Ladies and gentlemen of the Bar, I have some things that I would like you to think about in regard to custody and divorce.

 

First, I want you to understand that I know that you have to practice in the Domestic Relations Courts every day. I know what a problem it can be for you if you get a judge or a magistrate mad at you for standing up to them. You become blacklisted and judges that refuse to follow the law can hinder your effectiveness. But, in life there has to be a point at which everyone takes a stand to injustice. That time has come for you. You need to start standing up to the wrongdoing of these judges and magistrates and start to represent your client's best interests. Read the oath that they take before they enter office and hold them to that oath to uphold the Constitution of The United States and the State of Ohio. Read the oath that you took when admitted to the bar, you are supposed to uphold the constitution also.

 

Are you serving your clients best interest when you tell them that they can't have something (custody) because of their sex?  I know that I was told this when I first talked to my attorney about my divorce. How many of you tell that to fathers everyday? I put my foot down and told him that my being a male had nothing to do with my ability to raise a child. I had been doing it for years so I was experienced. Telling them this and allowing the court to go with this assumption is a violation of a male's and the child's 14th Amendment Rights. Stop this now! Let the judges know that you are now going to allow it any more. Every one is supposed to be treated equally, make them do it. The more of you that speak up, the harder it will be for the judges to allow their own prejudices to influence the out come of cases before them.

 

Criminal courts allow for a presumption of innocence before a client is found guilty. Why are Domestic Courts allowed to presume that a father can not do the job of raising a child without affording him due process basing that decision on Best Interests of the Child? Best interest of the child is an undefined term in Ohio, and other state law. I have, and many other fathers have also. You are our first pipeline to these judges and you can make us be heard.

 

To throw another spin on this, your job is to represent your client's best interests. Are you representing their best interests if you are allowing their constitutional rights to be violated? Doesn't not standing up for client's rights create a liability problem? I have heard too many of you complain in the waiting area about the fact that a male has a target on his back when he walks into court. Turn that target around and start using it as a shield and make the judges listen and follow the laws that they are supposed to uphold.

 

Things are changing quickly now in regard to custody laws and child support laws in this land. I wonder how many of you are keeping up on the current happenings. How many of you know that the child Support laws in Georgia were found to be unconstitutional. How many of you know of the changes that are taking place in Iowa where a new state law is telling judges that they have to first go to shared parenting instead of granting custody to the mother as they have for years? Oklahoma has done the same thing. Ohio is supposed to be a shared parenting state, but how many of you allow your clients to be buffaloed into giving up custody on even a temporary basis. All this does is make it harder to get an equal custody agreement down the road.

 

Now is the time to stop the old ways and start a new. Next time a judge tells you that they are cutting a deserving father out of his rights as a parent tell them that they are in violation of the 14th Amendment and that you will not allow it. Make them treat every one equally and see to that your clients get equal legal and physical custody. If you put your foot down hard things will change and the blacklisting will stop. If it doesn't, file a complaint against the judge. They are not above the law! They are supposed to enforce it and support the state and United States Constitutions, which is what their and your oath of office says.

 

Now is the time to stop making excuses and make the judges follow the law and their oath of office.

 

I have news for you, if you don't have stones enough to stand up to the corruption of the court, GET OUT OF THE WAY! This is a group of the will do it pro se and you will look great with our foot prints on your back.