Child Custody Issues

Introduction

Child Custody Laws use the best interest of the child doctrine to decide the custodial rights of children from broken families. Unfortunately, the best interest of the child doctrine is subjective and ambiguous, as it can be influenced by a) ideological movements such as feminism and b) third party organisations such as lawyers and psychotherapists. A lot of third party organisations are legal enforcers of feminist ideology.

Best Interest of the Child Doctrine

According to the Family Law Act (Australia), the best interests of the child is determined by evaluating the following criteria:

• child’s wishes (and factors which are relevant to the weight to be accorded these wishes, for example maturity and level of understanding);
• child’s relationship with each parent or other people;
• effect of change on the child, including separation from parents or other people;
• practical difficulty of the child having contact with a parent;
• child’s personal characteristics (maturity, sex, background, culture etc);
• need to protect the child from harm; and
• possible existence of family violence and family violence orders (s.68F).

Using the argument that the child's wishes do not always entail the child's best interests, the Court has the power to overlook the child's wishes when adjudicating on the child's custodial arrangement. [1] Speaking hypothetically, this means if a child and a psychotherapist disagree on what is in the child's best interest, a judge can use the argument that the psychotherapist's opinion holds more weight and credibility than the child's wish.

Example

Miss Anne Drist, a feminist-indoctrinated psychotherapist, argues that Jimmy's mother, Jenna Talia-Wartz, is better equipped than his father, Romeo Talia, to care for him. Miss Anne Drist bases her argument on the assertion that mothers are better parents than fathers. She cites a inconclusive study from a feminist lobbyist group to strengthen her argument. Jimmy does not want to live with his mother because she a) brings random men back to her house for sex and b) the unpleasant odour of cigarette tobacco exudes from her clothing. The adjudicating officers are allowed to ignore the child's reasoning and rule in favour of the psychotherapist's speculative theory.

How Feminist Ideology Effects Custodial Disputes

According to feminist ideology, custodial disputes should be decided in favour of mothers. Some judges are known to hold this view. [2]

The personal opinion of psychotherapists can hold a lot of influence during the adjudicativen process, and can determine which party obtains custody. Psychotherapists are not required to possess any experience with children. As a consequence, the opinions of many psychotherapists can be impractical. The competence of parents who contest custody of their children is often ignored by psychotherapists who preside over such disputes. [3]

False Accusations

False accusations of violence and/or sexual abuse are commonly made during custodial hearings. The majority of false accusations made during custodial hearings are left uninvestigated, however they have been used to decide the outcome of such cases in favour of the accusing party. [4] As a result, some divorce lawyers encourage their clients to falsely accuse their ex-partners of domestic violence and/or child abuse during custodial disputes. [5]

Three-Step Technique Mothers Use To Manipulate The System

1. Make a false accusation of domestic violence or child abuse against the father
2. Demand full custody of the children
3. Demand the collection of child support, alimony, and legal fees.

According to Phyllis Schlafly, a mother is likely to use the Three-Step-Technique because it allows her to a) avoid having to prove she deserves to have custody and b) tarnish the reputation of her ex-partner by inciting hysteria against him. Evaluators are known to label a case like this as a high-conflict divorce. using the premiss that shared parenting will not work due to the inability for the parents to resolve their problems in court, full custody is awarded to the mother. The father will be reprimanded by the court if he does not acquiesce, as the court will state he is "not buying into the process". If he tries to defend himself against the accusations that the mother's accusations, he is denied the basic rights a criminal defendant is given such as; "innocent until proven guilty".

The mother does not need to substantiate her accusations. Assuming that the mother's accusations are true, the court does not investigate the validity of her statements. The fathers is forced to consent to be interrogated and evaluated by court-chosen child-custody evaluators -- the father must pay for these services.

Fathers are sentenced to attend re-education classes and psychotherapy sessions, where they are forced to claim they were at fault. The psychotherapists report back to the courts, and the father is forced to attend these sessions until he conforms.

Court-approved psychotherapists and lawyers benefit from this process as they recommend the services of each other to their clients. In fact psychotherapists will decline to challenge each other's recommendations or investigate how competent they are, and the lawyers refuse to cross-examine them as they all benefit from continuing business by collecting fees from fathers. [6]

Visitation Rights

A noncustodial parent is usually granted the right to visit his/her child. The court will usually state when the noncustodial parent is allowed to visit his/her child. Compliance between the noncustodial and custodial party is expected when the former wishes to visit his/her child. A custodial parent's failure to comply can lead to the court adjusting custody arrangements. However, some courts do not recourse noncustodial parents who are alienated from their children. [7]

Statistics:

According to the Centre for Children's Justice, INC (CCJ), children who are raised in fatherless homes account for the following:

1. 63% of youth suicides. (Source: US Dept. of Health & Human Services, Bureau of the Census).
2. 71% of pregnant teenagers. (Source: US Dept. of Health & Human Services)
3. 90% of all homeless and runaway children.
4. 70% of juveniles in state-operated institutions come from fatherless homes (Source: U.S. Dept. of Justice, Special Report, Sept 1988)
5. 85% of all children that exhibit behavioural disorders. (Source: Centre for Disease Control).
6. 80% of rapists motivated with displaced anger. (Source: Criminal Justice & Behaviour, Vol. 14, p. 403-26, 1978).
7. 71% of all high school dropouts. (Source: National Principals Association Report on the State of High Schools).
8. 75% of all adolescent patients in chemical abuse centres. (Source: Rainbows for all Gods' Children).
9. 85% of all youths sitting in prisons. (Source: Fulton Co. Georgia jail populations, Texas Dept. of Corrections 1992).

[8]

Further Reading:

The Fatherphobia Of Family Courts By Phyllis Schlafly
Centre for Children's Justice, INC (CCJ)

Bibliography:

1. Legal Information Access Centre
   Family Law Act (Australia) - Best Interests of the Child
2. “The love of money is the root of all evil”
   "So, not only do you have to overcome the bias inherent in the laws, but you are fighting against old-fashioned and feminist viewpoints shared by judges that believe mothers are better parents than fathers." Rachel Alexander
3. The Fatherphobia Of Family Courts
   "Family courts use a highly subjective rule called the best interest of the child as recommended by court-appointed child-custody evaluators or psychotherapists. There is no requirement that they have any first-hand experience with raising children, and they are allowed to use their own personal prejudices to overrule the parents." By Phyllis Schlafly
4. False Accusations of Child Abuse
   "Courts often choose to "err on the side of caution," and refuse to grant custody to the accused parent. Sometimes, the accused parent cannot even obtain parenting time (child visitation), even after investigation finds no evidence of abuse." Aaron Larson
5. The Feminist View Of Domestic Violence vs Scientific Studies
   "Some divorce attorneys and gender activists specialize in encouraging falseaccusations, and actively coaching women how to falsely accuse." By Sam and Bunny Sewell, Family Resources & Research
6. The Fatherphobia Of Family Courts
   "Some divorce lawyers advise wives to manipulate the process by using a three-step technique: (1) make domestic violence or child abuse allegations, (2) demand full custody, (3) collect large amounts of child support, alimony, and legal fees.

   If the father objects to this process, the wife can make more accusations. The evaluators then call it a high-conflict divorce and give custody to the wife, declaring that shared parenting won't work.

   If the husband doesn't acquiesce, he is reprimanded by the court for "not buying into the process." In trying to defend himself against accusations, the father is denied the basic rights of a criminal defendant such as presumption of innocence and the necessity that the accuser provide proof beyond a reasonable doubt.

   Family courts force fathers to submit to interrogations and evaluations by court-chosen child-custody evaluators. Fathers are forced to pay the high fees of these private practitioners whom they have not hired, whose services they do not want, and whose credentials and bias are suspect." By Phyllis Schlafly

7. INTERFERENCE WITH PARENTAL RIGHTS OF NONCUSTODIAL PARENT AS GROUNDS FOR MODIFICATION OF CHILD CUSTODY
   "Interference by one parent in the relationship of a child and the other parent is almost never in the child's best interests. In fact, in extreme cases, actions by one parent to alienate the affections of the child from the other parent, to interfere win the other parent's visitation rights, or to remove the child to a distant state or country can often lead to liability in tort. See generally E. Borris, "Torts Arising Out of Interference with Custody and Visitation," 7 Divorce Litigation 192 (1995). Tort liability is not always an option, however, as many courts refuse to award damages based upon interference with visitation rights. E.g., Cosner v. Ridinger, 882 P.2d 1243 (Wyo.1994).

   A noncustodial parent is not always left without a remedy, however, simply because courts in that parent's jurisdiction refuse to recognize tort actions arising out of interference with his or her parental rights. This article discusses a different type of liability which may result from interference with the noncustodial parent's rights: loss of custody. The article will first discuss whether a party may generally obtain a change of custody based upon such interference. The article will then examine specific acts by a custodial parent which may cause a court to change custody, including denial of visitation rights, alienation of the child's affections away from the noncustodial parent, and removal of the child to a distant jurisdiction. The section on alienation of the child's affections includes a discussion of Parental Alienation Syndrome (PAS) and recent cases that have dealt with PAS. The article concludes with a suggestion of possible provisions that practitioners may insert in custody decrees in order to prevent future problems between custodial and noncustodial parents." Edward B. Borris, Assistant Editor, Divorce Litigation

8. Centre for Children's Justice, INC (CCJ)

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