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June 2008

Parental Rights Organizations Across the Nation to Encroach on Washington DC for Civil Rights Event.

Contact: Lary Holland / 800-883-9619

Children’s and Parent’s Rights organizations from across the nation are scheduled to encroach on Washington DC this August 15 & 16 at the Upper Senate Park. Why? Because government policies do not reflect what is truly best for children and good parents. The event is bringing the major issues facing parents to the legislators’ doorsteps, their backyards, and their offices.

A coalition of numerous individuals, organizations, and agencies that grows daily as August draws near, aim to bring solutions to many crises that are affecting America in this landmark event. This event is not to be confused with last year’s successful event, a rally held under the name DC RALLY 2007 and organized largely by Minister Ronald Smith of Children Need Both Parents, Inc. which is scheduled again for 2009.

“Where we have a government that thinks it has the apparent authority to confiscate children at will, as we can see from the recent issues in Texas earlier this year, something needs to be done.” states Lary Holland, one of the organizers of this event. He further states, “we are dealing with a fundamental liberty and civil rights issue that has to be recognized and respected by our government, the protected right of parenthood.”

Various groups across the nation aren’t willing to compromise liberty and let their government run on autopilot any longer. “Somewhere along the lines, the government stopped believing that the Constitution was a restriction on them and not a restriction on the people,” according to Holland. This event will also be welcoming a number of cyclists that are pedaling bicycles from Michigan’s Capitol all the way to Washington DC to support a child’s right to two parents.

For more information about this historic civil rights event, individuals and groups may contact “Write to Parent” at 800-883-9619. Organizations that have not secured their exhibition table can do so through August 8, 2008 by using the toll-free telephone number. Individuals and Organizations looking to attend and participate in the event may obtain the most up to date information for  travel, accommodations, and itinerary at the event website at www.dcfestival2008.com.

PENNSYLVANIA

Father reunited with children after filing suit with ACLU

By Paula Reed Ward, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

6-26-08  -- He was forced to wait nearly 11 months. During that lengthy span, he missed three birthdays, three major holidays, his daughter's first day of kindergarten and his son's first day of second grade. . . . On Friday, for the first time since August -- and just four days after filing a federal lawsuit -- a Fayette County man was permitted to see his three children in a supervised visit. They had been removed by Children and Youth Services because he had a consensual sexual relationship with a 16-year-old. . . . He is listed in the lawsuit as "John Doe" to protect his children. . . . "For 11 months, all I did was daydream about seeing them," Mr. Doe said in telephone interview, his voice shaking. "It felt really good. I can't explain it in words." . . . Mr. Doe, 29, was never accused of abusing his own children, now 8, 6 and 5, yet he was forced to send them to live with his parents in September 2006, after the 16-year-old's mother learned of the relationship and complained to CYS. . . . Police would not file criminal charges against Mr. Doe because 16 is the age of consent in Pennsylvania, but CYS undertook an investigation. . . . A caseworker told Mr. Doe if he didn't turn the children over to his parents as the investigation continued, they would be placed in emergency foster care. . . . He did as they asked and was permitted to have unlimited supervised visits with the children -- even after CYS made an indication in November 2006 that Mr. Doe was a "sexual abuser," based on the relationship with the teenager. . . . But then, on Aug. 1, after a new caseworker took over, the visits stopped. Mr. Doe was told he could have no contact with the children at all -- not even letters or phone calls -- or the children would be removed from his parents. . . . The American Civil Liberties Union Foundation of Pennsylvania filed a federal lawsuit on his behalf against Fayette County CYS last week, claiming that the agency failed to provide him due process. . . . A hearing on a motion for a preliminary injunction was to be held yesterday, but because CYS granted visitation over the weekend that has been canceled.

Media Unfairly Stereotypes Dads

by Glenn Sacks and Jeffrey M. Leving, NewsWithViews.com

6-22-08 -- The image of fathers and fatherhood has taken a beating over the past several decades, and the media has been part of the problem. While there has been some improvement in the past few years, fathers are still frequently unfairly stereotyped. . . . For example, in April the Council on Contemporary Families issued a report on men and housework. CNN’s headline to the story was typical of most media-- "Report: Men still not pulling weight on chores.” . . . In reality, studies which account for the total amount of work that husbands and wives contribute to their households--including housework, child care, and employment--confirm that men contribute at least as much to their families as women do. What the CCF study actually said was that the amount of child care fathers provide has tripled over the past four decades, and the amount of housework men do has doubled. Moreover, men have accomplished this in an era where the average workweek has significantly expanded. The papers reporting the story barely noticed. . . . Ex-NBA Player Jason Caffey was widely vilified in April for being behind in his child support. Caffey had paid over 90% of what he was ordered to pay, but fell behind when his post-career income dropped, and was threatened with jail. Neither CNN commentator Nancy Grace nor Caffey’s other critics stopped to ponder the absurdity of calling a father who had already paid millions of dollars in child support a "deadbeat dad." . . . Similarly, in April Chandra Myers made national headlines when she took the unusual step of suing New York bakery worker Robert Sean Myers’ employers Sara Lee Bakeries and Bimbo Bakeries for allegedly failing to garnish his wages. Yet while Robert was labeled a “deadbeat dad,” the media didn’t even notice that a court had obligated Myers to pay $2,000 a month in child support for one child--on an income of only $1,600 a month. . . . USA Today financial columnist Sandra Block recently explained that widows receive significantly more social security benefits if their husbands delay retirement. She could have written, “Men, we know your wives and children appreciate the sacrifices you’ve made as family breadwinner, and delaying retirement will help ensure your loved ones are provided for.” Instead, Block wrote:

MASSACHUSETTS   

Child support OK'd after father's death

By John R. Ellement, Globe Staff

6-20-08 -- The state's high court ruled yesterday that children of unwed parents are entitled to child support payments even after their father's death. . . . The Supreme Judicial Court has previously ruled that existing child support orders remain in force after a father dies. Yesterday, the court expanded that thinking, ruling that a father's estate is subject to child support orders when none existed prior to death. . . . "A child's needs do not end with the death of a parent who has been providing support," Justice John M. Greaney wrote in the unanimous court ruling. . . . "What remains constant, in the circumstances of either the presence or absence of an actual order of support, is the obligation of a parent to provide support and a child's continued need for that support," he added.

NORTH CAROLINA

Blind justice: Do fathers get a fair shake in child custody cases?

By Keren Rivas / Times-News

6-14-08 -- It has been four years since Sean Perkins McDonnell started fighting for custody of his two children. . . . In that time, he says, he has taken his ex-girlfriend, the mother of his children, to court in Alamance and Caswell counties nine times for breaking a court order and three times for allowing the children to be near inappropriate people. . . . He has also been arrested once after his ex-girlfriend accused him of trespassing when he picked her daughter up from school one day. That charge was later dismissed. . . . And though he won a battle in April when police took his children away from the house they had been living in with their mother after receiving a call from the children's school, he is aware that the battle still is not over. . . . McDonnell, 30, who now lives in Kansas City, Mo., currently has sole temporary custody of his children. His ex-girlfriend signed over the rights to him after police took the children from her. . . . In September, an Alamance County District Court judge will decide who gets permanent custody. . . . McDonnell's confidence in the court system isn't strong and he's not shy about it. He doesn't think justice is blind when it comes to custody cases. He fears that despite all he has proved to the courts, he will not be given custody of his two children, ages 9 and 8. . . . "If they gave her nine chances over the years, what's one more?" he asks. "I'm scared to death of that." . . . In his mind, there is only one explanation as to why he has to fight "an uphill battle" to get his children: Because he is a man. . . . "Few fathers have custody of their children. There is a reason for that. It's because the courts don't give them custody," he says.

The Tragedy of America's Disappearing Fathers

By Juan Williams, Wall Street Journal Opinion

6-14-08 -- Walter Dean Myers, a best-selling author of books for teenagers, sometimes visits juvenile detention centers in his home state of New Jersey to hold writing workshops and listen for stories about the lives of young Americans. . . . One day, in a juvenile facility near his home in Jersey City, a 15-year-old black boy pulled him aside for a whispered question: Why did he write in "Somewhere in the Darkness" about a boy not meeting his father because the father was in jail? Mr. Myers, a 70-year-old black man, did not answer. He waited. And sure enough, the boy, eyes down, mumbled that he had yet to meet his own father, who was in jail. . . . As we celebrate Father's Day tomorrow, we should reflect upon a sad fact: It is now common to meet young people in our big city schools, foster-care homes and juvenile centers who do not know their dads. Most of those children have come face-to-face with their father at some point; but most have little regular contact with the man, or have any faith that he loves or cares about them.

A minister's Father's Day wisdom

The Bible might not have great father figures in its pages, but our real-world experiences tell us all we need to know.

By Oliver "Buzz" Thomas

What do Sigmund Freud, Jesus and Moses have in common? They each believed in the importance of fathers. Freud said that nothing in a child's life is more important than the security and protection afforded to it by a father. Moses listed honoring our fathers as one of God's Big Ten, and Jesus used the concept of a loving father as his central metaphor for understanding God. Be they good or bad, dads mark us for life. Most men, to their credit, set out to be good fathers, but the distance between intentions and results is considerable. Along the way, lots of us get lost, give up or simply run out of gas. . . . As a minister, I'm sorry to report that the Bible has little to offer in the way of positive role models for fathering. . . . There's Abraham, who pimped out his wife to Pharaoh to save his own skin and later came close to offering his son Isaac as a human sacrifice. Then, there are Isaac and Jacob, who both played favorites among their own sons and presided over two of history's original "dysfunctional" families. Parse the pages of the New Testament, and you'll face the same problem. There simply aren't many good biblical role models for fathers. . . . Fortunately, God gives us eyes, ears and brains to observe the world around us. Then, there's the school of hard knocks (i.e. pitfalls to avoid as viewed from the pit). After raising my own children to adulthood, counseling lots of families and observing a multitude of successful and unsuccessful fathers over the past half-century, I think I have a pretty good bead on the current state of fatherhood in the USA.

Father’s Day: June 15, 2008

U.S. Census Bureau

The idea of Father’s Day was conceived by Sonora Dodd of Spokane, Wash., while she listened to a Mother’s Day sermon in 1909. Dodd wanted a special day to honor her father, William Smart, a widowed Civil War veteran who was left to raise his six children on a farm. A day in June was chosen for the first Father’s Day celebration — June 19, 1910, proclaimed by Spokane’s mayor because it was the month of Smart’s birth. The first presidential proclamation honoring fathers was issued in 1966 when President Lyndon Johnson designated the third Sunday in June as Father’s Day. Father’s Day has been celebrated annually since 1972 when President Richard Nixon signed the public law that made it permanent.

64.3 million Estimated number of fathers across the nation.
Source: unpublished data from the Survey of Income and Program Participation

ENGLAND

Fathers Scaling Buildings to See Their Kids

U.K. Members of Fathers for Justice Dress Up and Join the Fight for Fathers' Rights

By Malaika Bova, ABC News

Campaigners from Fathers 4 Justice stand on the roof of the home of Labour Party deputy leader, Harriet Harman, in London on June 8, 2008. Labour Party deputy leader Harriet Harman was forced to leave home on Sunday as two protesters camped out on her roof to demand that divorced fathers be given better access to their children. (Luke MacGregor/Reuters)

6-11-08 -- What would you do if a "superhero" climbed onto the roof of your house to fight injustice? . . . Harriet Harman, the London-based secretary of state for equalities, minister for women, abandoned her home. . . . "We are going to move out and stay somewhere else," she said. "I don't think it's fair for police resources to be tied up outside my house by this demonstration." . . . Behind her, hanging from the roof of her house, a giant banner with the tag "superdads" read, "A father is for life not just for conception." . . . Mark Harris and Jolly Stanesby are actually fathers' rights activists. But fitted Sunday with superhero costumes, they climbed onto the roof of Harman's house and rolled out the banner. . . . They refused to come down for 24 hours, until Harman read Harris' book "Family Court Hell," in which he describes his 10-year battle for access to his daughters after the break-up of his marriage. . . . Now the police have let them out on bail until July 16, pending further inquiries.

New Reality Show: Bad Dads

The Patriot Post

6-9-08 -- “Of those everyone loves to hate, few can compete with the deadbeat dad for longevity. How much do we hate him? While we’re counting the ways, Fox TV may try to help America organize its contempt and put a face on this loathsome character. ‘Bad Dads,’ redundant in these male-bashing times, is the name of a new reality show Fox is considering... As proposed, the show features a bounty hunter sort of character, which is not an entirely fictional device. Bounty hunters do exist and pursue noncustodial parents who are behind in child support payments—for a cut of the proceeds, sometimes as much as a third. In the pilot, Jim Durham, director of the National Child Support Center, tracks a struggling mother’s wealthy ex, whom he confronts at a country club. According to the program’s description, showdowns typically would be preceded by phone calls urging Dad to be a do-right man. When appeals to conscience fail, Durham investigates assets and does whatever is necessary—getting mortgages foreclosed and cars repossessed—until everybody gets paid. Executive producer JD Roth describes his creation as ‘justice.’ ‘It’s a show that depicts the sacrifice and heartache of incredibly brave women on behalf of their kids and then ends in the most gratifying way possible.’ Really? How gratifying can it be for children watching television to see fathers humiliated in front of the world?... Clearly, some men are sinners and some women are saints. But sometimes the reverse is true. In fact, noncustodial mothers are 20 percent more likely to default on child support than noncustodial fathers, according to U.S. Census data. But we don’t see a reality show aimed at humiliating moms. Is this because women, who have had fewer opportunities historically, are viewed as more deserving of the benefit of the doubt? Or is it because civilized people would strenuously object to the public ridicule of moms whose children may be watching? It’s preferable to imagine the latter. The question is why we feel no such decency toward men and the children who love them.” —Kathleen Parker

Fla. father, Ark. daughter meet for 1st time

Associated Press

6-8-08 -- A 61-year-old Florida man met his daughter for the first time in Arkansas recently. Both had a good reunion and Charles Dockery of Jacksonville, Florida, says he wishes he had met his 27-year-old daughter, Chrissy Touchette, long ago. . . . Dockery got involved with Touchette's mother years ago but the relationship didn't work out. As Touchette was growing up, her mother told her about her father and Touchette started corresponding with him. Her first telephone conversation with him was in 1995. Thirteen years later, Dockery got up the courage to visit his daughter in Bull Shoals. Dockery says his life is now more complete.

Joe Biden's war on dads
Phyllis Schlafly, World Net Daily

6-6-08 -- The American Bar Association is a special-interest group like any other association representing its members. The Chamber of Commerce represents corporate interests, such as seeking cheap labor to keep the cost of wages low, and the National Education Association represents the education industry's interests, such as seeking more public funding to create more school jobs. . . . The ABA represents lawyers who seek to win their cases, especially if they are profitable and result in verdicts that order transfers of money. We can therefore assume that ABA publications are not disinterested research, but are meant to promote the litigating and financial interests of lawyers. . . . A good example of a special-interest publication is called "10 Myths About Custody and Domestic Violence and How to Counter Them," which was produced "for use in litigation" by an ABA subgroup called the Commission on Domestic Violence. "10 Myths" is designed to teach lawyers how to win money verdicts against fathers by using false or misleading arguments masquerading as objective research. . . . The same techniques can theoretically be used against mothers, but fathers are the chief targets because they more frequently have greater financial resources than mothers. Litigation is often stimulated by the search for deep pockets. . . . The commission's website notes this disclaimer: "The ABA Commission on Domestic Violence does not engage in research, and cannot vouch for the quality or accuracy of any of the data excerpted here." Too bad the "10 Myths" flier doesn't include this disclaimer, too, because most of it lacks both quality and accuracy.

Philadelphia Fatherhood Festival Features Attorney Kallow who says Fathers Key to Stopping Youth Violence

PRNewswire

6-5-08 -- The 2008 Philadelphia Fatherhood Festival will feature leading attorney and top litigator Arthur Kallow from the Law Offices of Jeffery M. Leving, Ltd., as their keynote speaker. Attorney Kallow will lecture at the festival on Saturday, June 7, at 8:30am at the Pennsylvania Convention Center. . . . Art Kallow will speak of the current state of the law and problems that fathers encounter in the legal system. Kallow will discuss fathers as an untapped resource in combating youth violence. "According to the U.S. Bureau of Justice Statistics, 96% of inmates grew up fatherless, out of a sample of 13,986," said Kallow. The most reliable predictor of crime in America is clearly father absence. Art Kallow is a key contributor to dadsrights.com. . . . Art has been appointed by judges to represent children in contested visitation and custody cases. He has represented hundreds of clients throughout the decades in a variety of cases including, contested custody and complex visitation cases. He has been practicing in the family law area for more than 25 years since returning to Chicago from Washington, D.C., where he was resident counsel for a major corporation. Before joining the Leving firm, he was a partner in a litigation firm that concentrated in the area of family law and served as a hearing officer for the City of Chicago. In 2005 and 2006, Art was selected by his peers in the legal community as a "Super Lawyer" after an extensive nomination and polling process conducted by Law & Politics. Considered the best in their profession, "Super Lawyers" represent the top practicing attorneys. . . .     For more information on this event and Art Kallow's work to end youth violence, call Jennifer Whiteside @ 312-296-3666.

NEW JERSEY

Fathers-4-Justice To Hold Fatherless Day Rally

TomRiver Times, NJ

6-2-08 --  Fathers-4-Justice will be holding their First Annual Fatherless Day Rally on June 13 from noon to 3 p.m. on the front steps of the New Jersey State Capitol Building in Trenton. . . . Fathers-4-Justice is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit, volunteer army of fathers, mothers, grandparents and others dedicated to fighting for truth, justice and equality in family law. . . . The F4J army is building, and now is the time for you to join their ranks in the name of protecting America's children from the abuse they suffer in the family court system. F4J knows that every parent is a superhero in the eyes of a child. F4J also believes that it takes superhero powers to fight the corruption in America's family courts. To that end, superhero parents in costumes such as Superman, Superwoman, Spiderman, Batman and other childhood superhero favorites are frequently found leading the F4J troops at rallies, demonstrations and other events to bring much needed humor and media attention to its cause. F4J merchandise such as F4J-branded T-shirts is designed to make a positive impression in courtrooms and elsewhere. . . . Fathers-4-Justice understands that fathers, mothers and grandparents across America have suffered because of an unjust family court system. However, statistics clearly indicate that fathers and their children have taken the greatest abuse from this unjust and intolerable system, which is why Fathers-4- Justice was created. . . . For more information on Fathers-4-Justice, visit their Web site, www.f4j.us.

CALIFORNIA

Looking for An Honest Judge in Santa Cruz

Melinda Pillsbury-Foster

6-1-08 -- Every one of them laughed. It was unsettling, frightening, saddening. I had called no less than five friends and associates asking if they knew of a judge in California who was honest. We needed one to prevent the assassination of Clive Boustred in Santa Cruz. . . . California is a big state and for most Americans, as for Clive, justice has become little more than a distant dream. Courts today are a tool used to fleece us, not weigh the truth. . . . We were even then hammering the sheriff's office and calling the media to prevent yet another judicially sponsored murder attempt. They had tried it several times before; the first time in 2003 , using just the same kind of bogus set up. . . . Clive Boustred, a leading entrepreneur in Silicon Valley was returning home from the court house in Santa Cruz. He had taken out a restraining order against his former wife, Anamaria. Anamaria had started a sexual relationship with Boustred's executive assistant, Steffan Tichatschke, in 2001. Boustred learned of his wife's infidelity from their young son, who Anamaria took with her on one of her sexual encounters. Stuffed in a closet with chocolate chip cookies and told to, "be quiet," the boy later told his father what he had seen and heard, the splotches of chocolate still smeared across his small face. The story is told on the DVD produced by Boustred, available on his site, Liberty for Life. . . . A custody agreement, negotiated between Boustred and Anamaria through Dr. Melissa Berenge of Santa Cruz's Family Law Division, recommended that because of Anamaria's emotional instability the two small boys spend all nights with Boustred except for one night on the weekend. The two boys continued to live with their father, their usual caretaker from birth, for eight months until that arrangement was interrupted by the first attempt to kill Boustred. His two sons, also in the car, witnessed the event. . . . The murder attempt in 2003 took place in the driveway of the multimillion dollar home, located in the mountains in back of Soquel. The only thing that kept Boustred alive beyond the first shot fired through his car was that the deputy in charge of the attempt noticed neighbors watching. They had planned the killing to take place out of sight, at the end of the driveway and not in front of the garage door where the elevation made their actions clearly visible to those neighbors.

May 2008

Free DNA Paternity Test for Father’s Day

Chromosomal Laboratories Offers Unique Gift to Fathers
WEBWIRE
5-28-08 -- Chromosomal Laboratories, Inc., a leading DNA testing laboratory, has announced that it would repeat its hugely popular offer of five free paternity tests, a $290 value, to fathers and alleged fathers as a special promotion to celebrate the upcoming Father’s Day holiday. Interested parties should contact Chromosomal Laboratories by June 13th to be entered into the drawing. Five fathers will be chosen at random to receive a free home paternity test kit. . . . Chromosomal Laboratories is an independently owned and operated laboratory. The company offers both private home test kits as well as legal tests. Both tests are 16 genetic marker tests, the gold standard within the industry, which provides an accuracy level of up to 99.9999%. . . . There are many reasons people decide to have a paternity test. Paternity fraud or the false identification of a man as the father of a child is one such reason and a serious problem in the United States. Approximately 30% of the over 300,000 paternity tests performed annually in the United States result in exclusion of the alleged individual as the biological father. The LA Chapter of the National Coalition of Free Men estimates that there are over 7 million children in the United States that are unknowingly calling the wrong person, Dad.

Charter Father’s Day Contest Can Win Your Dad a 65-inch LCD

Charter Communications is running a contest through the end of June 6 for a chance to win your Dad a 65-inch LCD TV and free cable service for a year.

by Arlen Schweiger

5-27-08 -- Here’s a gift your dad will love for Father’s Day—a 65-inch HDTV. What, can’t afford it? OK, OK, well, you can always try to win one for him; all you have to do is write a clever essay as to why he needs a new TV. . . . The folks at Charter Communications have opened up a contest with first prize being a 65-inch 1080p LCD television, plus a year of free HDTV cable, telephone and Internet service in the Charter Bundle. Four finalists will each get a free year of the Charter Bundle.

Can Single Dads be Both Mom & Dad?

Joseph on Fatherhood

5-27-08 -- This morning, I came across an interesting article from across the pond that highlights the plight of single dads. As I began to read the article, I wasn’t sure where it was headed: . . . “According to a close single mother friend of mine, ‘All men are emotionally retarded to some degree and therefore much less well equipped than women to bring up children alone.’ . . . When an article starts this way it grabs my attention. I detest stereotypes and how they limit people and, being a stay at home dad, I see how stereotypes can have a negative impact. I was relieved to read that the article wasn’t another article about a brainless dad, but rather an interesting look into the lifestyle of a single dad in the UK. . . .  Matthew Collins, single dad and writer for Times Online, reveals much about the British perception of dads and their struggles in this candid and informative piece. . . . “Most mums of my acquaintance have a strict evening routine - supper, homework, bath, bed. My routine goes haywire frequently.

FLORIDA

Father killed saving children caught in rip currents
Reporter Allison Bybee

5-27-08 -- A prominent lawyer killed trying to save his kids caught in the rough surf. . . . Robert or Bobby Klein was once a president of the St. Lucie County Chamber of Commerce, a business man and a family man. . . . Friends say he will be sorely missed. . . . A father of two taken at just 49 years old. "Being able to say we are really losing an important part of our community in Bobby Klein this [Monday] evening is an understatement. He will absolutely be missed," states St. Lucie County Commissioner Joe Smith. . . . Smith just talked to Klein Sunday. He remembers him as an attorney who petitioned the county for land-use changes on behalf of developers. "I think he was probably one of the best in the community in his craft as an attorney. So, it's gonna be difficult to do his job without having him out as the loyal opposition sometimes in the crowd."

NEW YORK

Convicted Gambler Whose Lawyer Is His Son

By John Eligon, New York Times

5-27-08 -- Father and son shared little in common. There were no Little League games, no backpacking trips, no going to the movies together. The father, Raymond Marquez, was just too busy. . . . From the 1950s into the 1990s, the elder Marquez, now 78, was spending most of his time at his gambling parlors in Harlem, building a reputation as Spanish Raymond — the notorious kingpin of the illicit numbers racket. Mr. Marquez became known for flashy clothes and jewelry, owning luxury cars and even a yacht. . . . His son, Raymond David Marquez — he goes by R. David Marquez — was on a much different track. He went to elementary school in Great Neck, N.Y., an affluent community on Long Island where he grew up, bounced around boarding schools and then went to college. Of his father’s business, he said: “It really didn’t faze me one way or the other. I always stayed in school. I was trying to become somebody, trying to do something.” . . . Despite their differences, this father-son tandem is now linked in a way few others are: The son is his father’s lawyer. . . . After a decade-long focus on civil cases involving medical malpractice and personal injury, David, in 1994, began devoting a large part of his practice, which he runs out of the family home in Great Neck, to his father, representing him in both criminal and civil matters.

MICHIGAN

Michigan dad fights for joint custody law

Parents' equal access to children called a civil rights issue; critics say policy may hurt kids.

Kim Kozlowski / The Detroit News

5-19-08 -- Robert Pedersen was devastated three years ago when a divorce judge said he could see his two children only a few days a month. . . . Pedersen's divorce agreement now includes long weekends, a Wednesday overnight visit and half of summers, holidays and spring breaks with his children. It's almost enough time to make him feel that he can provide an equal amount of parenting to his kids. . . . Michigan law recommends that custody decisions be based on which parent has been the primary caregiver unless it can be shown that another arrangement is more appropriate, but Pedersen and other noncustodial parents are fighting to modify the law so joint physical custody becomes the norm. They view equal parenting access as a civil rights issue, but opponents say equal time isn't always best for children. . . . "With the pain of a divorce, a lot of stupid decisions are made initially as far as the kids go," said Pedersen, who plans to ride his bike from Lansing to Washington, D.C., this summer to raise awareness of the issue. "There are different contributions that Mom and Dad make to a child, and kids need both of them."

OHIO  

Judge releases dad from jail

By Janice Morse

5-16-08 -- A Butler County judge has decided to give Brian Gegner and his truancy-prone daughter another chance to make sure she completes some basic education. . . . Following a lengthy and emotional hearing Friday in Juvenile Court, Judge David Niehaus freed Gegner, 40, of Fairfield, from the county jail – at least for now. . . . But Gegner, who landed in jail May 7 for failing to ensure his daughter attended school, risks serving another 171 days unless his daughter attends pre-college mathematics classes at Miami University’s Hamilton campus. Gegner must return to court July 16. He will go back to jail that day unless Brittany attends the classes as arranged, Niehaus ruled. . . . The reprieve means Gegner will keep the data-entry job he has held for 14 years at Christ Hospital and can go back to parenting another daughter, 16, who is an honor-roll student at Fairfield High School. . . . His other daughter, Brittany Gegner, now 18, has a history of skipping large amounts of school since she was in fifth or sixth grade, Niehaus said. . . . The problem continued after she became pregnant and bore a child, officials and relatives said. She had 31.5 unexcused absences and was tardy 27 times in 2005-06 alone, records show.

KENTUCKY  

National Groups Want Judge In GED Case Removed

Web produced by: Neil Relyea Kentucky Post

5-14-08 -- There's a new development regarding a Butler County juvenile court judge's controversial ruling. . . . Judge David Niehaus sentenced Brian Gegner to six-months in jail because his daughter didn't get her GED. . . . Two groups, the National Coalition of Free Men, and the California Alliance for Families and Children want the judge removed from the case. . . . Gegner's daughter, Brittany, who is now 18-years-old, says if anybody should go to jail it should be her, not her dad. . . . There's a hearing on the case Friday morning.

KENTUCKY

Daughter fails math test, so dad thrown in jail
Pop gets 6-month sentence for contributing to delinquency

© 2008 WorldNetDaily

5-11-08 -- A northern Kentucky man is in jail today – serving a 180-day sentence – because his 18-year-old daughter failed a math test and didn't get her General Equivalency Diploma, or GED, as a previous court order required. . . . Brittany Gegner, the daughter, says if anyone should be jailed, it should be her. . . . "It's like I should, if anybody should be punished for this," Brittany told WCPO-TV in Cincinnati. "I would way rather me go to jail than my dad." . . . Even Brian Gegner's ex-wife agrees the judge's decision is absurd. . . . "They probably should have punished me if they were going to punish anybody," said Brittany's mother Shana Roach. "Because she did live with me at the time, but because he had the custody, that's why he's being punished. But I don't understand the punishment altogether because she's going to school, she's been going for four months. The only thing that's holding her back is she can't pass her math test." . . . Butler County Juvenile Court Judge David Niehaus ordered Gegner to jail for contributing to the delinquency of a minor by not following a court order which required Gegner to be sure his daughter got her GED.

"Bad Dads" a Bad Idea
By Kathleen Parker
 5-2-08 -- Of those everyone loves to hate, few can compete with the deadbeat dad for longevity. . . . How much do we hate him? While we're counting the ways, Fox TV may try to help America organize its contempt and put a face on this loathsome character. . . . "Bad Dads," redundant in these male-bashing times, is the name of a new reality show Fox is considering. While the network reviews the pilot, outraged fathers' advocates are trying to nip this bad seed before it buds. . . . As proposed, the show features a bounty hunter sort of character, which is not an entirely fictional device. Bounty hunters do exist and pursue noncustodial parents who are behind in child support payments -- for a cut of the proceeds, sometimes as much as a third. . . . In the pilot, Jim Durham, director of the National Child Support Center, tracks a struggling mother's wealthy ex, whom he confronts at a country club. According to the program's description, showdowns typically would be preceded by phone calls urging Dad to be a do-right man. . . . When appeals to conscience fail, Durham investigates assets and does whatever is necessary -- getting mortgages foreclosed and cars repossessed -- until everybody gets paid. . . . Executive producer JD Roth describes his creation as "justice."

April 2008

COLORADO

Fathers' rights

Shirley Scoville
4-27-08 -- Senate Bill 07-015 breezed through the legislative process last year with its focus on adequate child support for Colorado's children whose parents divorce. The bill resulted in changes to Colorado Revised Statute 14-10-115 that took effect on Jan. 1. . . . The statute clarified child support is based, among other things, on the combined gross incomes of both parents adjusted for preexisting child support or maintenance, or alimony. It also clarified that children due support are those for whom parents share "joint legal responsibility and for whom support is being sought." A worksheet helps parents work through issues, including how to handle "other children not of this marriage/relationship." . . . Despite this clarity, fathers still can be penalized by court order to pay child support for children other than their own. William Farrell, a Longmont resident and a divorced father of two daughters, 6 and 7, explained how this could happen. . ..  Farrell said when a mother adds children from other relationships or marriages into her adjusted gross income calculations, the amount the father on the worksheet pays goes up. In his example, a mother's gross income a month was $2,000. When she took a $200 deduction for each of her two children, her adjusted gross income was lowered to $1,600. Then, the next level of calculations leaves the father in question paying a little more. . ..  The problem with the law is it is basically guidelines and a schedule of basic child support obligations. And, judges are hard-pressed to secure adequate financial support for each child. They have a responsible dad before them and deadbeat dads they cannot either find or cannot force to pay. So, at their discretion, judges can order one father to pay more -- essentially paying for another man's child. . . . It's outrageous that no matter how many babies mothers have, they can rely on their most responsible ex-husband to pay child support for all of them, even those born after the divorce. Then, if that weren't enough, they are held accountable for that child support even when they lose their jobs for some reason. Their earning power and income stack up against them then.

KANSAS

Dad faults system in death of newborn

By Tim Potter, The Wichita Eagle

4-27-08 -- Tommy Robertson says he faults the legal system for allowing his estranged wife to go free on bond while charged with murdering his 2-year-old daughter and while pregnant with his unborn son. . . . If she had been in custody or in a controlled environment, his son would be healthy, still in the womb, Robertson said. . . . Instead, doctors had to deliver the boy by emergency C-section Wednesday, he said, after Katie Robertson was rushed in critical condition to a Wichita hospital. Police said she suffered a possible drug overdose and left what appeared to be a suicide note. . . . The boy -- born prematurely, at 24 weeks -- died about 20 hours later, on Thursday morning. . . . But authorities say they reacted promptly after Tommy Robertson expressed concerns about Katie Robertson and were taking steps to revoke her bond before she went to the hospital.

KENTUCKY

Defining fatherhood

Louisville Courier-Journal

4-27-08 -- An adulterous relationship that leads to pregnancy and a child is a deplorable situation that will lead to troubling results. It also apparently is a pathway to twisted legal reasoning. . . . To wit, Kentucky's Supreme Court has ruled 4-3 that a man who fathers a baby during an affair with a married woman has no legal claim to fatherhood. Instead, the court said, the woman's husband is the legal male parent. . . . Justice Bill Cunningham, who wrote one of the majority opinions, made clear that a key concern was to defend the status of marriage. But that is a social policy goal. What about the legal interests of the child? . . . The majority's view would have made more sense in an earlier time, when paternity was hard to determine. However, DNA testing now allows positive identification of the man who has contributed to half the baby's genetic makeup. . . . As Justice Lisabeth Hughes Abramson correctly noted in a vigorous dissent, denying "inconvenient truths" about who is really the father accomplishes nothing for families, communities or the justice system. . . . Indeed, the ruling has the capacity for inflicting great harm. It could be used to deny a child contact with one of his natural parents -- something likely to interest a child far more than the mechanics of her mother's marriage.