Sacramento Family Law Court Parents Hold State Capitol Candlelight Vigil for International Parental Alienation Awareness Day

Family Court Reform Advocates Hold Candlelight Vigil for International Parental Alienation Awareness Day 

A coalition of family court reform groups on April 25 will hold a candlelight vigil at the California State Capitol for International Parental Alienation Awareness Day. According to Wikipedia:

"Parental alienation is a social dynamic where one parent sabotages the relationship of the other parent with the child - sometimes euphemistically called 'aggressive parenting', generally occurring after divorce or separation. This happens physically by boycotting or 'hijacking' any contact between them, but also psychologically by bullying the other parent away and by brainwashing the child. This will lead up to a situation where ultimately the child itself expresses unjustified hatred or unreasonably strong dislike of one parent, making access by the rejected parent even more difficult or impossible. The alienating parent can now hide very well that he/she was solely responsible for this destruction of the relationship with the other parent, and the crime is complete: the child has lost a parent and grandparents. To the child, this siding with the perpetrator feels like the only option to avert the loss of the second parent too. Characteristics with the child, such as lack of empathy and warmth between the rejected parent and child are other indicators."

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Hon. Matthew J. Gary Misconduct: Susan Ferris Case and Appeal Front Page News at Sacramento Bee

Judge Matthew Gary Abuse of Disabled, Unrepresented Mom Results in Landmark Appeal to Establish Constitutional Right to Counsel in Civil Cases 

The Sacramento Bee today published a front page story about the pending appeal in the Sacramento Family Court Susan Ferris case. Sacramento Family Court News has been covering the case for more than a year and has published several articles, including an exclusive video interview with Susan Ferris. Ferris is represented on appeal by a team of lawyers led by prominent San Francisco attorney James Brosnahan of the international law firm Morrison & Foerster.   

"This is at the point where a lot of us think it's a disgrace," Brosnahan said. "You can't take someone's child and that person doesn't have an attorney when you do it...It's an outrage," Brosnahan explained to Sacramento Bee reporter Brad Branan.  

Click here to read the full article at the Bee. For a list of SFCN articles about the case, including our exclusive Susan Ferris interview, click here.   

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Judge Matthew Gary Misconduct Victim Describes Emotional Trauma of Illegal "No Contact" Child Custody Order

Family Court Victim Describes Trauma of Illegal Child Custody Order and Mistreatment of Unrepresented Parents by Judge and Court Employees

News Analysis and Opinion by PelicanBriefed

In this exclusive, Sacramento Family Court News interview, indigent, disabled family court victim Susan Ferris describes in her own words the trauma of being separated from her daughter because of an illegal "no contact" child custody order issued against her by controversial, volatile, Judge Matthew Gary. Ferris also explains the frustration of having to represent herself because she can't afford an attorney, going up against an experienced family law attorney in court, and having her attempt to file an appeal blocked by court employees. 

The interview was recorded between Thanksgiving and Christmas, on December 16, 2012. In the right foreground of the video is the Christmas village Ferris and her daughter Megan together would set up each holiday season. Ferris describes the excruciating hardship of having to go through the holidays without her daughter. Megan and her mom were torn apart by six words scrawled on a yellow minute order: "No contact w/child in any manner." Click here to view the order.

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Divorce Lawyers at Sacramento County Bar Association Family Law Section Reap Consequences in New Law - RoadDog Sunday Funnies

Judge Pro Tem Divorce Attorneys at SCBA Family Law Section Beneficiaries of New Self-Help Legislation

Sunday Satire by RoadDog

Newly enacted Family Code § 3050 authorizes self-help remedies in Sacramento Family Court 

cases meeting a specific criteria.

The California Legislature last week authorized a unique, jurisdiction-specific set of self-help remedies in family court cases which meet a designated criteria. To meet the criteria, a family court case must originate in the State Capitol jurisdiction of Sacramento County. 

In addition, the parties to the case must consist of an unrepresented, indigent or financially disadvantaged litigant against an opposing party represented by a member of the Sacramento County Bar Association Family Law Section who also serves as a judge pro tem in the same court, or works at a law firm with a judge pro tem. The criteria also requires issuance of a "no contact" child custody order prohibiting the unrepresented litigant from all contact with the child or children of the parties.

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Judge Matthew J. Gary Misconduct: Victim of Illegal Order Issued for Divorce Attorney Timothy Zeff Homeless But Surviving

Judge Matthew Gary Order for Partner of Judge Pro Tem Attorney Scott Buchanan Results in Homelessness for Disabled Mom 

Larscheid, Buchanan & Zeff family law attorney Timothy Zeff requested and was granted an unlawful $920 child support order by Judge Matthew J. Gary. Zeff's partner, Scott Buchanan, is a family court judge pro tem. The order financially devastated 52-year-old disabled, single parent Susan Ferris. Evicted from her Sacramento home and now homeless, she sleeps on the couch of a Bay Area friend.  

SACRAMENTO FAMILY COURT NEWS SPECIAL REPORT 

The disturbing aftermath of an unconscionable $920 child support order issued by Judge Matthew J. Gary shows one of the ramifications, and the inexorable human cost of what court watchdogs contend is unchecked family court corruption and cronyism. The April, 2012 order gutted the monthly disability income of disabled, unrepresented, financially disadvantaged family court litigant Susan Ferris from $1,256 to $336. Gary previously issued an equally unlawful order prohibiting the 52-year-old single parent from having any contact with her daughter, Megan. 

The April support order financially devastated Ferris, leaving her with far less income than she needed for food, utilities, and rent. After several months under the order and behind on her rent, Ferris was evicted from her East Sacramento home and became homeless. The same court order records that her ex-husband, David Ferris, earns $8,089 per month. Click here to view Gary's minute order, obtained and posted online exclusively by Sacramento Family Court News. As a result of the order, Susan Ferris' credit has been thrashed, the repo man came for her car, and the eviction will now be part of her renter's report, making it virtually impossible for her to rent a home in the future.

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Sacramento Superior Court Misconduct: Hon. Matthew J. Gary Order for Divorce Attorney Timothy Zeff - Notice of Appeal Illegally Unfiled - Complete Original Document

Court Clerk Blocks Appeal of Judge Matthew Gary Order Issued for Judge Pro Tem Scott Buchanan Partner Timothy Zeff 

Wednesday Document Dump

In our initial report documenting that Sacramento Family Court appeals unit clerks were unlawfully rejecting appeals by unrepresented, indigent or financially disadvantaged litigants, we redacted the name of the party whose case was used as an example of the illegal practice. The litigant asked that we redact her name because she feared she would be subject to retaliation for the disclosure by Judge Matthew Gary or court employees. 

For the benefit of other indigent, pro per litigants, she has since requested that we tell her full story, and publish her name. The document below is the complete notice of appeal filed by Susan Ferris, a disabled, unrepresented 52-year-old single parent. Ferris also was subjected to an unlawful "no contact" child custody order issued by Judge Gary for divorce attorney Timothy Zeff, the partner of Sacramento County Bar Association Family Law Section lawyer and family court judge pro tem Scott Buchanan. 

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Divorce Attorneys Sacramento and Family Law Lawyers Family Court Child Custody / Visitation Orders Cause Unhappy Holidays

Illegal "No Contact" Child Custody & Visitation Orders Cause Mental and Emotional Trauma, Especially During Holidays, say Protest Organizers

Summer 2012 family court reform group protest. Among other issues, court reform advocates assert that "no contact" child custody orders issued by Sacramento Family Court judges are drafted intentionally to obstruct the oversight functions of the 3rd District Court of Appeal and California Supreme Court.

Child Custody/Visitation Issues: On Tuesday Nov. 20 two family court reform organizations will hold a rally across from the William R. Ridgeway Family Relations Courthouse. The groups seek to raise awareness of the mental and emotional trauma experienced during the holidays by parents who, due to family court child custody and visitation orders, have been denied contact with their own children. 

Court watchdogs have documented that family court judges routinely issue as punishment unlawful "no contact" orders which prohibit a parent from having any contact with their own children. The orders - issued without the legal grounds required by state law - effectively terminate all parental rights, and are intentionally worded so that any attempted appeal is futile, according to reform advocates. 

"Many parents throughout America get to spend a traditional day of feasting, socializing, fraternizing, watching football, etc., with their children, relatives and friends. Unfortunately, this is not true for everyone. Too many parents have been denied what many Americans get to enjoy every year, and take for granted - an opportunity to spend Thanksgiving Day with their children," said Robert Saunders of Fathers4Justice.

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Third District Court of Appeal Reaffirms Parent-Child Relationship as Fundamental, Constitutional Right

3rd District Ruling Confirms Illegality of Unjustified "No-Contact" Child Custody Orders

News Analysis & Opinion by PelicanBriefed

In a ruling issued yesterday, the Third District Court of Appeal in Sacramento confirmed the illegality of "no-contact" child custody orders issued routinely by Sacramento Family Court judges. As Sacramento Family Court News has reported, court records leaked by family court whistleblowers show that judges often effectively terminate the parental rights of unrepresented, indigent or financially disadvantaged litigants to punish a parent for asserting statutory or constitutional rights in court, or based on personality clashes between judges and pro per litigants. 

Court orders reviewed by SFCN which prohibit a parent from having any contact with their own children - a de facto termination of parental rights - reveal that the rulings are issued without any consideration of the best interests of the child, the only legal justification for such an order. The orders often offer no justification whatsoever. Equally troublesome, the unlawful rulings are almost always issued in cases where the winning parent is represented by a Sacramento County Bar Association Family Law Section divorce attorney who also serves as a temporary judge in the same court, or works at a law firm with a judge pro tem. Yesterday's opinion by the court of appeal, Adoption of HR, reaffirms that the parent-child relationship is a fundamental constitutional right not subject to rash "no-contact" orders which traumatize both parent and child. Click here to view the full 3rd District opinion. The decision includes this section on the parent-child relationship:       

"[E]stablishment of the parent-child relationship is the most fundamental right a child possesses to be equated in importance with personal liberty and the most basic of constitutional rights. [Citation.] Likewise, parents have a fundamental liberty interest in the custody, care, management and companionship of their children. [Citations.] Given the supremacy of these familial rights—of the child and of the parent—a decision to terminate parental rights is one of the gravest a court can make. Thus it is only under specified circumstances, and upon specific findings that include the interests of the child, that a court has authority to terminate parental rights. (Kristine M. v. David P. (2006) 135 Cal.App.4th 783, 791 [37 Cal.Rptr.3d 748].) 

Parenting is a fundamental right, and accordingly, is disturbed only in extreme cases of persons acting in a fashion incompatible with parenthood. (In re Carmaleta B. (1978) 21 Cal.3d 482, 489 [146 Cal.Rptr. 623, 579 P.2d 514].)We have previously recognized that the interest of a parent in the companionship, care, custody, and management of his children is a compelling one, ranked among the most basic of civil rights [citations] .... [Citations.] A parent's interest in maintaining a parent-child relationship is an extremely important interest [citation], and termination of that right by the state must be viewed as a drastic remedy `to be applied only in extreme cases [citation]. (Guardianship of Christian G. (2011) 195 Cal.App.4th 581, 597-598 [124 Cal.Rptr.3d 642].)" Internal quotes omitted. 

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Hon. Matthew J. Gary Abuse of Authority: Code of Judicial Ethics and State Law Violations - Ordered Removed From Family Court Case by Fellow Judge for Misconduct, Bias & Abuse of Unrepresented Litigant

Judge Matthew J. Gary

Sacramento Family Court News Exclusive:

[Updated below]

Internal court records obtained by Sacramento Family Court news reveal that a San Joaquin County judge in 2010 issued a court order removing Judge Matthew Gary from a Sacramento Family Court case for misconduct and bias against a disabled, unrepresented litigant.

Although Gary contested the removal action and denied the bias and misconduct charges, after reviewing the evidence San Joaquin County Superior Court Judge Xapuri B. Villapudua rejected Gary's version of events and ordered the controversial judge disqualified from any further proceedings in the case.

Sacramento Family Court Collusion, Corruption & Illegal "No Contact" Child Custody Orders Turn Holidays to Nightmares For Parents - RoadDog Sunday Opinion

RoadDog Holiday Dedication to Parents Traumatized by Family Court Custody for Cash Corruption, Unlawful Child Custody Orders

Sunday Opinion by RoadDog

To all the parent and child victims of unconscionable, illegal "no contact" child custody orders issued by family court judges at the demand of sociopathic attorneys and their clients: you are not forgotten. Your pain does not go unacknowledged. The day of reckoning will come, and the lights will guide you home.