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Topic: No speaker this month, just a business meeting
| New
Mexico CHILDREN FIRST! A catchy slogan? Sadly this statement is far from the truth |
| Thanks to the Family Court system that is supposed to care for and protect our children, three children spend every other weekend unsupervised with their father, a convicted physical abuser. |
| What Happened? |
| On July 5, 2001, police responded when a father attacked his daughter and wife, while two younger siblings watched. The Children Youth and Family Division (CYFD) confirmed the abuse. Father was charged, convicted and sentenced. But Special Master Stan Whitaker allowed the father to again spend regular time alone with the children. Imagine as a parent the difficulty of allowing your children to be alone with this person, and the fear the children must experience each time they visit. The mother must comply with the court order, choosing between contempt of court charges, possibly jail time, to protect her children from their father or the agony and guilt associated with repeatedly putting her children at risk. What kind of legal system would put a mother and her children in this position, with clear evidence of risk to the children? |
| Mother's Worst Fears Realized |
| In early 2002 one of the children, age 9, returned from his father with bruises on his neck. UNM hospital called the police, the father was charged with suspected abuse, and the abuse was confirmed by CYFD. It was reported to the father�s probation officer and to the court-appointed Guardian ad Litem Mary Chappelle. The father�s probation was not revoked. Judge Angela J. Jewell then ordered a supervisor to be present for all visitation between the children and their father. Finally, the court was protecting the children. |
| Guardian ad Litem and Custody Evaluator � friend or foe? |
| Later Mary Chappelle, an attorney appointed by the court to protect the best interests of the children, and the court-appointed custody evaluator and a licensed psychologist, Dr. Richard P. Reed, directed the children to regularly visit their father alone, in direct violation of the court order! His report reads, �The children routinely state that they are afraid of their father and want nothing to do with him�. He attributes the children�s fear in part to the other�s obsession with �proving that [father] is a violent, abusive man�. Mother took over the legal case because her attorney, Stephen Eaton, failed to challenge the recommendations in court. She asked Judge Angela Jewell to protect the children from unsupervised visits with their abusive father, citing the court order. But Joyce Gentry, the opposing attorney, accused the mother of mental problems in court, with no evidence and no motion before the court. Judge Jewell ordered a psychological competency exam for mother �to determine if she can represent herself�. Mother�s issue of protecting the children has not been addressed in weeks and there is no identified date for a hearing. Unfortunately, it is common in family court for the children�s needs to be ignored while attorneys and court-appointed professionals level accusations against the parents. |
| How can you help? |
| Call your state legislators and demand action to reform the family court system. Call Bernalillo County Chief Judge (841-7500), mention this flyer, and demand that the actions of these individuals be investigated. Contact the Center for Family Justice and help us to fight to reform this broken system so that the children of New Mexico have a fair chance at a successful future. Please don�t delay � these children and many others like them need your help today! |
| last updated on
October 8, 2007
|
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