I have included a small excerpt of the article "The Nuclear Option: How Men's Constitutional Rights Are Obliterated in Family Courts" written by Jake Morphonios for the site NolanChart.Com.
"There is a very simple trick, used all too frequently in family courts, that will almost always ensure the immediate elimination of a man's constitutional rights. Read more to find out if it can happen to you."
In acrimonious divorce and child custody disputes emotions are tense and tempers flare. Buoyed by litigious attorneys, each side engages in strategic maneuvers to gain the greatest legal advantage. Sometimes a parent, fearing a loss of control or custody over a child, crosses the ethically acceptable bounds of legal warfare. An unfortunate but all too frequently used tactic by mothers is to accuse the father of sexually molesting their child. The mere accusation is sufficient to strip the father of all his custody rights and launch a criminal investigation. Even when no evidence is found to substantiate the allegation, family law courts typically "err on the side of caution" and award full custody to the mother. While national statistics reveal that the majority of all child sex abuse reports are legitimate, when such claims are made by a mother in the context of custody litigation, an estimated 77% of allegations are determined to be unfounded (Tong, 2002).A false child sex abuse allegation made during child custody litigation is a destructive legal stratagem.
The article in its' complete form can be found at the NolanChart.Com under Constitutional Issues. I would encourage each and every one of you to print a copy of the article and send it to your legislators, public officials, yahoo groups, and advocacy leaders. Be sure to comment on the article and let authors know you support further research on these issues.
A very good resource for domestic violence research is Media RADAR where
R.A.D.A.R. stands for – Respecting Accuracy in Domestic Abuse Reporting
– is a non-profit, non-partisan organization of men and women
working to improve the effectiveness of our nation's approach to
solving domestic violence.
It takes two fit, willing, and caring parents to create and raise a well-balanced child. Make sure our laws reflect that position.
Thanks very much for your caring and concern for those parents who are being prohibited from spending time with their children.
I just attended my own family court hearing this past Monday after filing a motion to have my child support reduced and my parenting time increased. I had been forced retired from the Naval Reserve in September 2006. I then applied to many local school districts for a teaching position (I am certified kindergarten through eighth grade with a Master of Arts degree in teaching). I was able to be hired as a math teacher for sixth through eighth grades in a parochial school. I took a drastic pay cut and felt it was fair to pay child support based on my salary. The court found in my favor but unfortunately my request for increased parenting time was denied because I never attended Alternatives to Domestic Violence (ADV) classes........ I have never broken a law nor have I ever had a restraining order imposed upon me. Basically, the court ordered me to do it without ever referencing any New Jersey laws as to why I had to attend these classes. The court has never granted me any overnight visits with my daughter who is now 14 (I was separated in November 2000 and my divorce was finalized in June 2002). Again, the presiding judge denied any increase in parenting time. I made sure to ask the judge so the judge's response would be on record, what law had I violated to have the court impose my attending these ADV classes. The judge just told me that she was upholding a previous court order.........
Mr. Holland, please keep up the fight for what is right.
Please take care and please continue to educate the people.
Regards
Joe Meyers
A Father Whose Daughter Is Prohibited to Have A Dad