Call for Legislation

Since most men simply do not have the financial ability to defend themselves against such a pervasively discriminatory legal system, legislative action will be necessary if any change to the current situation is to occur. At this time there are in effect no penalties for filing frivolous Ex Parte' requests giving women in particular a State sponsored unfair advantage in the divorce process. What is even worse, the States’ Attorney will not intervene even with proof of perjury. A woman needs only to file unsubstantiated charges of abuse in order to gain Use & Possession of the residence and custody of the children.

It is in the best interest of children that they not be permitted to be used as pawns in divorce and custody disputes. The following legislation needs to be enacted to stop the current State sponsored discrimination against men. Silence is the enemy, as long as we keep silent, the situation will not change for the better, our silence only enables this situation to continue unopposed. You must remember that politicians enacted these laws believing they were helping an abused group, however, the law of unintended consequences has stepped in to make the Domestic Violence Act something more than they intended.

As a student of history, one only needs to remember how fear and hatred using stereotypes were used to bring an entire country to the point of Hell, remember what Hitler did to Germany.

• Require Judges on Ex Parte' requests to be presented with physical evidence or witness(es) not just accusations to sign a court order removing someone under the Domestic Violence act. And in the absence of such evidence or witness(s) deny the request.
• Require Judges on Mental Observation requests to be presented with physical evidence or witness(es) not just accusations to sign a court order for someone to be taken into custody for mental observation. And in the absence of such evidence or witness(s) deny the request.
• Require Judges during the Ex Parte' hearing to determine if perjury has been committed in filing of the Ex Parte' request and if so, dismissal of the request at the hearing, charge the plaintiff with filing a false report, award use and possession of the residence and custody of the children to the victim of the false report.
• Require the APP to provide the same treatment program for both men and women ordered by the court to come in for counseling. Single sex group sessions will still be permissible.
• Require the APP to acknowledge to the court any charges of abuse by either party irregardless of whom was considered by the court as initially guilty of Domestic Abuse. This acknowledgement especially must be made during any court hearing where an APP counselor is testifying.
• Require outcome statistics to be kept current on all Ex Parte' requests, results of Ex Parte' hearings, favorable/unfavorable reports on men and women by the APP and Court Investigator recommendations, Guardian ad Litem recommendations and Child Custody awards.
• Require equal advertising targeting men in addition to women to the Domestic Violence Act.
• Require investigation, counseling and dismissal of judges and court investigators whose rulings against men or women as a group exceed 60% of their cases.
• Require thorough recognized mental health testing of every person ordered by the court to undergo Domestic Violence counseling treatment. Testing must consist of more than just an interview.
• Require thorough recognized mental health testing of every person if the plaintiff or defendant indicates this needs to be done during the process of divorce or custody. Testing must consist of more than just an interview.
• Require the admission of children's In Camera depositions from both parties if children’s testimony are not to be included at the custody hearing.
• Require the judge and court investigator to disregard any unsubstantiated charges in the final determination of custody. Substantiated means having evidence or witness(es) to prove the allegation.
• Require where the judge and court investigator receive unsubstantiated complaints from both parties of abuse during the course of the hearings, both parties should be believed equally, otherwise all unsubstantiated charges must be disregarded.
• Require the Court Investigator to actually investigate any charge of perjury, false report and abuse by either party and be required to acknowledge such charges made and submit with their report to the judge any evidence showing this behavior.
• Require the Judge to consider evidence of perjury and false report in the custody hearing. If a finding of either occurs then custody should be awarded to the other party.
• Require Judges to consider and implement the option of shared custody along with joint custody in the absence of bonified/proven child abuse charges if the parties live in the same jurisdiction.
• Require Judges before giving a final ruling on visitation to consult the existing mediation agreement between the parents and incorporate it as part of the final custody ruling. Where one party is in disagreement to the mediation agreement, the judge must attempt to get mutual agreement on the points in dispute, where no mutual agreement exists to specific points then the judge should use his/her discretion.
• Failure of one party to complete all sections of the court ordered mediation process regarding the children should be grounds to loose custody or gain custody. Completion does not mean that every issue is resolved or agreed to covered in the mediation process, however all points must be discussed and an agreement on each point reached where possible.
• Require the calculation of child support to fairly reflect the non-custodial parent's living expenses. A fair and reasonable living allowance must be made in order to insure it will be possible for child support to be paid.
• Require a written list of minimum custodial parent responsibilities to be given to both parents. Failure to maintain the minimum should be grounds for a change in custody in the best interests of the children.
• Require a written list of common off-limits behaviors by both custodial and non-custodial parents to be given to both parents. Violations of the list are grounds for contempt of court actions and possible changes in custodial arrangements.
• Require Judges in the determination of custody to not consider who the existing custodial parent is, but the actual parental ability of each party. (Determination of Custody based on possession is a Euphemism for Gender Bias) Where necessary, a trial period of shared custody must be allowed for in this determination. If both parents show fitness then both parents must share custody. In the best interests of the children, single physical custody should only be awarded if one party is determined to be unfit or has moved to another jurisdiction.