Dad is identified as STEPHEN GALLAGHER.
http://www.itv.com/news/tyne-tees/2015-10-02/father-admits-involvement-in-the-death-of-his-three-month-old-daughter/
2 October 2015 at 4:04pm
Father admits involvement in the death of his three-month-old daughter
A County Durham father has admitted involvement in the death of his three-month-old baby girl.
Skylar Cowan Gallagher was found unconscious with no heartbeat when paramedics were called to a house in June.
She was taken to the University hospital of North Tees but could not be saved.
Her father Stephen Gallagher, of Hepscott Avenue, Blackhall Colliery, was initially charged with her manslaughter.
During a hearing at Newcastle Crown Court the 35-year-old admitted a charge of causing or allowing the death of a child, which was accepted by the prosecution.
Gallagher will be sentenced in November and was given conditional bail in the meantime.
Judge Paul Sloan QC warned him: "You must understand, the fact I am adjourning sentence and the fact I am directing the preparation of a pre-sentence report is no indication of sentence.
"Sentence will be a matter for the judge who hears the case in November."
No details of Gallagher's basis of plea were outlined during the short hearing.
Sunday, October 4, 2015
Girlfriend of custodial dad arrested in murder of 17-month-old boy; what happened to Mom? (Seattle, Washington)
LOTS of unanswered questions here.
FIRST, who decided to give sole custody to a father, AT MINIMUM, who was neglectful and very possibly physically abusive himself? Let's see the name of the judge, please. Along with all the social service people who went along for the ride.
SECOND, why wasn't Daddy arrested for failure to protect? Mothers are routinely arrested for this when their boyfriends hurt or kill their kids, even if the POS was beating and threatening them as well.
But no. At minimum, Daddy dumped caretaking responsibilities on a suicidal, self-cutting woman with drug addiction issues. What could possibly go wrong?
THIRD, There was previous evidence that abuse was taking place. Why didn't Dad intervene? Maybe because he was also an abuser and he and his enabler family were happy for the girlfriend to take the hit? Why did CPS let a custodial dad off the hook, as they so often do?
FOURTH, why has the murdered boy's mother been completely erased from the story?
UNNAMED DAD
http://www.seattlepi.com/local/crime/article/Police-arrest-woman-after-West-Seattle-baby-s-6545882.php
Police arrest woman after West Seattle toddler's death
By LYNSI BURTON, SEATTLEPI.COM STAFF
Updated 10:10 pm, Friday, October 2, 2015
Seattle police arrested a 20-year-old woman Thursday in connection with the death of a 17-month-old boy in West Seattle.
Court records indicate the woman, after her arrest, admitted kicking the baby twice in the abdomen the day he died.
Officers responded to the 6500 block of California Avenue Southwest last Sunday after the woman found the baby -- her boyfriend's child -- unresponsive in his crib, police reports say.
The baby's father attempted CPR and called 911, court records say, but medics declared the boy dead at the scene.
The King County Medical Examiner ruled Tuesday that the child's death was a homicide.
The couple lived together in West Seattle with the father's 17-month-old child and the woman's 2-year-old boy.
The baby was examined at Children's Hospital on Sept. 20 for an unrelated matter, when doctors noticed suspicious-looking cuts and bruises on the child and referred their concerns to Child Protective Services, according to the probable cause affidavit. The boy was nonetheless released to his father.
The boy's father and his father's girlfriend were his sole caregivers.
A week after the doctor visit, medics responded to the family's home about 4:12 p.m. and found the boy pale, cold to the touch and covered in vomit. The boy had no known medical conditions, court records say.
Police examining the boy in the back of an ambulance noticed blood coming from his left ear and bruises on his face and body, documents say. They alerted the Homicide Unit to the case.
An autopsy determined the boy died of severe abdominal trauma.
Initially, neither the 20-year-old woman nor her boyfriend appeared to know what happened to the child.
The woman told police the boy had been mopey in the week before his death, according to the probable cause. The day he died, his father went to the store while the woman was giving the boy a bath and later put him down for a nap because the boy was "wobbly" as he walked.
She denied she or her boyfriend ever assaulted the boy, but said her own son sometimes abused the child.
A couple that stayed at the family's home for a few days in September told investigators that the woman struggled with drug addiction and became angry and agitated toward the 17-month-old boy when she was on drugs or suffering withdrawal symptoms, reports say. The couple said the woman would spank or flick him, but nothing forceful. However, they expressed concern about her screaming at him when he cried.
A forensic search of the woman's phone indicated that her boyfriend and his family accused her of killing the boy, court records say.
Authorities served a warrant at the family's home about 1:30 p.m. Thursday, only to find the boyfriend reporting that his girlfriend had tried to kill herself the previous night by cutting her legs, the probable cause states. She reportedly did not admit to killing the boy, but he and his family thought she did, he told police.
Police detained the woman and took her to police headquarters. There, she admitted to kicking the boy twice after he and her son fought over a toy, police reports say. She claimed the first kick knocked the child down and then she delivered a second blow. She then said she put the boy in his playpen and noticed he stopped breathing a short time later.
Cops booked her into King County Jail for investigation of homicide and she remains held on $1 million bail.
FIRST, who decided to give sole custody to a father, AT MINIMUM, who was neglectful and very possibly physically abusive himself? Let's see the name of the judge, please. Along with all the social service people who went along for the ride.
SECOND, why wasn't Daddy arrested for failure to protect? Mothers are routinely arrested for this when their boyfriends hurt or kill their kids, even if the POS was beating and threatening them as well.
But no. At minimum, Daddy dumped caretaking responsibilities on a suicidal, self-cutting woman with drug addiction issues. What could possibly go wrong?
THIRD, There was previous evidence that abuse was taking place. Why didn't Dad intervene? Maybe because he was also an abuser and he and his enabler family were happy for the girlfriend to take the hit? Why did CPS let a custodial dad off the hook, as they so often do?
FOURTH, why has the murdered boy's mother been completely erased from the story?
UNNAMED DAD
http://www.seattlepi.com/local/crime/article/Police-arrest-woman-after-West-Seattle-baby-s-6545882.php
Police arrest woman after West Seattle toddler's death
By LYNSI BURTON, SEATTLEPI.COM STAFF
Updated 10:10 pm, Friday, October 2, 2015
Seattle police arrested a 20-year-old woman Thursday in connection with the death of a 17-month-old boy in West Seattle.
Court records indicate the woman, after her arrest, admitted kicking the baby twice in the abdomen the day he died.
Officers responded to the 6500 block of California Avenue Southwest last Sunday after the woman found the baby -- her boyfriend's child -- unresponsive in his crib, police reports say.
The baby's father attempted CPR and called 911, court records say, but medics declared the boy dead at the scene.
The King County Medical Examiner ruled Tuesday that the child's death was a homicide.
The couple lived together in West Seattle with the father's 17-month-old child and the woman's 2-year-old boy.
The baby was examined at Children's Hospital on Sept. 20 for an unrelated matter, when doctors noticed suspicious-looking cuts and bruises on the child and referred their concerns to Child Protective Services, according to the probable cause affidavit. The boy was nonetheless released to his father.
The boy's father and his father's girlfriend were his sole caregivers.
A week after the doctor visit, medics responded to the family's home about 4:12 p.m. and found the boy pale, cold to the touch and covered in vomit. The boy had no known medical conditions, court records say.
Police examining the boy in the back of an ambulance noticed blood coming from his left ear and bruises on his face and body, documents say. They alerted the Homicide Unit to the case.
An autopsy determined the boy died of severe abdominal trauma.
Initially, neither the 20-year-old woman nor her boyfriend appeared to know what happened to the child.
The woman told police the boy had been mopey in the week before his death, according to the probable cause. The day he died, his father went to the store while the woman was giving the boy a bath and later put him down for a nap because the boy was "wobbly" as he walked.
She denied she or her boyfriend ever assaulted the boy, but said her own son sometimes abused the child.
A couple that stayed at the family's home for a few days in September told investigators that the woman struggled with drug addiction and became angry and agitated toward the 17-month-old boy when she was on drugs or suffering withdrawal symptoms, reports say. The couple said the woman would spank or flick him, but nothing forceful. However, they expressed concern about her screaming at him when he cried.
A forensic search of the woman's phone indicated that her boyfriend and his family accused her of killing the boy, court records say.
Authorities served a warrant at the family's home about 1:30 p.m. Thursday, only to find the boyfriend reporting that his girlfriend had tried to kill herself the previous night by cutting her legs, the probable cause states. She reportedly did not admit to killing the boy, but he and his family thought she did, he told police.
Police detained the woman and took her to police headquarters. There, she admitted to kicking the boy twice after he and her son fought over a toy, police reports say. She claimed the first kick knocked the child down and then she delivered a second blow. She then said she put the boy in his playpen and noticed he stopped breathing a short time later.
Cops booked her into King County Jail for investigation of homicide and she remains held on $1 million bail.
Dad gets ONE year sentence in death of 13-month-old son despite prior felony convictions (Cullman, Alabama)
Under aged mother, but no acknowledgement in the article of that.
Dad is identified as B.J. BRYANT.
http://www.cullmantimes.com/news/father-pleads-guilty-to-aggravated-child-abuse-in--month/article_1af1a550-68c2-11e5-aa2d-b7c4bb6e680f.html
Father pleads guilty to aggravated child abuse in 13-month-old son’s death
B.J. Bryant pleaded guilty to aggravated child abuse in connection with the drowning death of his 13-month-old son and was given a one-year sentence.
Posted: Friday, October 2, 2015 5:00 am
Staff report
A Cullman father pleaded guilty to aggravated child abuse in connection with the drowning death of his 13-month-old son and was given a one-year sentence.
B.J. Bryant, 24, will be on supervised probation for five years. Two other charges of criminally negligent homicide and manslaughter were dismissed, according to an order filed by Cullman County Circuit Judge Martha Williams Thursday. Bryant will be required to testify against the child’s mother, Justina Freeman, 20, who is facing the same three charges.
The Cullman County Sheriff’s Office arrested Bryant and Freeman in 2013 after an 11-month investigation into the death of their son Blakelee Jayce Bryant.
The child was found unresponsive at the couple’s home May 21, 2012 after being in the bathtub. He was rushed to Cullman Regional Medical Center and then flown to Children’s Hospital in Birmingham. He was put on life support and died May 26, 2012.
Former Chief Deputy Max Bartlett told The Cullman Times in 2013 the conditions of the scene and the home indicated Blakelee had been severely neglected, and the couple was charged. Bryant was 21 years old and Freeman 17 at the time of their child’s death.
According to Williams’ order, Bryant had a prior felony conviction and has 42 days to appeal his conviction on the aggravated child abuse charge.
Freeman was scheduled to appear in court September 24 before presiding Circuit Court Judge Greg Nicholas. It’s not clear the status of the case.
Dad is identified as B.J. BRYANT.
http://www.cullmantimes.com/news/father-pleads-guilty-to-aggravated-child-abuse-in--month/article_1af1a550-68c2-11e5-aa2d-b7c4bb6e680f.html
Father pleads guilty to aggravated child abuse in 13-month-old son’s death
B.J. Bryant pleaded guilty to aggravated child abuse in connection with the drowning death of his 13-month-old son and was given a one-year sentence.
Posted: Friday, October 2, 2015 5:00 am
Staff report
A Cullman father pleaded guilty to aggravated child abuse in connection with the drowning death of his 13-month-old son and was given a one-year sentence.
B.J. Bryant, 24, will be on supervised probation for five years. Two other charges of criminally negligent homicide and manslaughter were dismissed, according to an order filed by Cullman County Circuit Judge Martha Williams Thursday. Bryant will be required to testify against the child’s mother, Justina Freeman, 20, who is facing the same three charges.
The Cullman County Sheriff’s Office arrested Bryant and Freeman in 2013 after an 11-month investigation into the death of their son Blakelee Jayce Bryant.
The child was found unresponsive at the couple’s home May 21, 2012 after being in the bathtub. He was rushed to Cullman Regional Medical Center and then flown to Children’s Hospital in Birmingham. He was put on life support and died May 26, 2012.
Former Chief Deputy Max Bartlett told The Cullman Times in 2013 the conditions of the scene and the home indicated Blakelee had been severely neglected, and the couple was charged. Bryant was 21 years old and Freeman 17 at the time of their child’s death.
According to Williams’ order, Bryant had a prior felony conviction and has 42 days to appeal his conviction on the aggravated child abuse charge.
Freeman was scheduled to appear in court September 24 before presiding Circuit Court Judge Greg Nicholas. It’s not clear the status of the case.
Dad charged with criminal homicide in murder of 5-week-old daughter; called infant "psycho baby" (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania)
Males can't cope with normal infantile crying. We see it again and again.
Dad is identified as JOSEPH SWIDORSKY.
http://pittsburgh.cbslocal.com/2015/10/01/west-view-father-arrested-in-death-of-baby-daughter/
Cops: Father Charged In Death Of Infant Called Child A ‘Psycho Baby’
October 1, 2015 10:06 PM
Lisa Washington
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) – Police arrested 30-year-old Joseph Swidorsky Thursday. He’s charged with criminal homicide and endangering the welfare of children, in the death of his five-week-old daughter, Braelyn.
According to the criminal complaint, West View Police were called to Swidorsky’s home on June 15, 2015, for the report of an unresponsive child. Swidorsky told police he was bathing his daughter and that she was crying so hard that she stopped breathing.
The mother told police, she had asked Swidorsky to bathe Braelyn and she returned to the bathroom to find the infant unresponsive and turning blue.
The baby was taken to UPMC Children’s Hospital, where she later died.
An autopsy revealed the child died of blunt force trauma to the head – specifically a subdural hematoma and a fractured skull.
A witness told police that during a conversation with Swidorsky while at the hospital, he gave four different versions of what might have happened to baby Braelyn. None of which were consistent with her cause of death.
Another witness reported overhearing Swidorsky say, “Braelyn is a psycho baby and does nothing but cry all the time.”
Bail was denied for Swidorsky. His preliminary hearing is scheduled for Oct. 16.
Dad is identified as JOSEPH SWIDORSKY.
http://pittsburgh.cbslocal.com/2015/10/01/west-view-father-arrested-in-death-of-baby-daughter/
Cops: Father Charged In Death Of Infant Called Child A ‘Psycho Baby’
October 1, 2015 10:06 PM
Lisa Washington
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) – Police arrested 30-year-old Joseph Swidorsky Thursday. He’s charged with criminal homicide and endangering the welfare of children, in the death of his five-week-old daughter, Braelyn.
According to the criminal complaint, West View Police were called to Swidorsky’s home on June 15, 2015, for the report of an unresponsive child. Swidorsky told police he was bathing his daughter and that she was crying so hard that she stopped breathing.
The mother told police, she had asked Swidorsky to bathe Braelyn and she returned to the bathroom to find the infant unresponsive and turning blue.
The baby was taken to UPMC Children’s Hospital, where she later died.
An autopsy revealed the child died of blunt force trauma to the head – specifically a subdural hematoma and a fractured skull.
A witness told police that during a conversation with Swidorsky while at the hospital, he gave four different versions of what might have happened to baby Braelyn. None of which were consistent with her cause of death.
Another witness reported overhearing Swidorsky say, “Braelyn is a psycho baby and does nothing but cry all the time.”
Bail was denied for Swidorsky. His preliminary hearing is scheduled for Oct. 16.
Dad arrested for critically injuring 3-month-old daughter (Bossier Ciety, Louisiana)
Dad is identified as SEAN CHRISTOPHER MORTON.
http://www.ktbs.com/story/30178041/father-arrested-for-critically-injuring-infant-daughter
Father arrested for critically injuring infant daughter
Posted: Oct 03, 2015 12:25 PM EST Updated: Oct 03, 2015 12:25 PM EST
BOSSIER CITY, La. - Bossier City police have arrested a man after his infant daughter was hospitalized overnight with critical injuries consistent with shaken baby syndrome.
Sean Christopher Morton, 27, of Bossier City faces a charge of second degree cruelty to a juvenile after staff with Willis-Knighton Bossier contacted the Bossier City Police Department just after 1 a.m. Saturday regarding a 3-month old baby that was brought into the emergency room.
Detectives arrested Morton after an investigation found he had injured the child Friday night at their residence in the 2400 block of Lamar Street while trying to get the baby to stop crying. Upon noticing that something was wrong with the child, Morton brought the baby to Willis-Knighton Bossier. The child was later taken to University Health in Shreveport where she was listed in critical condition as of Saturday morning.
Morton was booked into the Bossier City Jail. Bond has not yet been set.
http://www.ktbs.com/story/30178041/father-arrested-for-critically-injuring-infant-daughter
Father arrested for critically injuring infant daughter
Posted: Oct 03, 2015 12:25 PM EST Updated: Oct 03, 2015 12:25 PM EST
BOSSIER CITY, La. - Bossier City police have arrested a man after his infant daughter was hospitalized overnight with critical injuries consistent with shaken baby syndrome.
Sean Christopher Morton, 27, of Bossier City faces a charge of second degree cruelty to a juvenile after staff with Willis-Knighton Bossier contacted the Bossier City Police Department just after 1 a.m. Saturday regarding a 3-month old baby that was brought into the emergency room.
Detectives arrested Morton after an investigation found he had injured the child Friday night at their residence in the 2400 block of Lamar Street while trying to get the baby to stop crying. Upon noticing that something was wrong with the child, Morton brought the baby to Willis-Knighton Bossier. The child was later taken to University Health in Shreveport where she was listed in critical condition as of Saturday morning.
Morton was booked into the Bossier City Jail. Bond has not yet been set.
Wednesday, September 30, 2015
Dad on trial for killing infant son will challenge confession (Milwaukee, Wisconsin)
Dad is identified as DAVID A. ALLEN.
http://www.jsonline.com/news/crime/father-on-trial-for-killing-infant-son-will-challenge-confession-b99586810z1-329978301.html
Father on trial for killing infant son will challenge confession
By Bruce Vielmetti
Sept. 29, 2015
A Milwaukee man charged with killing his infant premature son falsely confessed to abuse during a police interview so that the child's mother would be released as a suspect, his attorney told jurors Tuesday.
The case could also highlight a growing doubt within the medical community that certain brain injuries among children can result only from "shaken baby syndrome," imposed by stressed-out, frustrated caregivers.
David A. Allen, 34, is on trial for first-degree reckless homicide as well as child abuse and neglect causing great bodily harm. His namesake son died in April 2013, six months after the then 12-week-old boy was first taken to Children's Hospital of Wisconsin, where doctors diagnosed broken ribs and brain damage later attributed to blunt force trauma. Allen was first charged in October 2012; prosecutors upgraded the charges after the child died.
"Home. There should be no safer place for a child," Assistant District Attorney Matt Torbenson told the jury in an opening statement. But the victim, referred to as Junior, spent his last day at home unable to eat, deteriorating as his father "watched and did nothing."
As in most child abuse prosecutions, medical experts for the state will testify that Junior's injuries were inconsistent with any cause other than abuse, Torbenson said. On top of that, he said, jurors will hear Allen's varied explanations of accidents that might have led to the injuries.
He first mentioned a fall from a 3-inch mattress, a bump on the faucet during a bath, then a fall from his arms to a concrete floor, then finally saying that, with Junior clawing at his face, Allen shook the boy, hard.
The next morning, the boy wouldn't eat, and his condition worsened before his parents finally called 911.
At the end of his final police interview, Torbenson said, Allen is seen alone in the interrogation room, holding his head in his hands and saying, repeatedly, "I'm so sorry, my son."
But defense attorney Anthony Cotton promised jurors a different view of the evidence from other experts, including one who studies false confessions. Cotton noted that in a quarter of cases where convicted offenders have been cleared by DNA evidence, they had falsely confessed to crimes.
Cotton said the pair of intense interviews Allen was subjected to right after his son was hospitalized in October 2012 were exactly the kind that lead to false confessions. He said the detective provided facts relayed to him by doctors at Children's Hospital, and kept Allen talking until he described doing something to the child that would be consistent with the injuries. Only then would Junior's mother, who had also been arrested, be released "to go and pray over your dying child," Cotton said the detective told Allen.
Cotton suggested Junior's injuries could just as consistently be explained by his birth — two months premature — and compromised health.
He said no one around the couple, not even the baby's mother, will testify they ever saw Allen seeming depressed or overwhelmed, as he told a detective. In fact, staff from the neonatal intensive care unit where Junior spent a month before going home will say Allen was very attentive and appropriate with his son.
Later, the boy and his parents moved into a house with seven other people, and none of them saw any signs of depressions or abusive behavior in Allen, Cotton said.
"He loved his son," Cotton said of Allen. "He was not quick to anger."
http://www.jsonline.com/news/crime/father-on-trial-for-killing-infant-son-will-challenge-confession-b99586810z1-329978301.html
Father on trial for killing infant son will challenge confession
By Bruce Vielmetti
Sept. 29, 2015
A Milwaukee man charged with killing his infant premature son falsely confessed to abuse during a police interview so that the child's mother would be released as a suspect, his attorney told jurors Tuesday.
The case could also highlight a growing doubt within the medical community that certain brain injuries among children can result only from "shaken baby syndrome," imposed by stressed-out, frustrated caregivers.
David A. Allen, 34, is on trial for first-degree reckless homicide as well as child abuse and neglect causing great bodily harm. His namesake son died in April 2013, six months after the then 12-week-old boy was first taken to Children's Hospital of Wisconsin, where doctors diagnosed broken ribs and brain damage later attributed to blunt force trauma. Allen was first charged in October 2012; prosecutors upgraded the charges after the child died.
"Home. There should be no safer place for a child," Assistant District Attorney Matt Torbenson told the jury in an opening statement. But the victim, referred to as Junior, spent his last day at home unable to eat, deteriorating as his father "watched and did nothing."
As in most child abuse prosecutions, medical experts for the state will testify that Junior's injuries were inconsistent with any cause other than abuse, Torbenson said. On top of that, he said, jurors will hear Allen's varied explanations of accidents that might have led to the injuries.
He first mentioned a fall from a 3-inch mattress, a bump on the faucet during a bath, then a fall from his arms to a concrete floor, then finally saying that, with Junior clawing at his face, Allen shook the boy, hard.
The next morning, the boy wouldn't eat, and his condition worsened before his parents finally called 911.
At the end of his final police interview, Torbenson said, Allen is seen alone in the interrogation room, holding his head in his hands and saying, repeatedly, "I'm so sorry, my son."
But defense attorney Anthony Cotton promised jurors a different view of the evidence from other experts, including one who studies false confessions. Cotton noted that in a quarter of cases where convicted offenders have been cleared by DNA evidence, they had falsely confessed to crimes.
Cotton said the pair of intense interviews Allen was subjected to right after his son was hospitalized in October 2012 were exactly the kind that lead to false confessions. He said the detective provided facts relayed to him by doctors at Children's Hospital, and kept Allen talking until he described doing something to the child that would be consistent with the injuries. Only then would Junior's mother, who had also been arrested, be released "to go and pray over your dying child," Cotton said the detective told Allen.
Cotton suggested Junior's injuries could just as consistently be explained by his birth — two months premature — and compromised health.
He said no one around the couple, not even the baby's mother, will testify they ever saw Allen seeming depressed or overwhelmed, as he told a detective. In fact, staff from the neonatal intensive care unit where Junior spent a month before going home will say Allen was very attentive and appropriate with his son.
Later, the boy and his parents moved into a house with seven other people, and none of them saw any signs of depressions or abusive behavior in Allen, Cotton said.
"He loved his son," Cotton said of Allen. "He was not quick to anger."
Court: County referee "grossly" mishandled child custody case (Livingston County, Michigan)
Fathers rights corruption in the courts.
http://www.livingstondaily.com/story/news/local/community/livingston-county/2015/09/26/referee-mishandled-custody-case/72984028/
Court: County referee ‘grossly’ mishandled custody case
Lisa Roose-Church, Livingston Daily 9:50 a.m. EDT September 29, 2015
A Michigan Court of Appeals ruling says a Livingston County attorney referee violated a mother’s due-process rights in a custody hearing and committed numerous legal errors.
In its opinion, the court found that Friend of the Court referee Lori Marran “grossly” mishandled the custody case. As a result, the court vacated Marran’s order giving physical custody of the couple’s child to the father.
“The manner in which the change of custody was ordered was grossly improper,” the court added. “The order is vacated and the child shall be returned to the primary physical custody of the mother.”
Attorney Christine M. Heckler, who represents the father, said the appeals court "made obvious errors" in its ruling and as a result unfairly impeached "the character of a well-respected judge." In particular, she said, the “most serious criticisms raised in the decision … are verifiably untrue.”
Heckler said the appeals court noted that Judge David Reader added word “interim” to an order entered on March 4. However, she said that is untrue because the March 4 order “very clearly” indicated it was an “interim” order and was not added later as the appeals court noted.
She also noted that the judge personally signed the order, not the referee.
“I am troubled that the COA could make such an obvious error, especially when impeaching the character of a well-respected Judge,” Heckler said Tuesday.
“Furthermore, these parties had been before this judge prior to the March 4, 2015, order, so to state that he ‘knew nothing about the case’ is factually inaccurate and unfair,” Heckler added.
The appeals court found the referee failed to find the father had proper cause for his request to change custody and Marran failed to give the mother time to appeal her decision by rubber-stamping Reader’s name on the court order, which put the custody change into immediate effect.
The appeals court also found that the practice of allowing a referee to stamp the judge’s name on an order is improper because the referee “had no authority to issue an immediately effective order changing custody, and the judge cannot give carte blanche permission” for the referee to sign the judge’s name without ever seeing the order or being knowledgeable about the case.
The appeals court noted that the judge did later review the case and recognized that a full hearing needed to occur. However, the court said, the judge did not vacate Marran’s improper order, but rather ordered that a hearing “be continued.” Despite that order, a hearing was not completed.
According to court documents, a court order was entered Nov. 4, 2010, granting the mother sole legal and physical custody of the couple’s child. In December that year, the father sought to have it changed to joint legal and physical custody, but the motion was dismissed when the pair came to an agreement in 2011 that granted physical custody to the mother but joint legal custody to both parents.
In April 2014, the father again filed a motion to change custody when his 5-year-old child was accidentally locked out of the mother’s home while she was sleeping. He also alleged the child’s mother had a substance abuse problem, but Child Protective Services was unable to substantiate that claim and a CPS social worker later testified that the mother’s home was safe and the lock-out incident was accidental.
When the parties convened in March for a “parenting time hearing,” Marran entered an order transferring primary custody to the father. However, the appeals court vacated that order as a “result of numerous legal errors.”
The first errors, the court noted, violated the mother’s due-process rights. Specifically, the court found that Marran granted the change without proper motion since the father’s initial motion had been denied and not appealed.
The appeals court went on to say Marran took testimony from the family’s therapist, who repeated the father’s allegations, but the referee failed to allow the mother’s attorney to cross-examine the therapist and did not allow the mother to present any witnesses.
“The referee made several substantive errors in the course of making her ruling, including what appears to be a complete disregard of the substantive law governing a court’s decision when considering a change of custody,” the appeals court wrote in its decision released this month.
Reporter's note: This story has been updated to add comments from the father's attorney, who was not available at the initial time of writing.
http://www.livingstondaily.com/story/news/local/community/livingston-county/2015/09/26/referee-mishandled-custody-case/72984028/
Court: County referee ‘grossly’ mishandled custody case
Lisa Roose-Church, Livingston Daily 9:50 a.m. EDT September 29, 2015
A Michigan Court of Appeals ruling says a Livingston County attorney referee violated a mother’s due-process rights in a custody hearing and committed numerous legal errors.
In its opinion, the court found that Friend of the Court referee Lori Marran “grossly” mishandled the custody case. As a result, the court vacated Marran’s order giving physical custody of the couple’s child to the father.
“The manner in which the change of custody was ordered was grossly improper,” the court added. “The order is vacated and the child shall be returned to the primary physical custody of the mother.”
Attorney Christine M. Heckler, who represents the father, said the appeals court "made obvious errors" in its ruling and as a result unfairly impeached "the character of a well-respected judge." In particular, she said, the “most serious criticisms raised in the decision … are verifiably untrue.”
Heckler said the appeals court noted that Judge David Reader added word “interim” to an order entered on March 4. However, she said that is untrue because the March 4 order “very clearly” indicated it was an “interim” order and was not added later as the appeals court noted.
She also noted that the judge personally signed the order, not the referee.
“I am troubled that the COA could make such an obvious error, especially when impeaching the character of a well-respected Judge,” Heckler said Tuesday.
“Furthermore, these parties had been before this judge prior to the March 4, 2015, order, so to state that he ‘knew nothing about the case’ is factually inaccurate and unfair,” Heckler added.
The appeals court found the referee failed to find the father had proper cause for his request to change custody and Marran failed to give the mother time to appeal her decision by rubber-stamping Reader’s name on the court order, which put the custody change into immediate effect.
The appeals court also found that the practice of allowing a referee to stamp the judge’s name on an order is improper because the referee “had no authority to issue an immediately effective order changing custody, and the judge cannot give carte blanche permission” for the referee to sign the judge’s name without ever seeing the order or being knowledgeable about the case.
The appeals court noted that the judge did later review the case and recognized that a full hearing needed to occur. However, the court said, the judge did not vacate Marran’s improper order, but rather ordered that a hearing “be continued.” Despite that order, a hearing was not completed.
According to court documents, a court order was entered Nov. 4, 2010, granting the mother sole legal and physical custody of the couple’s child. In December that year, the father sought to have it changed to joint legal and physical custody, but the motion was dismissed when the pair came to an agreement in 2011 that granted physical custody to the mother but joint legal custody to both parents.
In April 2014, the father again filed a motion to change custody when his 5-year-old child was accidentally locked out of the mother’s home while she was sleeping. He also alleged the child’s mother had a substance abuse problem, but Child Protective Services was unable to substantiate that claim and a CPS social worker later testified that the mother’s home was safe and the lock-out incident was accidental.
When the parties convened in March for a “parenting time hearing,” Marran entered an order transferring primary custody to the father. However, the appeals court vacated that order as a “result of numerous legal errors.”
The first errors, the court noted, violated the mother’s due-process rights. Specifically, the court found that Marran granted the change without proper motion since the father’s initial motion had been denied and not appealed.
The appeals court went on to say Marran took testimony from the family’s therapist, who repeated the father’s allegations, but the referee failed to allow the mother’s attorney to cross-examine the therapist and did not allow the mother to present any witnesses.
“The referee made several substantive errors in the course of making her ruling, including what appears to be a complete disregard of the substantive law governing a court’s decision when considering a change of custody,” the appeals court wrote in its decision released this month.
Reporter's note: This story has been updated to add comments from the father's attorney, who was not available at the initial time of writing.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)