In the November 2007 issue of the Illinois Bar Journal, Scott A. Lerner, Esq., takes a critical look at the Illinois Domestic Violence Act (DVA) in his article “Sword or Shield: Combating Orders-of-Protection Abuse in Divorce” ( http://www.isba.org/IBJ/nov07lj/590%20Family%20Law.htm).

“There’s no question that victims need protection from abusers,” he writes. “But not all parties to divorce are above using OPs [orders-of-protection] not for their intended purpose but solely to gain advantage in a dissolution.” And “the greatest potential for abuse of the system,” in Lerner’s opinion, “is in visitation.”

As Lerner points out, “It is far easier to restrict visitation via an order of protection then by seeking the same relief under the IMDMA [the Illinois Marriage and Dissolution of Marriage Act]. Under the IMDMA, ‘A parent not granted custody of the child is entitled to reasonable visitation rights unless the court finds, after a hearing, that visitation would endanger seriously the child’s physical, mental, moral or emotional health.’” (more…)

http://www.humanevents.com/article.php?id=23613

Feminists Abuse Domestic Violence Laws
by Phyllis Schlafly
Posted: 11/26/2007Radical feminists have devised a scheme to cash in on the flow of taxpayer money in a big way. Their good buddy, Sen. Joseph Biden, D-Del., has just introduced Senate Bill 2279, called the International Violence Against Women Act.

The act earmarks at least 10 percent of its program funds to be granted to a certain type of women’s organizations. Biden’s press release identifies the favored groups: NOW’s Legal Momentum, Family Violence Prevention Fund, Women’s Edge Coalition, and Center for Women’s Global Leadership. (more…)

Erring on the Side of Hidden Harm: The Granting of Domestic Violence Restraining Orders

Written by David Heleniak

    Just like FDA officials worrying about the headlines, judges ….
     …. deciding whether to enter domestic violence restraining orders have their careers to think about in addition to the merits of the particular cases before them. When in doubt, they err on the side of hidden harm.

On September 19, 2005, Yvette Cade went before Judge Richard A. Palumbo seeking an extension of a domestic violence restraining order against her husband, Roger Hargrave. Palumbo, whether from confusion, clerical error, or a genuine belief that the extension was unwarranted, dismissed the restraining order. One month later, Hargrave walked into the cell phone store where Cade worked, doused her with gasoline, and set her on fire. Two weeks after the attack, Palumbo was removed from all domestic violence cases and placed on administrative duty.  (more…)

Gitmo at home: Domestic violence courts in America

October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month. Domestic violence is a very real and significant problem in America. This month would be a good time to address the attempt of state governments to combat domestic violence through the issuance of temporary and permanent restraining orders.

In the wake of the attack on the World Trade Center and our nation’s response to terrorism domestically and abroad, there has been a flurry of negative reaction in the press to the subjecting of suspected terrorists to trial by military tribunal without the constitutional protections afforded other criminals. As John F. Kearney, III, put it in the March 24, 2003 issue of the New Jersey Lawyer, “All of us want as much done by government as possible to protect us from more Sept. 11 attacks or worse. None of us wants to be nuked, poisoned or fall victim to a suicide bomber. But none of us should want, either, to give away our hard-won liberties.” (more…)

New article published in Human Events by Stephen Baskerville:

http://www.humanevents.com/article.php?id=22904

The falsely-accused Duke University lacrosse players are suing the city of Durham and prosecutor Michael Nifong for malicious prosecution, claiming “one of the most chilling episodes of premeditated police, prosecutorial, and scientific misconduct in modern American history.” In fact, their ordeal was nothing out of the ordinary.

Few Americans realize how extensively our criminal justice system has been corrupted by leftist ideology. It has now reached the point where the criminals are prosecuting law-abiding citizens. (more…)

Denise Richards and Charlie Sheen are back in the news again, and folks, this is really bad.  The case shows exactly how it goes in these custody cases, although most of the time it is not reported.   What really fries me in this little snippet below, is the obvious idiocy of the writer.  Notice how Sheen is said to spewing “venom”, when all he is doing is expressing controlled and patient frustration with a mother (Denise) who is obviously insane

The Denver Post – People: McConaughey steps in for Owen Wilson
It just keeps getting uglier in the Sheen-Richards custody tussle, and Wednesday the actress asked a judge to “protect her children” from Charlie, TMZ.com reports.

Denise Richards’ lawyer tells People that Denise “believes that Charlie Sheen has significant personal issues … which require her to take action,” and she wants to stop Sheen’s overnight visits with the kids, Sam, 3, and Lola, 2. The lawyer didn’t specify what those “issues” were.

As usual, Sheen had plenty of venom in return, saying that Richards “behaves as though she owns our children. She does not.  A day of legal reckoning for her is fast approaching.”

An earlier story I saw recently quoted Richards as saying the children were returning from their “visits” with their father “upset”. Tell me, a 3 year-old, and a 2 year-old “upset” with their father?  This should be a prima facie case of mother parental alienation in the works.  Why is it that mothers like this are simply presumed to be acting to protect their children, when in fact she is simply pursuing a case of alienation against the father as a means of revenge and punishment?

 Recently yet another example of the tragedies caused by our Family Courts.

Daily Herald | Custody battle leads to likely murder-suicide
A Crystal Lake mother embroiled in a custody dispute over her 7-year-old daughter likely suffocated the girl Tuesday afternoon soon before stepping in front of a train to take her own life, officials said Wednesday afternoon.

The deaths of Magdalene Kamysz, 28, and daughter Sydney Kamysz seem to have been a murder-suicide perhaps driven by the heated legal fight with the girl’s father, McHenry County Sheriff Keith Nygren said.

There is a way to stop this kind of thing from occurring with the alarming frequency that continues to shock communities.  (more…)