Girl, 7, in a coma may not survive.
By Jason Bergreen
The Salt Lake Tribune
Updated: 07/28/2009 10:47:12 AM MDT
Emperatriz
Meza-Reyna A 7-year-old girl is in a coma with critical head injuries
just months after state foster care workers returned her to her mother,
who was convicted last year of child abuse.
Now the 21-year-old mother is once again in jail on suspicion of beating the child, who may not survive.
Emperatriz Meza-Reyna took her daughter to Pioneer Valley Hospital on July 22 with a head injury, bruises on her body and a bite mark, West Valley City police Capt. Tom McLachlan said.
During the examination, the girl went into cardiac arrest and was flown to Primary Children's Medical Center. There, she underwent brain surgery and remains in a coma in critical condition.
Meza-Reyna told police her daughter fell down stairs, but doctors say her injuries are not consistent with a fall.
McLachlan said the girl's injuries appear to be caused by being hit with a hard object or slammed into a floor, wall or another hard surface.
Meza-Reyna has two other children who don't appear to have been abused, police said. But the mother was arrested in January 2008 on suspicion of child abuse involving the same child. She pleaded guilty to two charges of third-degree felony child abuse.
According to those charges, Meza-Reyna admitted to strangling the child and covering her mouth and nose multiple times, beating her with a belt and a cable cord and writing on the child with a black marker, injuring the child's face. A doctor in that case said the
child had bruises and marks all over her body. The doctor also said there was evidence of a head injury, including soft-tissue swelling and bleeding on the brain.
Meza-Reyna was sentenced in January; all prison time was suspended. She served 17 days in jail and was given 36 months of probation.
McLachlan said the Division of Child and Family Services had custody of the girl for a period of time before she was returned to her mother several months ago.
Meza-Reyna has an immigration detainer against her, which means she will be deported once the case ends and she is released to federal authorities.
DCFS spokeswoman Liz Sollis would not comment on the case. She said DCFS in general usually works with other health, school and law enforcement professionals to determine the best interest of the child involved in an abusive situation. The parent, if they have been convicted of child abuse, is usually required to complete court imposed programs and classes before a judge determines when the child may return home.
McLachlan said Meza-Reyna and her children recently lived with another adult, but their relationship is unknown. He said the man is not a suspect in the new case.
Meza-Reyna was booked into the Salt Lake County jail Thursday on suspicion of child abuse. She is being held on $50,000 bail
Originally posted on familycourtreform.vox.com
A Local TN Attorney, showing some originality.
Amazing story, have you heard of Lena Baker?
if you are looking to volunteer or work in the non profit sector, this is a great site.
http://www.pro-selaw.org/pro-selaw/index.a
This
website is designed as a resource center on self-representation in
civil legal matters. Our purpose is to provide a collection of
materials and resources that can be used to create legal service
delivery systems that are based on the concept of "pro se" or "self"
representation within federally funded legal services programs, courts,
pro bono programs, and other community-based programs.
Pro Se means "on one's own behalf." A 1991 American Bar Association study of self-represented litigants showed:
- Persons with incomes less than $50,000 are more likely to represent themselves.
- About 20% of self-represented litigants report they can afford an attorney but do not want one.
- Self-represented persons are more likely to be satisfied with the judicial process than those who are represented by attorneys.
- Almost 75% of those who represented themselves in court said they would do it again.
Self-representation,
when combined with the power of modern information technology can be an
important means of providing increased access to the legal system.
This resource center contains:
-
A searchable Directory of Pro Se Programs operated by legal service providers;
-
White papers and research on the research concept;
-
A Discussion space where organizations that want to design and operate pro se assistance programs can post questions and receive answers from other
professionals who are engaged in operating pro se programs.
Originally posted on familycourtreform.vox.com
www.stopfamilyviolence.org/349
by Sarah Childress
Published on September 25, 2006 by Newsweek
Why Parents Who Batter Win Custody
by Sarah Childress
It took
six years for Genia Shockome to gather the courage to leave her
husband, Tim. He pushed her, kicked her and insulted her almost from
the moment they married in 1994, she says. She tried to start over with
their children when the family moved from Texas to Poughkeepsie, N.Y.
It didn't last long. Tim called her constantly at work and, after they
split up, pounded on her door and screamed obscenities, she alleged in
a complaint filed in 2001. Tim was charged with harassment. As part of
a plea deal, Tim agreed to a stay-away order—but denies ever abusing
her or the children. In custody hearings over the past six years, Tim
has insisted that he's been a good father, and argued that Genia's
allegations poisoned their children against him. The judge sided with
Tim. This summer he was granted full custody of the kids, now 11 and 9.
Genia was barred from contacting them.
Genia is
one of many parents nationwide who have lost custody due to a
controversial concept known as parental alienation. Under the theory,
children fear or reject one parent because they have been corrupted or
coached to lie by the other. Parental alienation is now the leading
defense for parents accused of abuse in custody cases, according to
domestic-violence advocates. And it's working. The few current studies
done on the subject consider only small samples. But according to one
2004 survey in Massachusetts by Harvard's Jay Silverman, 54 percent of
custody cases involving documented spousal abuse were decided in favor
of the alleged batterers. Parental alienation was used as an argument
in nearly every case.
This
year the National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges denounced
the theory as "junk science," and at least four states have passed
legislation to curtail its use in custody cases involving allegations
of domestic violence. "It's really been a cancer in the family courts,"
says Richard Ducote, an attorney in Pittsburgh who has represented
abuse victims in custody cases for 22 years. "It's made it really
difficult for parents to protect their kids. If you ask for protection,
you're deemed a vindictive, alienating parent."
It may
seem hard to fathom how a judge could award custody to a parent accused
of abuse. But battered spouses often don't file criminal charges—so no
judicial finding is made against their mates—and family-court judges
typically aren't trained to referee the complexities of abusive
relationships. (Although men are sometimes battered by their wives,
women are the victims in the majority of abuse cases.) Judges often
throw out documented evidence of spousal abuse, arguing that it is
irrelevant in a custody case. And experts say that family-court judges
often look favorably on the alleged abuser because he seems more
willing to share custody than the accuser—who is hellbent on keeping
the father away from the child. According to a survey by Geraldine
Stahly, a psychology professor at California State University at San
Bernardino, attorneys will caution battered spouses against reporting
abuse in court so they don't lose their children. (Stahly and other
academics say the parental-alienation argument has more legitimacy in
custody disputes that don't involve charges of abuse.)
Parental-alienation
syndrome was first introduced by child psychiatrist Richard Gardner in
the 1980s. Fathers-rights groups picked up on the idea and began trying
it out in court. These groups condemn abusers. But Dan Hogan, executive
director of Fathers & Families, a nonprofit group that advocates
for joint custody, argues that all too often the accusers lie in order
to win custody of their kids.
There's
a small but growing movement to ban parental alienation in custody
cases, sparked by embattled parents bonding online. They've linked with
lawyers and advocates for battered spouses across the country. At least
four states, including California, have laws protecting parents who
make good-faith abuse allegations. Others may soon follow their lead.
Greg Jacob, an attorney who takes cases for abused parents pro bono, is
drafting legislation to shop to Virginia and Maryland next month.
Meanwhile, parents like Genia keep fighting. "It's so hard, having my
children lost," she says, her voice breaking. "This was my life—my
children."
http://www.stopfamilyviolence.org/o
Copyright © 2006 Newsweek
Family Law Task Force getting flak for recruitment, ‘insider’ panelists
A Task Force created to address alleged widespread
problems in the state family courts system is taking
flak from the same groups who have been calling for
reforms.
Such criticism was widely expected when the Elkins
Family Law Task Force was created last May. Men’s and women’s groups
have been fighting a highly-politicized battle for years over problems
in the courts
that decide divorce and child custody proceedings.
While advocates on both sides agree that there are
numerous serious issues in the family courts, they
often have opposing views on what those problems actually
are. But they do seem to agree that the process has
been too closed, that there have been problems with
a series of focus groups and that the Task Force includes
far too many insiders. The 38 members include 16 judges, 12 attorneys,
10 staff members of various family courts—and no advocates or family
court litigants.
“When you ask that same entity to investigate itself,
and then you put on the panel judges who have historically
protected the institution and themselves over the public
good, how much substantive change is really going to
occur?” said Patty Bellasalma, president of the California
National Organization of Women (CA NOW).
of Fathers for Justice, referred to CA NOW as a “hate group.” Yet he said basically the same thing when asked about
the Elkins Task Force.
“The Task Force is made all of judges and prosecutors,” Sottile said. “There are no people who have been victimized by family
law. The Task Force is a group of people with no perspective.
These people are all in the business who get paid by
the business.”
Both Sottile and Bellasalma said they did not become
aware of the Task Force until after the January deadline.
Several advocates from women’s groups applied or were nominated, including Jean
Taylor from the Center for Judicial Excellence and
Connie Valentine of the California Protective Parents
Association.
Katie Howard, special consultant with the state’s Center for Families,
Children & the Courts, said that several litigants, both women
and men, did apply to be members of the Task Force,
but a decision was made to confine the membership to
professionals.
“Many people who applied for the Task Force were, of
course, disappointed not to be appointed, and I can
understand that,” Howard said. “But I think that the many ways the Task Force is seeking
input.”
The Elkins Task Force grew out of a California Supreme
Court case decided last summer. It’s named for one of the litigants, a Contra Costa County
father engaged in a custody battle whose attorney argued
that the evidence code required in all civil cases
was not being properly used in family courts.
As part of the ruling, Chief Justice Ronald George
ordered the creation of the Task Force to look into
use of evidence and other issues in the family courts. He asked William Vickrey, administrative director of
courts, to choose the Task Force members.
Task Force has now convened three times
in San Francisco; in June, September, and November. Whether or not
these
meetings were open to the public caused more confusion
with the advocates. The Protective Parents Association’s Valentine said
she tried to attend the Nov. 19 meeting at the Judicial Council
headquarters in San
Francisco, but was given conflicting information about
the schedule and was told part of the meeting was closed.
Valentine said the closure was an apparent violation
of Proposition 59, the 2004 state “sunshine initiative.” Having already been denied a place on the Task Force
itself, Valentine said it was important that advocates
be able to track the proceedings and provide input.
“If they knew what the problems were, they probably
would have fixed them,” Valentine said.
Howard said that Prop. 59 does not apply to the Task Force because
it maintained
previous exemptions to the Public Records Act for the
judicial branch. She said the Nov. 19 meeting consisted mainly of small
break-out sessions, with a public comment period later in
the day.
“The Task Force needed the opportunity to throw out
all sorts of ideas they weren’t ready to go public on,” Howard said. “Going forward, we will have open Task Force meetings.”
More criticism has arisen over a series of focus groups
arranged via an outside contractor to help the Task
Force assess problems with the courts. Eight focus
groups of current and former family court litigants
have been conducted in six counties, two of them in
Spanish; 39 women and 18 men have given testimony.
The focus groups were arranged by Santa Cruz-based Ceres Policy
Research. Women’s groups have raised objections to a Nov. 12 focus
group in Pasadena
that interviewed only six men, all members of various
“father’s rights” organizations—a fact which leaked out onto the active
and contentious
online communities on both sides.
In a letter to the Task Force, Bellasalma charged “The solicitation
of known advocacy group members is
a breach of research protocols, if the intent was to
solicit as unbiased a sample as possible.” She went on to call the
recruitment “blatantly one sided, as no women’s rights groups were
noticed,” and said it brought all the work done by Ceres into
question.
Some of the men interviewed were members of Sottile’s 250 strong Father’s for Justice chapter. While he said they were initially
“very excited” about participating, their enthusiasm was quickly
tempered by the tone of the questions, which he said
focused on subjects like how to more easily get money
out of fathers.
“The impression was that the interviewers were looking
for ways to exploit the fathers even more,” Sottile said. “The questions were very slanted.”
Howard said that while they have generally been happy
with Ceres work and plan to continue using them, though
it was never intended that there would be a focus group
consisting only of father’s rights activist. She said they were planning on two
additional focus groups in January to address the imbalance
of known advocates, including one in San Francisco
to consist of women’s groups. But Bellasalma said her’s and other women’s groups were unlikely to participate. A call to Ceres
seeking comment was not returned as of press time.
Howard also provided what she said was the list of
questions used by Ceres. It contained eight questions
about the court experience and how it could be improved,
with no mention of child support.
In many ways, the battle over the Task Force mirrors
the larger battle between men’s and women’s organizations. Both sides say their members are victimized
by a system that doesn’t follow proper procedures, ignores evidence and seems
to be designed to drag out the process and bleed participants
of their resources. Standards and operations are not
consistent between different counties, a key factor
Howard said the Task Force is designed to address.
But Sottile charged that men are essentially silenced
in proceedings, given little chance of getting child
custody and specifically targeted for their wealth
with court-mandated psychological evaluations and other expensive
services. There is little or no investigation into
false child or spousal abuse charges in what he characterized
as “war on fathers” conducted by “the domestic violence industry.”
Women’s groups, meanwhile, say that children are routinely
placed with men who physically and sexually abuse them—especially when the fathers are wealthy and well-connected.
A particular battle is going on over the concept of
“parental alienation syndrome,” a term generally used to describe a mother allegedly
turning children against the father with lies and pressure.
The term is not officially recognized in psychiatry,
despite efforts by men’s groups.
Bellasalma said it was far more complicated than a
battle of the sexes—something she had to witness firsthand when her brother
was “totally destroyed in New Jersey family court.”
“When you don’t have an open process, whatever you believe the
courts
are conspiring towards, that’s what you’re going to believe is
happening,” Bellasalma said. “Personally, I just believe the courts are
going to
protect the courts over anything else. There are judges
for men, judges for women, judges who don’t work at all, and good
judges. It’s Russian Roulette.”
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Students 'experience' desperation, indignities of being
destitute
This is a month in the life.
First week: Felicia Fuentes, 30-year-old mom to two teenagers, slogs through welfare paperwork. At school, her kids are forced to sit on the floor and watch as classmates are hauled out for drug possession.
Second week: Mom returns to the welfare office. Kids can't get to class; no money for transportation. They haven't eaten, either.
Third week: Teens steal a camera and a stereo system. Mom pawns a chest for $50.
Fourth week: Still no welfare. House foreclosed. Mom and kids out on the street.
"It's incredibly frustrating," said 22-year-old Amanda Szymczuk, donning Fuentes's identity and heavy load during a recent poverty simulation at the University of New Hampshire in Durham. "The situation my family has been left in is so hopeless."
They came in Abercrombie & Fitch jeans and wildcat-emblazoned sweat shirts, mostly white, mostly kids from middle-class or upper middle-class families planning to go on to careers in social service jobs.
But for 80 minutes, they put on more tattered personas; they struggled. They felt frustration and hopelessness, and became exasperated with bureaucracy.
This was the life of poverty, as portrayed in an annual simulation hosted by UNH's departments of family studies and social work.
"Poverty is not a game for the millions of Americans who live it every day," said facilitator Elizabeth Dolan, associate professor of family studies. "Just think how it would feel if you did this all the time."
There's evidence that more people are.
The number of New Hampshire families receiving food stamps jumped from 29,315 in September 2007 to 32,662 this past September, according to Terry Smith, director for the division of family assistance at the New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services.
Over the same period, the number of those on Temporary Assistance for Needy Families rose from 4,927 to 5,074.
Smith explained that when the economy goes sour, it takes food stamp statistics a couple of years to reflect a change. "We've only begun to see this thing," he said.
Lives moved quickly in the UNH exercise; the simulation lasted for an 80-minute "month" split into 20-minute "weeks." A ringing bell signaled the end of each week; the group of 80 to 90 students then cycled back to their "houses," separated into quadrangles or triangles of seats, marked ironically with "Home Sweet Home."
Lined along the walls were all the services the families would require: a bank, a school, a grocery store, a childcare center, an employment office, a pawn shop, welfare, a police department, a work site, a utility office, and a mortgage and rent collector.
The students, mostly juniors and seniors, were given names and some played the roles of moms, teenagers, and toddlers; a few were even senior citizens. Most families had monthly bills between $1,000 and $1,200 - creating a wide gap between their average monthly incomes of about $500 to $700, gained from Social Security, welfare, and minimum-wage jobs.
One elderly pair received a $767 Social Security check - 10 percent of which went straight to the check-cashing office. To get by, they "winged" a day-care business for their neighbors, stole $100 from their landlord, and sold bus passes for twice their face value.
"You're just overwhelmed by how alone you feel," said Nicollette Thomson, a 26-year-old from Kingston who took on the identity of a 72-year-old woman with diabetes. "It's an intense feeling when you don't have enough money."
Elsewhere, the jail was half full, mostly with teenagers; the pawn shop line was a dozen deep; the classrooms lacked seats.
"Our school is awful," said 15-year-old Francisca Fuentes - portrayed by 20-year-old Katie Cameron of Bedford, N.H. She explained that there aren't any field trips, there's no nurse, and students have to pay for all of their supplies.
At that very moment, another 15-year-old (actually 22-year-old Kacie Farrell of Hooksett, who aspires to be a children's speech therapist) was suddenly hauled out of class by a female police officer for drug possession.
"I'd be quite embarrassed, probably ashamed," the petite brunette said when asked how she'd feel if something like this really happened.
As she sat down at the "jail," she looked around the swarm. "I wonder where my mother is now?"
Unluckily for her, mom didn't end up bailing her out for two weeks; she was overwhelmed with trying to obtain food stamps and bus passes and applying for jobs.
"It's hectic, crazy," said 20-year-old Shikara Thody, from Woodstock, Vt., who was clasping a food stamp card, $2 in cash, five bus passes, an ID, and social security cards.
Nearby, at the welfare office, paperwork was piling up. Six two-sided forms for Szymczuk, the welfare mother who spent an hour - or three weeks - filling them out and waiting in line to meet with a case worker.
This was her story: deserter husband who left heavy debts and $10 in cash, three-room house before foreclosure, and two teenage kids, including a ninth-grade dropout. Budget: $800 for rent, $295 for utilities, $440 for food. Income: $0.
Despite her situation, the social services people were "so unsupportive, so unenthused," she said.
Pawn shop clerks even made her play rock-paper-scissors with another hard-up mom to determine whose chest of drawers they would buy.
But they had to be that way; otherwise, it wouldn't be realistic, noted those who took on the public assistance roles.
Justine Shea, for one, described her welfare office receptionist character as "trying to be helpful, but she isn't that bright."
A worker at the nonprofit Rockingham Community Action, Shea has seen enough families go through the merry-go-round. "It's a nightmare," she said, shaking her head, as she sat at a long table stacked with a rainbow of forms. "A total nightmare."
Szymczuk had always heard as much; but until now, she'd never really understood.
"It's very clear how difficult it is to just get started," she said, a pile of paperwork threatening to overflow her lap.
"I don't know what to do with the kids; we owe everybody money. I have to figure it all out."
But after 80 minutes, resolved or not, it was over.
The family scenarios got packed back into boxes for next year, the food stamp cards and IDs thrown out, the social services disbanded.
The students, back in their own lives, filed out to warm residence halls and cars, a bit more sympathetic, a bit more humble.
http://www.boston.com/news/local/articl
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FBI AGENT KILLED IN THE LINE OF DUTY
Pittsburgh,
PA—Special Agent Samuel Hicks, assigned to the Pittsburgh FBI Office,
was fatally shot today while executing a federal search warrant
associated with a drug distribution ring. One suspect is in custody and
an investigation into the circumstances surrounding the shooting is
being conducted.
Special Agent Hicks, 33, joined the
FBI in March 2007 and reported to the Pittsburgh Office in August 2007.
He was a graduate of the University of Pittsburgh. Special Agent Hicks
is a former police officer with the Baltimore Police Department and
also worked as a teacher. He is survived by his wife and three-year-old
son.
“This is a real tragedy with the loss of such a talented agent who made
the ultimate sacrifice for his country when putting on a badge and
accepting the responsibility for protecting our nation,” said Special
Agent in Charge Michael A. Rodriguez. “The FBI family mourns alongside
Agent Hicks’ family. We ask that the media and the public respect the
family's privacy during this very difficult time.”
"The loss of Sam Hicks is a tragedy," said FBI Director Robert S.
Mueller, III. "Our hearts and prayers go out to Sam's family and the
members of the Pittsburgh Field Office."
He looks so young. May his family find comfort and peace through this ordeal.
Thank you, S.A. Hicks for your service.
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Unsuccessful efforts to uncover the identity of Internet bloggers
critical of the Memphis Police Department and its top officers will
cost the city $88,000.
The city filed suit in state court in an attempt to identify the
people behind a Web site called MPD Enforcer 2.0, but the lawsuit was
eventually dropped.
The legal bill for that suit has arrived, and The Commercial Appeal
reports it totals about $88,000. The city's legal department declined
giving a breakdown on the legal expenses, and the police department had
no comment.
When the suit was filed earlier this year, authorities said they
were upset because a picture of an undercover officer was posted on the
site. It was later determined, however, that the officer's picture was
also on the police department Web site.
updated 20 minutes ago
Obama's grandmother dies hours before election
cancer, Obama and his sister said today. She was 86. Obama, who spoke
about his grandmother often on the stump, left the campaign trail for
two days in late October to visit Dunham in Hawaii. developing story
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