he tried in September to enter the U.S. Consulate with his 9-year-old son and 7-year-old daughter. . . . Ex-wife Noriko Savoie had violated a U.S. court custody decision by taking the children to her native Japan a month earlier. . . . The lawsuit says the children are still living in Japan with their mother. . . . Savoie filed a federal lawsuit this month against Williamson County Circuit Court Judge James G. Martin, who served as both the mediator during the divorce and then later as the judge that lifted a restraining order barring the ex-wife from taking the children to Japan. . . . Savoie claims that Tennessee Supreme Court law states that mediators should refrain from acting in a judicial capacity in cases in which they mediated. He also claims negligence because the judge was aware of the risk of child abduction in this case.

UTAH  

'Baby Emma' case puts state adoption laws between father, child

By Jerry Markon, Washington Post Staff Writer

04-14-10 -- John Wyatt raced to the hospital, excited to be a father but worried about the mother. . . . His girlfriend had promised to call him the moment she went into labor, but she'd turned off her cellphone. Wyatt had been calling it for hours. Finally, an operator at Potomac Hospital in Woodbridge confirmed the news: His girlfriend was there, and his daughter had been born. . . . When Wyatt arrived at the hospital that morning of Feb. 11, 2009, he got the shock of his 20-year-old life: Administrators insisted that no such baby was there -- and no such mother. . . . Court records show that Wyatt's daughter, Emma, was born Feb. 10, at that very hospital, and that she spent the next week at two Woodbridge hotels before being put up for adoption -- in Utah. "We just want Emma to come home," says Wyatt's mother, Jeri. "My son wants his child. I want to see my granddaughter." . . . More than a year later, a cross-country court fight over the child known as "Baby Emma" has yet to settle the question of whether the strawberry-blond, blue-eyed girl was illegitimately taken from her father or legally put up for adoption by her mother, 20-year-old Emily Colleen Fahland, a George Mason University student. The highly unusual dispute pits Virginia against Utah; a Stafford County judge in December awarded Wyatt custody of Emma and cited a federal kidnapping statute in ordering the state to bring her back from Utah.

ILLINOIS

Appeals court upholds finding that cops framed Riley Fox's dad

Steve Schmadeke, Chicago Breaking News

04-07-10 -- An appeals court today agreed with a federal jury's 2007 finding that Will County police framed Kevin Fox for the rape and murder of his 3-year-old daughter Riley, but reduced the damages awarded to Fox and his wife from $12.2 million to $8 million. . . . The 7th Circuit Court of Appeals chastised the investigators on the case, implying that their decision to quickly rule out Riley's 2004 death as the work of a sexual predator was "absurd." . . . The court, in a 52-page decision by Judge Terence Evans, also found that detectives lacked probable cause to arrest Fox using the "exceedingly weak evidence" they had assembled. . . . Fox was arrested four months after the death of his daughter, who was sexually assaulted, bound with duct tape and drowned in a Wilmington creek. Fox gave police a videotaped confession that he said was fabricated. The videotape was not shown during the civil trial.

TEXAS  

‘Child' in support case is a granddad

81-year-old mother says payments are 60 years overdue

By Mike Tolson, Houston Chronicle

04-05-10 -- Fights over children — who gets custody, how much for child support — are at the heart of any family law court on any given day. The faces change, but the stories and disputes rarely do. . . . So it is on today's docket in the Los Angeles courtroom of Judge Elia Weinbach. At least on paper. The dispute between Rosemary Douglas and Urban Joseph Grass over back child support seems familiar: She claims he never paid; he says he never knew. . . . In this case, however, the mom has a head of gray hair and has been collecting Social Security for more than a decade. The father was born in the heart of the Jazz Age, when a fellow named Coolidge resided in the White House. And the “child” in question is that only on some yellowing piece of paper. In real life he is a retired grandfather. . . . “He was ordered to do something. He didn't do it,” said the 81-year-old Douglas. “He didn't challenge it, not legally anyway. I'd always thought about this. It was never far from my mind. Finally I decided, why not? Why not try one more time?”

March 2010

ILLINOIS  

Judge: Father Cannot Take Daughter to Easter Mass

FOX Chicago News

03-25-10 -- A local father involved in a messy divorce has been barred from taking his 3-year-old daughter to church on Easter. . . . Wednesday, Joseph Reyes asked a judge if he could take his daughter to Catholic Mass on Easter Sunday. The judge refused his request. . . . Reyes and the child's mother had agreed to raise their daughter in the Jewish faith. . . . Reyes had her baptized in the Catholic Church, and a temporary restraining order was then issued to stop him from exposing her to other religions.

MARYLAND   

Child support payments could go up significantly

Proposed legislation rewrites guidelines for courts to use; covers wealthy for first time

By Julie Bykowicz | Baltimore Sun

03-22-10 -- Some child support payments in Maryland could soon go up - a change that state Human Resources Secretary Brenda Donald called "long overdue." . . . For the first time in two decades, lawmakers are poised to revise the guidelines that courts use to set child support when divorcing or unmarried parents cannot agree on an amount. Those guidelines are based on household expense data from the 1970s, and although they accommodate rising incomes, advocates say they don't account for the escalating costs of raising a child. . . . Human Resources officials estimate there are about 500,000 child support orders in Maryland - a mix of private agreements and court cases. . . . "We think the changes are reasonable and fair and about time," said Donald, who led a work group over the past year to revise the guidelines. Her agency administers about half the state's child support cases.

NEW YORK  

Children's 'Exhausting' Schedule Leads to Loss of Father's Custody Rights

Vesselin Mitev, New York Law Journal

03-17-10 -- The father of two Long Island junior tennis prospects has been stripped of custody by a New York state judge who found their rigorous training schedule to be "overly burdensome, exhausting and completely unacceptable." . . . The Cavallero brothers -- Giancarlo, 10, and Jordy, 5 -- were required to leave school early to spend six hours a day at tennis practice and play tournaments on the weekends. Giancarlo, with five junior tournament wins before turning 10, was likened to a young Andre Agassi in a 2007 Daily News article. ******** The case is Cavallaro v. Pena (pdf), V-00390-09.

DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA  

Lawyer for 'D.C. Madam' Slapped With 3-Year Suspension

Jeff Jeffrey, The National Law Journal

03-12-10 -- Montgomery Blair Sibley, best known for his representation of the late "D.C. Madam" Deborah Jeane Palfrey, had his law license suspended for three years by the D.C. Court of Appeals on Thursday. The court's decision is a reciprocal disciplinary sanction that stems from a 2008 decision by the Supreme Court of Florida to pull his license in that state for three years. . . . Sibley's license was suspended in Florida because he failed to pay more than $100,000 in child support payments and because he repeatedly filed "vexatious and meritless" lawsuits against judges who have been assigned his cases. Sibley has argued that the Florida disciplinary process violated his due process rights and failed to prove that his conduct warranted discipline.

OHIO

Christian Husband with Covenant Marriage Agreement vs. Routine No-Fault Divorce

by Bai MacFarlane

03-03-10 -- A Christian husband is citing Ohio Law to protect his family from no-fault divorce. Months ago, Paul Neumann was fully supporting his stay-at-home wife and their daughter in their North Olmsted home. Now he is a defendant in Cuyahoga County divorce court. He sumbitted his wife's signed wedding covenant agreement to the court because she promised to uphold her obligations in accordance with the "Commandments of God given in His Word" and "the divine laws and ordinance for the governance of marriage." . . . Neumann is giving the court an ultimatim: either his wife committed fraud on their wedding day and tricked him into marriage, or she intended to be married in conformity with the rules of their church (see filing 1.4 MB). If she committed fraud, the parties were never really married and the court can't take away his property and force him to pay alimony. . . . In Ohio, argues Neumann, it is criminal for Christian pastors to conduct wedding ceremonies without requiring couples to get a state marriage license. Ohio Law specifies that parties can marry in conformity with the rules of their church. . . . "We wanted a Christian marriage" Neumann said in and interview. "I'm shocked that another Bible believing Christian would bring the world into my marriage rather those in the church who are experts in resolving marital conflict according to the 6000 year principles of God's Word."

Bai MacFarlane writes at Mary's Advocates.

February 2010

LOUISIANA   

Louisiana must issue birth certificate to men who adopted baby boy, federal court rules

By Gwen Filosa, The Times-Picayune

02-18-10 -- A federal appeals court Thursday ordered the state to issue a birth certificate to two men who adopted a Louisiana-born baby boy in 2006 only to have the registrar of vital statistics refuse to give them the document because they were unmarried. . . . The 5th Circuit Court's decision upholds U.S. District Court Judge Jay Zainey's 2008 ruling in favor of Oren Adar and Mickey Ray Smith's request for a Louisiana birth certificate that identified both as the boy's parents. . . . Louisiana Attorney General Buddy Caldwell appealed Zainey's decision, arguing that state law wouldn't allow such an adoption in the first place. . . . The San Diego couple adopted the boy, born prematurely in Shreveport in 2005, via a court in Kingston, N.Y. But when they sought an amended birth certificate from Louisiana, the Office of Public Health and Vital Records Registry said that state law forbade it, citing their status as unmarried men.

January 2010

Doritos Slaps Children In The Face

The New American Sport

by Marc H. Rudov, NewsWithViews.com

02-09-10 -- Our society has sunk to a new low. Six years ago, during the halftime show of Super Bowl 38, the world went berserk when Janet Jackson exposed her nipple to Justin Timberlake and all of TV-land. Yesterday, however, during Super Bowl 44, when a young boy slapped a man’s face in a Doritos commercial, the same world reacted with laughter and approval. . . . Hitting men with impunity is the new American sport. Just ask Elin Nordegren, Tiger Woods’s wife, who hit her husband and chased him with a golf club that she wielded to smash his car window — a feat that would landed any man in jail. Just ask Mary J. Blige, who punched her husband in the face, in full view of nightclub witnesses — a feat that would have landed any man in jail. . . .  Doritos pulled a similar misandrist stunt in Super Bowl 43, as I illustrated to Bill O’Reilly on Fox News, when it’s high-priced spot featured one man hurling a snowglobe at the crotch of another. If you laughed at that one, too, you demonstrated your pure disregard for men. . . . If all of this is so funny, reverse the genders and run the same commercials again. Let’s all have a big laugh. What network, agency, and advertiser pinheads are greenlighting these anti-male commercials? Send me their names; I will publish them.

DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA  

Former WilmerHale Partner Loses Child Support Ruling

Leigh Jones, The National Law Journal

02-01-10 -- A former Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr partner has failed to convince the D.C. Court of Appeals to throw out a deadbeat-dad contempt order leveled against him. . . . William A. Wilson III, now a partner at Wilson International Law, appealed an earlier decision by D.C. Superior Court Judge Kaye Christian, which found that he willfully failed to pay retroactive child support totaling $156,000. Christian later dissolved the contempt order after Wilson paid $83,972, an amount on which he and his ex-wife settled. . . . In its Jan. 28 decision, the D.C. Court of Appeals found "no reason" to disturb Kaye's 26-page ruling, which determined that Wilson had been fully able to pay the $12,617 per month to support his three minor children.

Report: More fathers given primary child custody

Avvo - ‎

01-19-10 -- Addressing an emerging trend in child custody cases, a recent report by a team of attorneys specializing in family law found that increasingly more fathers are receiving primary custody of their children after a divorce. . . . The report by Short Family Law and Attorney Litigators stated that although in the early 1990s most states discarded the Tender Years Doctrine, which led courts to grant custody to mothers in cases involving young children, the practice of favoring mothers seemed to persist. . . . However, some estimates now put the number of fathers given primary custody at about 50 percent. . . . According to the report, "Presently, a growing number of families have stay-at-home dads and mothers who fill the role of primary earner and household provider. And as the number of domestic dads has increased, so has the legal system's willingness to award fathers child custody."

ILLINOIS

Children best served by mom's lesbian relationship?

Allie Martin - OneNewsNow

01-08-10 -- An official with the Illinois Family Institute (IFI) says it's outrageous that a judge has permitted a mother to take her children from their dad in order to move in with her lesbian partner. . . . Recently Karen Kelsky, the ex-wife of Taro Iwata, took him to court in a custody battle. Kelsky has become a lesbian and was granted custody of the couple's two children, and will also be allowed to move to Eugene, Oregon -- 1,800 miles away from her ex-husband -- to live with her lesbian partner.

Fatherhood by Billboard?

by Marybeth Hicks, Townhall.com 

01-07-10 -- The billboards are everywhere. On one, a child's tiny toes rest atop the big, burly feet of a man, suggesting a playful moment between a dad and his toddler. Another portrays a laughing boy being chased by what appears to be his boisterous father. In another, a dad and son hop across the grass on bouncy balls in a larger-than-life spontaneous moment. . . . All of these images are captioned, "Take time to be a dad today" and refer to the Web site www.fatherhood.gov. . . . Positive images of fathers engaging with their children are a welcome message in a culture where families struggle to remain intact and mothers generally bear responsibility for childrearing. . . . Then again, I'm certain that our Founders are gathered in some corner of heaven wringing their hands and wondering how we evolved into a government that teaches its citizens how fulfill our most basic human responsibilities. . . . What next? Take time to brush your teeth today? Take time to blow your nose today? Take time to visit the potty today? . . . There's a reason they call it a "nanny state." But sure enough, this ad campaign is a major component of the National Responsible Fatherhood Clearinghouse (NRFC) funded by U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' Administration for Children and Families' Office of Family Assistance (OFA).

December 2009

NEW JERSEY

An emotional homecoming for Goldman and his son

Maryann Spoto, Star-Ledger Staff

12-30-09 -- "Our home." . . . Those two words from his 9-year-old son made a five-year, politically charged, multi-continent custody battle all worth it for David Goldman of Tinton Falls. . . . Returning to the Monmouth County home with his son Monday night after a much-publicized, international custody struggle, Goldman finally heard the words he longed to hear when his son, Sean, asked where they lived. . . . Goldman, 42, said he was overwhelmed. . . . ""Just to hear him say "our home,' '' Goldman said yesterday, his voice cracking and his eyes filling with tears. ""I waited five years to hear that.'' . . . With the safe return of his son, Goldman also said yesterday he would work with U.S. Rep. Chris Smith (R-4th Dist.) to get legislation passed that would help other parents in his situation. . . . ""My assistance is offered to Congressman Smith, however possible,'' Goldman said at a news conference in his attorney's Red Bank office. ""He is a hero. He didn't have to give up his Christmas. He missed his Christmas.''

Guest Viewpoint: After divorce, fathers too often excluded from parenting

By Jason Aulicino, The Register-Guard

12-30-09 -- According to the Strengthening Families Act of 2003, “Nearly 24 million children in the United States, or 34 percent of all such children, live apart from their biological father. Forty percent of children who live in households without a father have not seen their father in at least one year, and 50 percent of such children have never visited their father’s home.” . . . The Census Bureau, in 2006, found that five of every six custodial parents are mothers (83.8 percent). One in six are fathers (16.2 percent), and 37.9 percent of fathers have no access or visitation rights. . . . Simplified, the result of divorce for the majority of children is a fatherless home. . . . If you are divorced and are the noncustodial parent, then you probably have experienced first-hand the inequity that exists in divorce and child custody cases. Restrictive visitation rules — or parenting plans, as they are now called — often accompany sole custody awards regardless of circumstance. Many status quo parenting plans are not based on a presumption of shared parenting, nor do they promote a father’s presence in a child’s life after divorce.

TEXAS

Foster Grandparents team with Kids First program to provide support

by Kathleen Thurber, Midland Reporter-Telegram

12-27-09 -- As Reggie Webb kicked the soccer ball with his 12-year-old daughter while his 10-year-old finished crafting a Christmas card one recent Thursday evening, Foster Grandparent Mary McFarlin watched from the doorway and smiled. . . . "It's fun when you come and see the parents and kids involved," McFarlin said, turning her gaze to the adjoining room where a father shared pizza with his two kids. "When you see the families grow closer together it's good." . . . Across the hall at Episcopal Church of the Holy Trinity, where the program meets, Geneva Mills or "Granny G" shifted her video camera as she observed while a mother and her 11-year-old daughter finished a craft. . . . The two are among a group of Midland's Foster Grandparents who have added volunteering at Centers for Children and Families' Kids First Program to their list of weekly activities. The program, which recently received a $10,000 grant from the Texas Bar Foundation, provides supervised visitation for non-custodial parents.

NEW JERSEY  

Brazil custody case: David Goldman gets custody of son Sean

Brazil's chief justice upheld late Tuesday a lower court order handing 9-year-old Sean Goldman over to his American father. The Brazil custody case has been dragging on for five years, reflecting the difficulty of international custody disputes.

By Daniel B. Wood Christian Science Monitor Staff writer

12-23-09 -- The ruling by Brazil’s chief justice in favor of an American man seeking to gain custody of his son has important resonances in an era of increasing international marriages, say several legal experts. . . . Chief Justice Gilmar Mendes late Tuesday ruled that nine-year-old Sean Goldman should be handed over to his New Jersey father, lifting a stay on a lower court’s order and raising the prospect that the two could be reunited within days. . . . The ruling comes in a five-year custody battle over Sean, who in 2004 was taken by his mother, Bruna Bianchi, to her native Brazil. Ms. Bianchi later divorced his father, David Goldman, and remarried. The boy remained in Brazil with his stepfather and other family after his mother's death last year, while his American father sued in both US and Brazil courts to get him back. . . . The case garnered international attention, and threatened to disturb Brazil-US relations. . . . “Although the Brazilian judicial system finally reached the right decision, its failure to act expeditiously contributed to this tragic story,” says Christopher Schmidt, a legal expert with the US law firm of Bryan Cave LLP.

GEORGIA  

Former NFL Player Henry Appeals Child-Support Ruling

Lawyers asked Ga. high court to review order that Travis Henry pay $3,000 per month and fund a $250,000 trust

Andy Peters, Fulton County Daily Report

12-22-09 -- It's not uncommon for judges handling child-support cases to order the noncustodial parent to establish a trust from which the other parent can make monthly withdrawals. But a lawyer for former NFL running back Travis Henry thinks DeKalb County Superior Court Judge Clarence F. Seeliger went too far in 2007 when he ordered Henry to pony up $250,000 to create a trust for one of his children and to make monthly $3,000 payments. . . . Seeliger said Henry's history of delinquent payments despite making a huge salary made the trust necessary in case he is late again paying for the child -- one of nine he has fathered with nine women, according to Seeliger's final judgment of paternity and legitimation.

NEW JERSEY

Dad falls more than $700,000 behind in child support

By John Petrick, The Record Staff Writer

12-17-09 -- He might just be the mother of all deadbeat dads, at least in Passaic County. . . . The Lavallette man has been locked in county Jail after a state judge found that he owes $746,058 in back child support payments to his family in Wayne. . . . “It’s the highest amount I’ve ever seen, and I’ve been here for 15 years,” said Presiding Family Judge Michael K. Diamond in state Superior Court in Paterson, speaking outside of court. . . . Mark J. Taggart is being held on a charge of willful nonsupport until he can pay at least $225,000 of what he owes, under Judge Diamond’s order. He first appeared before the judge after being picked up on an open warrant for unpaid child support following a statewide sweep on Dec 2, and must appear before Diamond for a review of his case every 14 days. His most recent court appearance was Wednesday, when he was still unable to post the minimum. . . . But that’s only the latest chapter in what appears to be a complex past. Diamond said part of the reason Taggart’s former wife has been in Family Court 20 times trying to track him down since their 1999 divorce might be because he’s lived in so many places since then.

Jailed Father on Hunger Strike

by Bruce Eden, National Writers Syndicate

12-17-09 -- Protesting Denial of His Parental and Other Constitutional Rights. Mr. Amir Sanjari, was divorced after a 17 year marriage. He's a UK Citizen who  was originally invited to the United States to Stony Brook University, New York for a research position. . . . Now he's destitute and on a hungar strike in jail to protest the unconstitutional denial of fathers' rights and more. . . . Initially, Sanjari and his ex-wife shared equal custody of their children and had similar incomes. Nevertheless he was ordered to pay $1,000 a month in child support. Such a payment is the first sign that something is seriously amiss. . . .  But when he lost his job and applied for a reduction in "child support", it was denied. This denial is also not unusual, wrong, but not unusual. His ability in the recession to get a job to cover the outrageous child support payment faded. It brought on hardships for him. . . . Eventually his ex-wife won sole custody of the children, he says, by lying about him while he was out of the country on vacation. . . . Sanjari, a competent man, was not idle though. He learned the law to fight for his children and his rights to see them and care for them on his own. He fought in the Indiana family court, its district court, and eventually in federal courts. He had to go on the run to stay out of jail for not paying what he couldn't pay - a common circumstance for fathers under such 'child extortion' orders. He spent time helping other parents with their family court cases while he was on the run. . . . Unfortunately, though well-versed in constitutional and federal legal processes, it became apparent that he'd get no due process to protect rights clearly denied to him. For the child support he couldn't pay, he's been sent to jail. . . . Amir is now on a hunger strike to try to expose his plight and that of other fathers under this tyrannical anti-father system that separates fathers from their children and turn them into criminals. <MORE>

Bruce Eden, Civil Rights Director
DADS (Dads Against Discrimination)--New Jersey

NEW JERSEY

U.S. dad says he hopes to bring son home

CNN

12-17-09 -- An American father said he hopes to be bringing his 9-year-old son home from Brazil on Thursday after a long international custody battle that has involved U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and many Brazilian courtrooms. . . . A Brazilian court on Wednesday ordered that the boy, Sean Goldman, be returned to the custody of his father in the United States. The father, David Goldman, spoke to CNN's "American Morning" on Thursday shortly after his plane touched down in Brazil. . . . "I hope that this is the last trip I'll have to come down here," Goldman said. . . . In an earlier conversation with CNN's Anderson Cooper, Goldman said, "I hope this time I will be able to go down to Brazil and come back home with my son. Hopefully the rule of law, god, nature, human decency will be followed, and Sean will come home to reunite with me, his only parent."

FLORIDA

Where's the justice?

Klaus H. Mehlhorn Opinion, Hernando Today

12-2-09 -- Re: "Concerned Father: Don't let my son go," by Tony Holt in the Nov. 22 edition of Hernando Today. . . . I am of the impression that this man, Nasser Samad, is genuine in his expression. As a parent having gone through this, I can feel his pain. I give my thanks to Tony Holt for exposing this "insensitive justice." Holt is a true patriot for this, and the judge is a total pinhead, as Bill O'Reilly would put it. . . . I cannot believe this judge, Daniel Merritt Jr., will not at least request a guardian ad litem. I also cannot believe this judge will not let the 11-year-old boy testify. In addition, I cannot believe this judge will not hear counseling sessions with the boy's therapist. This judge absolutely allows an injustice to exist and does nothing about it. I don't know all the facts, but from what I have read and from the experience of having gone through this same scenario, I must dismiss the judge and applaud the father and his lawyer. . . . At this juncture, if I were the father's lawyer, I would not stop arguing this point until the judge's wrong is corrected. I would continue to do this until Judge Merritt sees the light. I would do this before the Paris flight and at this point, I would do it for the cause at no further charge. His client deserves better, as he and his son have suffered enough. There is moral and ethical law and there is legal law. Moral laws are absolute like gravity is. Legal law is arbitrary and based on politics and money and is manipulated. It's easy to draw the line here.

November 2009

TEXAS  

Father putting his life back together after daughters recant stories of molestation

By Diane Jennings / The Dallas Morning News

11-27-09 -- "Paul Parks" spent almost three years in prison for molesting his two young daughters. He spent another 15 years living with the stigma of being a registered sex offender. . . . All because of what they now say is a lie. . . . Last year his now-adult daughters changed their story and he was exonerated. Such recantations are not unusual, but being declared innocent by the courts is rare. . . . For Parks, who requested a pseudonym as he pulls his life back together, his moment came when a Dallas judge concluded that his daughters' recantations were credible. In April, the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals set the convictions aside "on actual innocence grounds." . . . The 54-year-old father of nine, paroled in 1994, got a call at work last spring telling him that after 25 years of hoping and praying, his name was cleared. . . . "It feels like I've got my life back, like I was suffocating and I came back to life," he says. . . . "I didn't want to die with a lie." . . . Once a lawyer, now a truck driver, he celebrated by asking his boss for time off to attend the wedding of one of the two daughters who accused him of molesting them. . . . Parks' case is every man's nightmare: to be accused of molesting your own daughters and to have no way to prove you didn't do it. Even now, he's aware that without conclusive evidence, like in the flurry of DNA exonerations in recent years, some people will always wonder if he's guilty.

I traced my dad... and discovered he is Charles Manson

By Pete Samson. US Editor

11-23-09-- LIKE many adopted children, Matthew Roberts set about finding his biological parents with a mix of nerves and excitement. . . . In particular, he hoped that discovering his father's identity would help him to work out what made him the man he had become. . . . But nothing could have prepared him for being told his dad was... serial killer CHARLES MANSON. . . . Over a five-week period in the summer of 1969, Manson and his Family of commune followers committed a series of nine gruesome murders. Victims included pregnant actress Sharon Tate, wife of film director Roman Polanski. . . . Matthew, 41 - who bears a haunting resemblance to his father - sank into depression after discovering his identity. . . . He has since been in contact with his dad in a series of letters to his California prison and Manson has replied - each time chillingly signing off with a swastika. . . . Now Matthew, who was given up for adoption as a baby, has told of his horror at finding out he was the son of a monster. . . . He says: "I didn't want to believe it. I was frightened and angry. It's like finding out that Adolf Hitler is your father. . . . "I'm a peaceful person - trapped in the face of a monster." . . . Matthew grew up in Rockford, Illinois, and didn't know he was adopted until his sister told him when he was ten.

GEORGIA

April Becker-Antoniou: Woman Finds Dad By Googling Herself

Huffington Post (blog) - ‎Nov 11, 2009‎

11-11-09 -- April Becker-Antoniou was reunited with her father, who had spent 30 years searching for her, through a Google search. . . . Becker-Antoniou's father, Dr. Scott Becker, created a web site named after his daughter, AprilBecker.com, as part of his efforts to track her down. . . . Becker-Antoniou typed the name into Google, performed a search, and stumbled onto the website Becker had made in his search for his daughter. . . . Becker's site contained this message:

April Joi (Joy) Becker

Dear April, When you read this, please send an email to: april@aprilbecker.com. Im your Dad and I would really like to talk to ya. When I get your email, I will ask you a couple of questions that only you would know so I can filter out the crazies out there. By the way, You have a lil sister that REALLY wants to talk to you :-) Dad Scott Robert Becker"

After seeing the site, Becker-Antoniou first contacted her father over email. As CBS reports, The two communicated by e-mail and over the phone for the past five days. Becker said he confirmed her mother's maiden name, her birthday, middle name and some other specific details only his daughter would know.

OHIO  

Daddy activists facing prison promise ongoing protests

Teri Stoddard Family Rights Examiner

11-10-09 -- Jury selection continued today for the two daddy activists who hung banners on a 175' construction crane at Ohio State University last year to draw attention to civil rights violations within family court.  One banner read "Stop the war on fatherhood" and the other "Fathers 4 Justice." . . . As Donald Tenn explained in 18 mos prison possible for CA dad his daughter Madison was illegally moved from California to Illinois by her mother.  His wife filed a false restraining order claiming fear of him, he says, when she learned the law wouldn't support her unilateral decision. . . . When unmarried dad Paul Fisher was prohibited from being an equal parent to daughter Demetra he took his case to the Ohio Supreme Court, and won.  But the local family court judge circumvented the win, claiming a change in circumstances to deny Fisher equal parenting of his daughter.  He now sees Demetra just four days a month.

VAWA facilitates and funds illegal parental child abduction - part one

VAWA facilitated and funded the illegal abduction of Madison Tenn

Teri Stoddard, Family Rights Examiner

11-4-09 --

Fathers 4 Justice daddy activist Donald Tenn opens up about his own child custody case as he faces 18 months in prison for an Ohio crane protest, in this exclusive three-part interview. . . . . On May 25, 2006 Madison Tenn was illegally moved six states away from her Sacramento, California home by her mother, says dad Donald Tenn.  Since that time Shannon Phillips has committed fraud and perjury in two states, wasted thousands of tax-payer dollars and kept a little girl from her loving, stay-at-home, primary caretaker daddy, he adds. . . . . Tenn is speaking out about his own case he says, because he's facing 18 months in prison for a peaceful protest for parents rights.  He wants people to know the truth; that he and Shannon were happily married, "We never had domestic problems.  I'm not a violent person.  I believe in communication.  The police were never called to our home."

Continued in parts two and three.

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October 2009

Custody battle arises between father, stepfather

Charlie Butts - OneNewsNow

10-28-09 -- An odd child custody battle is now before the Pennsylvania Superior Court. . . . The story begins with a marriage between Eric Harner and his wife. The couple soon had a daughter, but divorced three years later, leaving primary custody of the child with the mother. Alliance Defense Fund attorney David Dye tells OneNewsNow that both remarried. However, the former wife died, leaving the little girl in the custody of her biological father. Dye says the stepfather then sued for custody. . . . "Well, the trial court sided with that gentleman, and the trial court made the little girl go back to live with the stepfather rather than with her own father, her stepmom, and her half brother," the attorney explains. . . . He further emphasizes that nothing has surfaced in the two-and-a-half years of litigation to indicate the biological father is not worthy of raising his own daughter. State law permits a third party to gain custody only under strict circumstances.

RHODE ISLAND

In this contest, there are never any winners

Bob Kerr: Providence Journal

10-11-09 -- Mickey Mouse got bounced from the birthday party. Actually, he never got in the door. He stood there, in full Disney, and was told he wasn’t wanted. . . . It was one of those mad, cruel moments from the divorce wars, where people get competitive over a kid’s happiness. In this case, a father who couldn’t attend his daughter’s birthday party because of a restraining order hired a person in a Mickey Mouse suit to go instead. It was his way of being part of the day without actually being there. . . . It didn’t work. The fun Mickey Mouse might have brought to the party was no match for a mother’s need to keep a father out of sight and out of mind. . . . There are lots of names for it — payback, revenge, getting even, sticking it to the ex. It might be the sickest part of divorce. It is the attempt to lay waste to the idea that divorced parents can both maintain strong relationships with their children. It is the attempt to poison kids’ minds. It gets vicious sometimes. . . . And it’s always expensive. Lawyers and therapists do well with it. A considerable chunk of a family’s assets can go down the tubes because an angry parent would rather keep hauling the case into court than reach healthy resolution. . . . Officially, it’s parental alienation syndrome. It’s not easy to diagnose. Sometimes, it’s impossible to determine whether one parent is more guilty of it than the other. It is filled with screams and accusations, court-ordered therapy and the degrading experience of visiting with one’s own sons or daughters under court-ordered supervision — at $35 an hour. . . . False charges of abuse are fairly standard.

WEST VIRGINIA   

Judge: W.Va. shelter rules biased against men

P.J. Dickerscheid, Associated Press Writer, Kansas City Star

10-8-09 -- A Kanawha County Circuit judge has voided West Virginia's regulations for domestic violence programs, saying they discriminate by denying abused men access to publicly funded shelters and women abusers access to treatment. . . . In a decision received Tuesday, Judge James C. Stucky said Family Protection Services Board's rules for licensing domestic violence shelters, certifying advocates and distributing state funding distort lawmakers' intent and violate the West Virginia Men & Women Against Discrimination's right to free speech. . . . The nonprofit advocacy group sued the state board last year. . . . Stucky said the state administers its programs on the premise that only men can be batterers and only women can be victims by requiring public shelters to adopt and adhere to the principle of separate but equal treatment based on gender. . . . "The practical effect of this rule is to exclude adult and adolescent males from their statutory right to safety and security free from domestic violence for no reason other than their gender," Stucky wrote in his Oct. 2 ruling.

Alec Baldwin Offers Divorce Advice in Paperback Book

By Martha Neil, ABA Journal

10-1-09 -- Divorcing actress Kim Basinger was hell, says actor Alec Baldwin. Plus it cost both of them some $3 million in legal fees. . . . But in a book that details the wrenching experience and has just been released in paperback, A Promise to Ourselves, he also offers some advice to others about avoiding the worst of the pitfalls he experienced. Among his suggestions: File first, get a lawyer who is not only skilled but someone you like and hire a good therapist.

September 2009

NEW YORK

Brooklyn Family Court judge refuses to terminate parental rights of incarcerated, illiterate dad

Daniel Weaver, Family Court Examiner

9-29-09 -- Kings County (Brooklyn, NY) Family Court Judge J. Alan Beckoff denied a petition to terminate the parental rights of an incarcerated father late last week. In the matter of Jayquan J., SCO Family of Services, a foster care agency, petitioned the court to terminate the parental rights of Clint J., saying that he had made no efforts to contact his child and had abandoned the child, therefore his consent was not needed to put Jayquan up for adoption. . . . "Teresa Tucker, the SCO caseworker, testified that Jayquan has been in a non-kinship foster home since entering foster care; that Respondent had no contact with him in the six-month period preceding the filing of the petition; that the agency had not discouraged Respondent from visiting or contacting Jayquan; that Respondent had not sent any cards, gifts, or letters to Jayquan; and that no one had come forward on Respondent's behalf. Ms. Tucker also testified that going back to May 2006, when Jayquan first came into SCO's care, Respondent did not have any contact with the child or the agency and had paid no support." . . . The judge found Tucker's testimony believable, but said in his decision, the agency treated the termination of parental rights in a perfunctory manner, acting as if Mr. J. "was little more than a technicality that had [to] be covered for the termination to go forward." . . . The court found the testimony of Clint J. to be credible, and his testimony underscores the difficulties that parents who are illiterate and/or incarcerated face when a petition is filed to terminate their parental rights. Mr. J testified  "that he told Becky C. that he wanted to get in touch with Jayquan either directly or through other individuals, but that he never got any addresses or contact information from the "foster people" and so did not know how to contact the New York City Administration for Children's Services ("ACS"). He said that he had no addresses or phone numbers for ACS caseworkers and that he wanted to send Jayquan clothing and cards but did not know where to send anything."

INDIANA

The War against Fathers

by Mike Adams, Townhall.com

9-21-09 -- Dan Brewington is among the latest casualties in a war against fathers that is tearing our nation apart, family by family. The Ripley and Dearborn County (Indiana) court system recently stripped him of his parental rights without reason or cause. He is no longer able to see his daughters despite his history of loving care for them and their strong bond with him. . . . Mr. Brewington has neither a criminal history nor a Social Services history. He is loved by his children whom he has taken excellent care of their entire lives. He has also demonstrated his ability to successfully parent the children under joint custody with the mother for the past 2 ½ years. Yet his rights were violated during divorce proceedings in which Judge Humphrey of Dearborn County ordered him to have no visitation with his children. . . . Ordering a man to have no contact with his children is a very serious matter. So there should be some compelling reason for such drastic intervention by the state into the life of a citizen. . . . As part of court documents submitted during the divorce proceedings, a custody evaluation report was, of course, submitted. In this report, a psychologist named Dr. Connor evaluated Dan Brewington’s parenting abilities. But Dr. Connor was not licensed in the state of Indiana at the time of his evaluation of Dan Brewington. So what was he doing stripping a man of his rights to see his children without proper licensure?

NEW YORK  

Criminal Past Does Not Bar Man From Adopting, Judge Decides

Vesselin Mitev, New York Law Journal

9-3-09 -- A history of crime and drug addiction spanning two decades should not bar a man from being eligible to adopt, said a New York surrogate judge who credited the man's attempt to turn his life around. . . . Since leaving prison for the last time in 2000, the prospective father has "demonstrably devoted himself to rebuilding his life," Nassau County Surrogate John B. Riordan ruled in Matter of the Adoption of Unknown (pdf), 362, allowing the man and his wife to take the first step toward becoming adoptive parents. . . . The couple had applied to be certified as qualified adoptive parents, which would enable them to be placed on a list of prospective candidates for private placement adoptions.

August 2009

GEORGIA

Childless man released from child support debt

CNN

8-11-09 --A Georgia man who spent a year in jail for nonpayment of child support -- despite the fact he has no children -- has been cleared of the debt, his attorney said Tuesday. . . . Frank Hatley, 50, spent 13 months in jail for being a deadbeat dad before his release last month. A judge ordered him jailed in June 2008 for failing to support his "son" -- a child who DNA tests proved was not fathered by Hatley. . . . Last week, Cook County Superior Court Judge Dane Perkins signed an order stating, "defendant is no longer responsible for paying any amount of child support." The order permits the state's Office of Child Support Services to close its file on Hatley. . . . "We're satisfied with the result for Mr. Hatley, but still troubled by the state's monumental lapse of judgment in this case," attorney Sarah Geraghty with the Atlanta-based Southern Center for Human Rights told CNN in a written statement. Hatley did not immediately return a call from CNN Tuesday. . . . His story dates back to 1986, when Hatley had a relationship with Essie Lee Morrison, who gave birth to a son. According to court documents, Morrison told Hatley the child was his, but the two ended their relationship shortly after the child was born. The couple never married and never lived together, the documents said.

CALIFORNIA

Abducted child's father faces prison for peaceful protest

8-9-09 --Donald Tenn, the Sacramento father who traveled to Washington DC recently for a rally to confront President Obama on his "fathers need to step up" comments, will be in a Columbus, Ohio courtroom Monday morning on charges related to his 4 day protest on a 175'  construction crane last year. . . . Tenn was a stay-at-home daddy until Shannon Phillips took their daughter to Illinois on what was described as a vacation three years ago.  After her arrival Phillips announced that she had no intention of returning to California, or of allowing Madison to return.  When Tenn reminded her that California law prevents parental move-aways Phillips filed her first of many false charges of domestic violence against Tenn. . . . At one point he had hope.  One judge refused a restraining order and scolded Phillips for her antics.  But after Tenn had one visit with Madison in Illinois Phillips renewed her campaign of false allegations. . . . He writes on his website dedicatedtomadison.com:

July 2009

TENNESSEE  

Tennessee ACLU Affiliate Attorney Participates in Abuse of Children

Contact: Daniel Morgan, Christian Citizens against Corruption, 423-519-6410, stopdcsabuse@gmail.com  

Christian Newswire

7-31-09 -- Daniel Morgan is a father to three children 4, 6 and 7 years of age. When his children came home from visitations with their mother having burns, blistering, lacerations, needle punctures, bruising and infection. Mr. Morgan reported this to the Tennessee Department of Children's Services and his Attorney Peter J. Alliman (TBA #5984). . . . Physicians, Medical records, affidavits, letters and reports from school administrators, teachers and licensed clinical social workers all indicated that the abuses occurred to the children while in their mothers care and specifically by an adult male companion having past drug convictions while cohabitating with the children's mother. . . . Judge Jerri Bryant a Chancery Court Judge ordered that "the parties minor children shall not be left alone in the care of the wife's live in boyfriend John Scarbrough and the children shall not be allowed to ride in a motor vehicle being driven by John Scarbrough." Several police reports verify John Scarbrough blatantly violating Judge Jerri Bryant court order on numerous occasions. . . . When Mr. Morgan consulted his attorney Peter J. Alliman about the burns and lacerations to his 2 year old son Mr. Alliman reply was, "I don't have time to deal with your case on a day to day basis; there are other people with more serious problems!" When Mr. Morgan reported that John Scarbrough was in violation of Judge Jerri Bryant court order by picking up his 2 year son and his two daughters Mr. Allimans response was "Just because he doesn't have a drivers license doesn't mean he can't drive."

Family Court Injustices to Men

by Phyllis Schlafly

7-21-09 -- Did you know that a family court can order a man to reimburse the government for the welfare money, falsely labeled "child support," that was paid to the mother of a child to whom he is not related? Did you know that, if he doesn't pay, a judge can sentence him to debtor's prison without ever letting him have a jury trial? . . . Did you know that debtor's prisons (putting men in prison because they can't pay a debt) were abolished in the United States before we abolished slavery, but that they exist today to punish men who are too poor to pay what is falsely called "child support"?  . . . Did you know that when corporations can't pay their debts, they can take bankruptcy, which means they pay off their debts for pennies on the dollar, but a man can never get an alleged "child support" debt forgiven or reduced, even if he is out of a job, penniless and homeless, medically incapacitated, incarcerated (justly or unjustly) or serving in our Armed Forces overseas, can't afford a lawyer, or never owed the money in the first place? . . . Did you know that when a woman applying for welfare handouts lies about who the father of her child is, she is never prosecuted for perjury? Did you know that judges can refuse to accept DNA evidence showing that the man she accuses is not the father? . . . Did you know that alleged "child support" has nothing to do with supporting a child because the mother has no obligation to spend even one dollar of it on a child, and in many cases none of the "support" money ever gets to a child because it goes to fatten the payroll of the child-support bureaucracy? . . . These are among the injustices that the feminists, and their docile liberal male allies, have inflicted on men. The sponsor was former Democratic Senator from New Jersey and presidential candidate Bill Bradley.

GEORGIA  

Man jailed for child support, even though he was not the father, released

By Bill Rankin, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

7-15-09 --A South Georgia man who had been jailed for more than a year for not paying child support — even though he was not the biological father — was released from custody on Wednesday. . . . “I thank God for this day,” Frank Hatley, 50, said in a telephone interview shortly after his release. “It feels good being free.” . . . Hatley had sat in a Cook County jail since June 25, 2008, even though a special assistant state attorney general and the judge knew Hatley was not the child’s biological father. . . . After showing a judge during a hearing Wednesday that he was indigent, Hatley was ordered released from confinement, his lawyer, Sarah Geraghty of the Southern Center for Human Rights, said. . . . The judge, however, postponed deciding whether Hatley must still repay the more than $10,000 in child support the state says he owes. But Hatley does not have to make any monthly payments until that issue is resolved, Geraghty said.

PENNSYLVANIA  

Attorney Freed After Being Jailed 14 Years for Contempt in Divorce Case

JoAnn Loviglio, The Associated Press, Law.com

7-13-09 -- A Pennsylvania attorney who was released from prison Friday after serving the longest imprisonment on a civil contempt charge in U.S. history said judges have too much discretion in cases like his. . . . "If I had been convicted of murder in the third degree in Pennsylvania, I would have been out in half the time I was in jail," H. Beatty Chadwick said in a telephone interview with The Associated Press. . . . A judge ordered Chadwick's release from a county prison in suburban Philadelphia more than 14 years after he was jailed for refusing to turn over millions of dollars in a bitter divorce battle. The case prompted dozens of appeals to county, state and federal courts, twice reaching the U.S. Supreme Court. . . . Chadwick, 73, said he will stay with his 41-year-old son, Bill, for now. He said he plans to find a job, though he was not sure what sort of work he would do.

Fathers wanted, fathers needed

By Jesse Muhammad, FinalCall.com Staff Writer

7-3-09 -- Father's Day, with its annual commercialized corporate advertisements and gift giving, has come and gone, but one group of men in America must continue year-round work to break the stereotype that they are irresponsible, no-good and indifferent towards parenting—the group of men is Black fathers. . . . Black children living in fatherless homes exceed 50 percent; single Black mothers are increasingly at the helm of households, not to mention the number of Black children having to talk to incarcerated fathers through a double pane of glass. . . . While analysts and the media often focus on the problem, Dr. Rozario Slack and other advocates seek to counter the negative image with examples of Black men who are successful husbands, fathers and role models. . . . “We can't just continue to point out the statistics. We already know them. But who is offering assistance to the men and being the example is the question. Where are those stories?” asked Dr. Slack. . . . Dr. Slack is the founder of Rozario Slack Enterprises in Chattanooga, Tenn. He travels across the country conducting seminars about marriage, fathering and other issues that impact children and families. He challenges Black men to develop healthy, wholesome family, and marital relationships. He has also published several books that offer real life tools. . . . “We help young men with pre-birth preparation, ways to avoid infidelity, financial management, and other means by which to save their families,” said Dr. Slack. He has been married over 16 years and has three children ages 13, 10, and 6. . . . “I am blessed to have an example in my parents who have been married for 58 years,” said Dr. Slack, who is also the head pastor of Temple of Faith Deliverance Church of God in Christ. “Divorce is far from my mind. We have to show that President Obama is only an example of other great Black husbands and fathers that exist. With all due respect, he is not the only one. Let's push them out front.”

June 2009

ARIZONA

More dads embracing bigger role in kids' lives

By Karina Bland, The Associated Press, Maryville Daily Times

6-29-09 -- It's just after lunch on a Friday, and Johnny Ruiz of Gilbert is outside with his three boys, pumping up the tires on their bikes. . . . Like a growing number of fathers, Ruiz spends a lot of time with his kids, juggling part-time jobs so he can be home when they get out of school. . . . In most families, it's still Mom who does the majority of the work when it comes to raising children, but in more and more homes, Dad is coming close. Over the past 10 years, experts say, a new breed of dad has been surfacing: He's more hands-on right from the start. He's going to appointments with the obstetrician and reading to his baby in utero. He's more touchy-feely, hugging and kissing the children as much as Mom does. He's taking the kids to school, volunteering in their classrooms and helping with homework.

What is a Good Father? Are You a Good Parent?

by Mark Adams, www.opednews.com

6-21-09 -- Unfortunately, since you’ve been kept in the dark about one of the most important ways that our Nation’s Framers provided for us to prevent abuse by government agents and criminals and the widespread damage that the loss of that right has caused, you are failing your children. However, you can redeem yourself by taking action now. . . . What is a good father or mother? A good father or mother provides a variety of things that are important to their children, but mostly importantly, a good father or mother takes action to make sure that their children are protected from harm. . . . Certainly, a good father or mother would take action to protect their children from being beaten, raped or tortured.  However, most Americans are failing their children in this most important task. Torture is routinely used by U.S. government agents against Americans, but the "news" media almost never mentions this serious issue or that it happens daily to completely innocent, mostly young, Americans. . . . Since most of you are saying, "No way. That can’t be true!" I’ll let you in on one of the dirty secrets that the "news" media cartel has kept you in the dark about.

Celebrating Dad is worth the hoopla

Rebecca Montgomery: Dallas Morning News 

6-19-09 -- This weekend we pay tribute to our dads. Just once a year, they get a day to rest on their laurels, have lunch at the restaurant of their choosing and be gifted with items that will quite possibly gather dust in their closets. . . . But it is their day, and they deserve it. . . . This year is actually the unofficial 100th anniversary of the observance of Father's Day. In 1909, in a small church in Spokane, Wash., a young woman named Sonora Smart Dodd listened to a sermon on Mother's Day. Her own mother already dead, she was being raised along with her five siblings by her father. It seemed to Sonora that father's should be given the same due and be granted a day dedicated in their honor. . . . Sonora and those who supported her spent decades getting the holiday officially established, and in 1966, President Lyndon Johnson signed a presidential proclamation declaring the third Sunday of June as Father's Day. And now we have Hallmark and retail stores across the nation reminding us how important it is to honor our dads. . . . I'm not a huge fan of the over-commercialization of the myriad holidays on this nation's official calendar. But fathers – and the role they play in their children's lives – are extremely important. And if a little hoopla is called for, then so be it. . . . As a child, I didn't even realize that there were kids without fathers at home, or fathers who weren't supportive or present in their children's lives. That is part of the innocent bliss of childhood – whatever your experience is, you tend to believe that it is universal. Obviously, as I grew older, I realized there were fatherless families.

CALIFORNIA

Court Denies Benefits to Child Conceived With Dead Father's Sperm

Courthouse News Service

6-19-09 -- A child conceived from the sperm of her deceased father cannot claim survivor Social Security benefits, the 9th Circuit ruled. The court rested its decision largely on the mother's inability to prove that the father had consented to the birth. . . . A three-judge panel upheld the district court's denial of benefits to Brandalynn Vernoff and her mother, Gabriela. . . .      Brandalynn was conceived after her father, Bruce Vernoff, died of accidental causes in July 1995. Shortly after his death, Gabriela directed a doctor to extract five vials of Bruce's semen, which she used to undergo in vitro fertilization in 1998. . . . About five months after giving birth to Brandalynn, Gabriela filed a claim for child survivor benefits on behalf of her daughter and herself, as the surviving child's mother. . . . The Social Security Administration denied their claim, and Gabriela appealed, claiming her posthumously conceived daughter had an equal-protection right to the benefits. . . . But the San Francisco-based federal appeals court emphasized that a child must be dependent on the insured parent to be eligible for benefits. Gabriela could not establish her daughter's dependence, the panel said, because she was unable to prove that Bruce had consented to the birth.

Any man can be a father.  It takes someone special to be a dad. 
~Author Unknown~

Dad Commits Paternity Fraud, Goes to Prison

By Robert Franklin, Esq. | Men’s News Daily

6-18-09 -- We've seen plenty of paternity fraud before, but always done by a woman.  Usually she tells a guy - or allows her husband to believe - that the child is his, when it's not.  That way, she gets to choose who she wants to be the dad.  If she prefers Tom to Harry, she tells Tom the baby's his whether it is or not. . . . The other way a woman commits paternity fraud is to disappear from the man's life once she's pregnant.  Or, if he asks her whose it is, she tells him it's someone else's. . . . However it's done, I have only seen two cases in which a woman paid any type of price for her deceit.  Back in 1990, a West Virginia woman, Anne Conaty, became pregnant with her boyfriend's (John Kessel's) child.  He made it clear to her that he wanted to be a hands-on father, but she had other ideas.  She fled to California and placed the child for adoption in Canada, fully aware that Kessel had gotten a temporary injunction against the adoption.  The adoption was completed, but Kessel successfully sued Conaty, winning a judgment for $7.85 million against her and her California attorney. . . . In one other case, a Georgia man successfully got a judgment for return of child support he had paid for a child who was not his and about whom the mother had lied.

OHIO

Child support law enforced equally, area officials say
By Ryan Carter, Herald Record Staff Writer

6-15-09 -- "Why don't women who owe child support go to jail?" . . . Two local men who pay child support recently made claims that the mothers of their children (who both have been ordered to pay child support) are treated with more leniency when they fail to make their child support payments. . . . "My ex-wife is supposed to be paying child support on three of my kids," said a Fayette County man who requested anonymity. "I've been paying child support to her mother who has custody of the kids. I've already been locked up a couple of times for not paying." . . . The man also claims that his ex-wife hasn't paid any child support since 2003. . . . "She lives in (another state) and when I ask the child support agency why she can't be arrested, they tell me it's hard to enforce it when she's out of state," he said. "I just don't think it's right that they don't arrest her. I'm taking care of my business now and she isn't. It's not right." . . . Another local man who has custody of his youngest child said his ex-girlfriend is also chronically late on child support payments, yet nothing has been done. "I'm perfectly fine taking care of my child and I like this setup," he said. "But if the shoe was on the other foot, I would most likely be in trouble. If you have a court order to do something, and in this case it's to pay child support, you should have to do it or pay the consequences." . . . However, a look at the records in Fayette County Common Pleas Court shows that women who are charged with felonies for non-support are punished with the same severity as men. Just last week, Judge Steven Beathard sent a Fayette County woman, Tina Snyder, to prison for six months for non-support after she violated her community control. . . . A comparison of men and women who have the same amount of non-support violations showed that they were treated by the courts nearly identically.

Men In Power

By: Dean Tong, NewsWithViews.com

6-6-09 -- We have seen literally scores of men's rights groups pop up globally over the past 40 years. From MEN International to the National Organization for Men to the National Coalition for Free Men, most of these well-intentioned and well-meaning groups were not organized, funded well enough, or politically backed to compete with the rise of the feminists and the National Organization for Women. That said, it is important for everyone - men, women, and children - to ascertain the significance of The Men's Movement and that men are not just "paychecks and biological necessities." . . . We have heard of The Promise Keepers and of the 1995 Million Man March. Even Mel Feit from the National Center for Men recently appeared against feminist love Gloria Allred on Dr. Phil. Now, a brand new college born group from the University of Chicago called Men in Power has surfaced. And the president of the advocacy group, Steve Saltarelli, has just been interviewed on National Public Radio. . . . Saltarelli's group is the first men's group at the University of Chicago compared with nine women's advocacy groups at the same. Men in Power was started to raise awareness of men, professionally speaking. Saltarelli, who desires to become an attorney, believes men need help with respect to the fields of medicine, law and business. He wants to bring in speakers to address these issues and garner media attention, too. According to Mark Perry, an economist at the University of Michigan in Flint, in April, the national unemployment rate for men was 10 percent compared 7.6 percent for women. In addition, he said women hold three out of every four jobs in health care and education. As a still licensed laboratory medical technologist who worked in hospitals for twenty-odd years, I can tell you firsthand women outnumbered men in the labs big time. And Perry said future employment for men is an issue, too, because since 1981 women hold more bachelor's and master's degrees than men do.

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May 2009

Editorial: Anti-Dad bias

Why is the father always the villain on American TV?

By The Washington Times 

5-18-09 -- Strong families need strong fathers, but American television has come a long way from the 1950s series "Father Knows Best." . . . Now Lifetime TV, a network known for its movies about women being endangered by men, has sunk to a new low - a reality program called "Deadbeat Dads." . . . In the beginning of gotcha TV, viewers enjoyed watching the police bust down a door and haul away the bad guy on a show like "Cops." That same format migrated over to Animal Planet, where the cops bust down the door and arrest the man who has been starving his dogs or kicking his cats. Now Lifetime is doing the same thing to divorced fathers. . . . Lifetime TV's new reality show, "Deadbeat Dads," centers around National Child Support founder Jim Durham, who finds and confronts dads who do not pay their child support. Reuters news agency reports that Mr. Durham "functions as sort of a 'Dog the Bounty Hunter' for tracking deadbeats ... it's ambush reality TV." However, the reality show, originally developed at Fox as "Bad Dads" and later dropped, is Lifetime's attempt to take cheap shots at men while ignoring the damage the show can cause children, wives and other family members. . . . The Lifetime TV program ignores the numbers. More than 90 percent of fathers with joint custody paid the support due, according to a Census Bureau report (Series P-23, No. 173). So deadbeats are in the minority. Also, most so-called deadbeat dads actually are dead broke. Two-thirds of men who fail to make child-support payments earn poverty-level wages, according to the Federal Office of Child Support Enforcement. Most of the others are unemployed.

TEXAS  

Whistleblower claims Texas unfairly targeted judges who defend fathers' rights

Barbara Thompson, Single Parenting Examiner, Examiner.com

5-25-09 -- Ginger Weatherspoon, a former Assistant Attorney General in Texas, has filed a lawsuit in Dallas County District Court claiming that she was fired for refusing to sign a false affidavit accusing Judge David Hanschen of wrongdoing. . . . Judge Hanschen has been at odds with the Texas Attorney General's office for several years over what he claims are unfair and deceptive practices used to award and collect child support.  Some staff in the Attorney General's office had been collecting affidavits accusing Judge Hanschen of threatening the AG's office or issuing prejudicial rulings against AAGs.  Presumably their intent was to file a complaint of judicial misconduct against Hanschen. . . . Several lawyers in the AG's office claim that they were encouraged or coerced into signing the affidavit's against their will, but Weatherspoon says that she was fired for refusing to cooperate. . . . Ongoing conflict between Judge Hanschen and the Texas Attorney General's Office. . . . The Texas Attorney General's office prides itself on its relentless pursuit of deadbeat parents and portrays itself as an advocate for children. The office's Child Support Division has been nationally recognized for leading the country in child support collections. Critics point out that since the office receives federal funds based on the amount of child support it collects, there is a financial incentive to close as many cases as possible without regard for the rights of the parties involved.

TENNESSEE  

Child custody case to study constitutional protections

Fathers frequently left without significant contact

By Bob Unruh, © 2009 WorldNetDaily

5-12-09 -- A court hearing is scheduled tomorrow on arguments that allege the basic child custody procedures used by judges in Bradley County, Tenn., are unconstitutionally biased in favor of one parent. . . . WND previously reported on the case stemming from a divorce dispute that attorney Stanley Charles Thorne believes could impact custody decisions nationwide, because it calls down the authority of the 14th Amendment's equal protection clause to help fathers who are good parents. . . . According to Thorne, the case before Circuit Judge J. Michael Sharp is testing the court procedures used in the child custody case of 3-year-old  Kate Hopkins, which began in 2007. . . . After more than two years in court and five different judges, the case is set for trial beginning May 27 in Sharp's courtroom. But Sharp is hearing the constitutional issues before the rest of the case is heard. . . . Attorney Jeffrey Miller will argue on behalf of fit Tennessee parents and their children, and an attorney from the Tennessee attorney general's office, Warren Jasper, is expected to argue on behalf of the standard procedures. . . . According to a statement from Thorne, one of the procedures that will be challenged is the "80-day rule" created by local judges. It automatically takes effect as soon as a child custody case is filed, allowing one parent only 80 days a year with the child while the other parent is allowed 285 days – regardless of circumstances. . . . The rule, Miller argues, discriminates against one parent, violating the principle of equal protection as well as due process, since it is imposed without a hearing. . . . Such procedures would be banned if Sharp rules the practices are unconstitutional, Thorne's statement said. . . . Hundreds of divorce cases are filed daily across the U.S., and according to the Children'sJustice.org website, custody dispute cases leave nearly 38 percent of the fathers with no access or visitation rights to their children. In addition, four in 10 mothers report they interfered with the father's visitation to punish him at least once, half the mothers see "no value" in the father's continued contact with his children and 70 percent of the fathers wanted more time with their kids. ******* Thorne questioned the legal system ordering a child taken from one parent "when the child is in no danger … and the child has never been abused, neglected, or harmed" and given to another parent absent a court order. . . . The 14th Amendment states: "No state shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any state deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws." . . . "This case affects not just the people of Tennessee," Thorne said. "This is huge." . . . Numerous organizations are working for the rights of fathers in disputes like the Tennessee case, including FathersCustody.org, LongDistanceParenting.org, Fathers False Charges Helpline, Fathers National Lawyers Referral, WinningCustody.com and FathersRights.org.

DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA   

Court Suspends License of D.C. Madam's Lawyer

Mike Scarcella, Legal Times

5-4-09 -- In a rare opinion addressing allegations of attorney misconduct, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit Friday ordered the law license of Montgomery Blair Sibley, the civil attorney for the late D.C. Madam, suspended for three years. Sibley is vowing to fight on to clear his name. . . . The reciprocal discipline imposed by the appeals court stems from action in another jurisdiction. In 2008, the Supreme Court of Florida suspended Sibley from the practice of law for three years for contempt of court for failure to pay child support and for filing frivolous claims and appeals. . . . Sibley, a D.C. solo practitioner, failed to pay $4,000 a month to his ex-wife after he moved from South Florida in May 2000, court records show. Sibley challenged the sufficiency of the Florida proceedings and argued, among other things, that he was not given a proper chance to be heard. He also contends there was an insufficient record on which to base the allegations against him. He was admitted to the Florida Bar in 1987 and the D.C. Bar in 1999.

April 2009

NEW YORK

State program helps Onondaga County men become better fathers

by Delen Goldberg / The Post-Standard

4-15-09 -- Perry Rouse says he'd probably be in jail if not for the Parents Success Initiative of Onondaga County, a state pilot program aimed at making men better fathers. . . . Seven months ago, Rouse, a Desert Storm veteran, owed large amounts of child support for his two daughters but was unable to make payments. He had no job and no lawyer. . . . "I was sick. I was dejected. Then, I found a program to help me," said Rouse, 43, of Syracuse. . . . Today, Rouse is rebuilding his relationship with his 21-year-old and creating new bonds with his 3-year-old. . . . "I relate better to them, I call more often," Rouse said. "Every minute I have free, I'm with my 3-year-old. My 21-year-old, I was surprised she actually listens to what I say." . . . "I thought I was a good father at the time," Rouse continued, "but I took classes and learned it's more than just financial support. I need to be a hands-on dad."

INDIANA

Helman Sent Letter Day Before Shooting
Daniel Riordan, Times-Union Staff Writer

4-13-09 -- The Times-Union received a letter Wednesday morning from the Cromwell man who had a nine-hour standoff with police Thursday night. . . . Gary Helman, 50, was shot twice, once in the hip and once in the leg Thursday night after a standoff with Indiana State Police near his home in the Enchanted Hills Subdivision. . . . Helman allegedly refuse to accept warrants that ISP attempted to serve. . . . Two Whitley County warrants charge Helman with violation of a protective order. A third warrant from Kosciusko County charges him with pointing a firearm. . . . In the letter sent to the Times-Union, Helman claimed his rights had been violated by state police and that two state troopers attempted to murder him with a vehicle. . . . State police had been at Helman's property a month ago in an unsuccessful attempt to serve warrants. . . . Police said Helman reportedly has a history of anti-government, anti-law-enforcement behavior. Helman reportedly refused to accept warrants unless served federal officers, police said. ****** In another letter sent to the Times-Union, a man who identifies himself as Dr. Amir H. Sanjari, claims the issues with Helman result from a divorce and custody issue. . . . Sanjari also claims that Helman's mother was "roughed up" after her son was shot Thursday night. Sanjari quotes an unnamed source, who was allegedly at the scene of the accident. ****** The letter by Sanjari alleges wrongdoing by judges and prosecutors on both county and state levels. . . . Sanjari's letter states that "no doubt the local media will perform their long-standing rule of ignoring the facts regarding such corruption and crimes by the judges and their henchmen and duly ignore and/or cover up the fact and put on the official spin."

NEW YORK

New York State Fatherhood Program Highlighted at National Conference

Urban Institute Study of OTDA's Fatherhood Initiative Released

readMedia

4-6-09 -- The State Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance (OTDA) today released the initial findings of the Urban Institute's study of New York State's "Strengthening Families Through Stronger Fathers" initiative, the most comprehensive study of fatherhood programs yet conducted. The study was presented as part of a panel discussion during the American Public Human Services Association Spring conference in Washington, D.C. Monday. Among the report's findings is that there is an overwhelming demand for services provided through the initiative - particularly among minority men with a criminal record. . . . "This analysis by the Urban Institute will help us to shape the future of fatherhood programs in New York State and across the country," said OTDA Commissioner David A. Hansell. "Fatherhood programs allow us to build on the success of welfare reform, whose primary beneficiaries have been single moms, to enhance the economic prospects of low-income men, and to increase their chances of achieving self-sufficiency for themselves and their children." . . . New York's fatherhood program, launched in 2006, funds five pilot programs to provide intensive employment services and other supportive services to low-income noncustodial parents, and provides a refundable tax credit for low-income noncustodial parents who remain current in paying child support. Pilot sites are located in Erie, Chautauqua and Onondaga counties and two are in New York City.

March 2009

VERMONT

Stay-at-home Dad Wins Online Education Scholarship from GetEducated.com for Unique "Humane Leadership" (Animal Welfare) Degree

A 41-year-old stay-at-home dad in Vermont wins Online Education Scholarship from GetEducated.com for a unique "humane leadership" online bachelor's degree, aimed at future animal welfare workers. Online education's growth and stability has allowed colleges to offer narrowly specialized, unusual degrees, providing flexibility for consumers seeking new or better careers, says GetEducated CEO Vicky Phillips.

(PRWEB)

3-19-09 -- You don't have to leave home to get a degree in animal welfare. Ask Paul Kopulos - a 41-year-old stay-at-home dad living in Vermont, who is finishing his bachelor's degree in humane leadership from Pittsburgh's Duquesne University. . . . Kopulos, like all other students in the unusual program (which is co-sponsored by the Humane Society of the U.S.), is earning his degree completely online, while caring for a two-month-old baby, a two-year-old toddler, and three shelter pets (two dogs and a cat). The degree is aimed at people who wish to work in animal welfare or advocacy positions. . . . GetEducated.com is rewarding Kopulos' efforts with a $1,000 Excellence in Online Education Scholarship. . . . For Kopulos, going to school online worked perfectly with his hectic lifestyle. . . . "With the kids and everything else going on in my life, I can do my school when I need to," says Kopulos. "I can take an exam at midnight or 1 a.m." . . . Online education is appealing to nontraditional, older students like Kopulos, who are turning to the Internet for maximum flexibility in training for new careers. Internet learning has broadened to include a variety of unique degrees. . . . Vicky Phillips, GetEducated's founder, says that "a decade ago, a narrowly specialized degree like this one -- leadership in the animal welfare sector -- would have been impossible to find. One physical college could not have found enough students within commute distance to sustain such a narrow career specialty."

GEORGIA

Student fought long for right to be a father

By Gracie Bonds Staples, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

3-18-09 -- You may or may not remember Rashad Head, the 17-year-old father who a few years ago was waging a fight to see his son. . . . It seemed a small thing to ask, but five months after his birth, the court was still siding with the infant’s mother even though Head had done everything the law required. **** Just days after Rashad’s ex-girlfriend gave birth, an adoption agency called Rashad’s father, Geoff Head, requesting consent to let his grandson be adopted. . . . Geoff Head refused. He wanted Rashad to do what he’d always tried to do, take care of his son. . . . Indeed, from the moment Rashad learned his girlfriend was pregnant, he had stood by her. When they told their parents, the Heads supported Rashad. . . . “What we did was a mistake, but I don’t look at my son as a mistake,” Rashad said then. “I don’t ever want him to feel he doesn’t have a real place in this world.” . . . The Heads decided to fight. Leslie Graham took their case pro bono and on Feb. 24, after almost three years of legal wrangling, got some good news. . . . Gwinnett Superior Court Judge George Hutchinson awarded Rashad joint legal custody of his son, three consecutive weeks of summer visitation plus every other weekend and the right to change the toddler’s name to Trey Rashad Head.

ILLINOIS

Father seeks custody of baby rescued from toilet; mother remains jailed

The father of an infant rescued from a toilet is seeking custody while the mother remains jailed in southwestern Illinois on attempted murder charges.

Seattle Times

3-18-09 -- The father of an infant rescued from a toilet is seeking custody while the mother remains jailed in southwestern Illinois on attempted murder charges. . . . Edward Goodrich of Belleville appeared with his attorney at a custody hearing Tuesday, but no action was taken and the child remains in a foster home. Another hearing is scheduled for April 7. . . . Authorities say 23-year-old Elyse Mamino (MAM'-ih-noh) delivered a baby girl in a Columbia home's bathroom during a family party in November and tried to drown her in the toilet. . . . After her arrest, authorities found the remains of an infant in Mamino's Belleville home. The cause of that infant's death remains unclear, and no charges have been filed in that case.

February 2009

Reporter Apologizes After Fathers & Families Bombards Sacramento Paper over Anti-Father Article

February 19th, 2009 by Glenn Sacks

In a Fathers & Families Action Alert last week, I explained that journalist R.V. Scheide of the Sacramento News & Review, a prominent California weekly, labeled Parental Alienation a “discredited, pseudoscientific malady” in his article Down by law (2/5/09). I wrote “The author of the article, R.V. Scheide, probably means well but…doesn’t know any better–write him (politely).” . . . Hundreds of you wrote Scheide and/or Letters to the Editor. Today, Scheide publicly apologized and wrote a (mostly) classy article in response. Below is his article in italics, interspersed with my comments –to read the full article without my commentary, click here.

Fathers' rights campaigner jailed for abusing young child

2-18-09 -- A FATHERS 4 Justice campaigner has been jailed for sexually abusing a young child. . . . Lee Doyle, from Sea Mills, was known for his involvement with the civil rights group and its protests calling for better rights for caring dads. . . . Having sexually abused the youngster, he denied any wrong-doing, leaving the child to face the traumatic consequences of giving evidence in court. . . . Doyle,  26, was convicted of causing or inciting a child to engage in sexual activity as well as engaging in sexual activity. . . . Judge David Ticehurst imposed the maximum jail term of four years. . . . He told Doyle: “You were convicted on clear evidence and the aggravating feature is that your victim was very young. . . . “The child was forced to give evidence at a very young age. . . . “It’s abundantly clear having to give evidence has had a regrettable impact on the child. . . . “You continue to maintain your innocence when it’s abundantly clear you were guilty.” . . . The judge, who said he thought that potentially Doyle posed a serious risk of harm to young children, made him the subject of a Sexual Offences Prevention Order keeping him away from youngsters for 10 years. . . . Doyle was ordered to register as a sex offender indefinitely.

NEW JERSEY

After bitter 4-year fight, he finally sees his son again

Dad has ‘beautiful’ reunion with boy whose mother abducted him to Brazil

By Mike Celizic TODAYShow.com contributor

2-10-09 -- Choking back tears that had been building up for more than four and a half years, a New Jersey father tried to describe the emotions he felt at finally being able to hold and hug his son and tell the boy how much he loved him. . . . “It was the most beautiful thing I’ve seen since his birth. It was incredible. Amazing. I got to see my son,” David Goldman told TODAY’s Meredith Vieira Tuesday by phone from Brazil. . . . The previous day, accompanied by U.S. Rep. Chris Smith of New Jersey, Goldman had finally reached the end of a nightmare that began in June 2004 when his wife, Bruna, left with their son, Sean, for a two-week trip to visit family in her native Brazil. She never came back. . . . In all the years since, Goldman had traveled to Brazil numerous times hoping to see his son, but all the contact he was allowed to have consisted of a few brief phone calls. . . . International dispute / A New Jersey court ruled that Bruna had to return Sean to New Jersey for a custody hearing. But despite international law and treaties between the United States and Brazil that upheld the court ruling, Bruna refused to either return or to give up custody of the boy. Instead, she divorced Goldman in a legal proceeding that violated international law, and married an influential Brazilian attorney.

The War Against Fathers Continues

An article from the current issue of Touchstone Magazine: Divorced from Reality
"We’re from the Government, and We’re Here to End Your Marriage."
by Stephen Baskerville

2-8-09 -- The decline of the family has now reached critical and truly dangerous proportions. Family breakdown touches virtually every family and every American. It is not only the major source of social instability in the Western world today but also seriously threatens civic freedom and constitutional government. . . . G. K. Chesterton once observed that the family serves as the principal check on government power, and he suggested that someday the family and the state would confront one another. That day has arrived. . . . Chesterton was writing about divorce, and despite extensive public attention to almost every other threat to the family, divorce remains the most direct and serious. Michael McManus of Marriage Savers writes that "divorce is a far more grievous blow to marriage than today’s challenge by gays."

January 2009

TENNESSEE

Divorced father seeks equal protection

Custody challenge cites discriminatory decisions

By Bob Unruh, © 2009 WorldNetDaily

1-28-09 -- A case is developing in a Tennessee divorce dispute that one attorney believes could impact custody decisions nationwide because it calls down the authority of the 14th Amendment's equal protection clause to help fathers who are good parents and want to remain involved in their children's lives. . . . The attorney, Stanley Charles Thorne, told WND the issue in the case at hand will be significant, since there are 3,000 divorce or custody cases in courts across the U.S. daily. . . . And according to the Children'sJustice.org website, those cases leave nearly 38 percent of the fathers with no access or visitation rights to their children. In addition, four in 10 mothers report they interfered with the father's visitation to punish him at least once, half the mothers see "no value" in the father's continued contact with his children and 70 percent of the fathers wanted more time with their kids. . . . Thorne told WND he is serving as a consultant in the case of Jeremy Hopkins, a successful lawyer, in his attempts to be treated the same as his daughter's mother, Elisabeth, also a successful lawyer, in their custody of Kate.

FLORIDA

Dad Accused Of Avoiding Child Support Faces Judge

By Mark Douglas

1-20-09 -- "OK" was all David William Earley said when he faced a judge in Pasco County dressed in jail stripes today, charged with violating his probation and failure to pay $165,000 in child support. . . . On the other hand, his wife and ex-wife have plenty to say about the consequences of his arrest, the reason for it and what it means to them. . . . Ex-wife Sharon Earley said she's been trying to collect child support for her four kids from Earley for the past 19 years. Three of them have reached adulthood, but Earley still owes child support. . . . "We've had to do without a lot of things," Sharon Earley said. . . . Earley's current wife Christina Earley disagrees. . . . "She [Sharon} lives in a nice house in Palm Harbor and has more jewelry than God," Christina Earley told News Channel 8 in a phone interview. "She's not suffering." . . . Christina Earley owns a hair salon and lives on an acre of land with Earley and their two daughters. A horse grazes in the pasture, but she said they bought the property with no money down and finances are tight because Earley can't find work as a tile installer. . . . "He's tried, he's looked around," Christina Earley said. . . . Sharon Earley said her ex-husband has voiced countless excuses over the years for not supporting the four children they had together, and judges have heard most of them.