LEE PAS Foundation, DC FESTIVAL 2008 Coverage

An amazing representation from the LEE PAS FOUNDATION at the DC FESTIVAL 2008. More information to be found at http://www.familycourtreports.com.

Restraining Orders Out of Control

Forget the 4th amendment. Just fill out a form and the cops will show up by surprise and pull your husband out on the street with only the clothes on his back, forbidden to contact you even directly for at least a week.

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Complaint lodged against family law judge.

Locating bad judges is the name of the game. Removing them from the bench? Our children and their children will thank you. Kudos are in order for Tim Fittro of Men and Women Against Discrimination in West Virginia. MAWAD files complaint against sitting Family Court Judge for admitting to the legislature that he doesn't follow the laws.

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Other ways to immediately get involved to make a successful civil rights event!

Other ways to immediately get involved to make a successful civil rights event in Washington DC at Upper Senate Park this year. (August 15 & 16 2008)

1. Watch this website frequently. You will notice “recent posts” on the left hand side of this site on all of the pages. You should view these to determine where you need to spread information to and how to do it. Note that the topic might only say “myspace” and spread the information through myspace. If it says “group” then spread the information to yahoo groups or support groups. Likewise, “media releases” go to general media. Finally, if it is an “official statement” then that answers questions from the top. Spread all the information far and wide.

2. Using social networks is critical. You must send out information from this website so that everyone receives the same information. Sign up at some of the social networks like http://www.friendster.com, http://www.myspace.com, http://www.facebook.com and spread self-authored articles that cover the link www.dcfestival2008.com. You can make all the difference just by getting involved with this. Link into all the forums you have access to!

3. Getting Involved means acting. Talk to everyone about this civil rights issue. Use this site as your resource. Spread information at each of the mini events leading up to the historic DC FESTIVAL 2008.

4. Target any type of site that allows comments about parenting issues, news article sites, and professional organizations. Write your own post and include a link to this website: http://www.dcfestival2008.com. If you have a blog, be sure to add this site and let us know immediately, we will add you to our list of sponsors when we receive your letter of support described in #6 of this list.

5. Plan to attend the event! If you can’t attend, you can pledge a donation via email to dcevents@familycourtreports.com and you will receive a credit card invoice via our secure provider. Send the email with PLEDGE: $#.## in the subject line with the amount you with to pledge. It is that simple and goes a long way if you can’t make the event.

6. Get your letter of support of this national civil rights event faxed whether you are an individual, organization, agency, or association. Support letters should be faxed to 989-764-5920 or emailed with a PDF attachment to dcevents@familycourtreports.com. Address them to “Write to Parent” 5119 Highland Rd. #229 Waterford, MI 48327. Include your endorsement as well as the focus of your organization. 1-2 pages. These will be delivered with our national messages to all of Congress.

7. Contact organizations that you would like to see at the event! Exhibition tables are extremely reasonable and we are accepting registrations via our toll-free line at 800-883-9619. Organizations can also fly their banners behind their table or in front.

8. Contact political candidates and ask them if they support our national event! The best way to determine if you are going to vote for a candidate is if they believe in the same issues. Make your issue a voter issue! Support letters should be faxed to 989-764-5920 or emailed with a PDF attachment to dcevents@familycourtreports.com. Address them to “Write to Parent” 5119 Highland Rd. #229 Waterford, MI 48327.

9. Volunteer to help fill a position. Send an email to dcevents@familycourtreports.com if you have time to help. Positions are available in a variety of areas. Every person extends the reach of our national event. There is something for everyone to do. Start by doing some of the things listed at this site and report back to dcevents@familycourtreports.com.

10. Get connected into other groups, organizations, and agencies and spread the word. Network this website and our issues. Simply send copies of our press releases, myspace posts, and more to groups that believe in limited government and protecting parenthood.

There are many other activities that you can assist with. You can subscribe for our weekly conference calls to discuss the issues at this link! Be sure to select DC FESTIVAL 2008 on the check list for announcements.

Parents Rights Organizations From Across The Nation!

Oakland County, Michigan ———- Children’s andParent’s Rights organizations from across the nation are scheduled toencroach on Washington DC this August 15 & 16 at the Upper SenatePark. Why? Because government policies do not reflect what is trulybest for children and good parents.

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GET YOUR JUSTICE LIVE is Get Off The Bench: Shows The Real Weapon of Mass Destruction

Get Your Justice Live is an interactive internet talk radio show that focuses on reforming the judiciary, with a special focus on the anti-family courts within the United States. GET YOUR JUSTICE LIVE EVERY WEDNESDAY (8:00pm) and SUNDAY (8:00pm).

Call In: 724-444-7444 TALKCAST ID: 39517
Do you know a Family Court Judge, CPS employee, or Friend Of The Court Counselor that did something wrong and got away with it? Let us know!

Join Our MySpace.Com Page

Our goal is not to work against the system but to work through it and working together there is power in numbers to make a positive change. Tune in!

TEACHER STUDENT EPIDEMIC

The great affliction of student namely female teacher having romantic relationships with there student. A lot of those being in Florida.

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Brian Holladay and Drew Baden Prepare for National Summit

Two Supporters of Equal Parenting prepare for the 2008 National Fatherhood Summit in Grand Rapids, Michigan earlier this year. Fathers-4-Justice and many other awareness groups promote the need for children to have equal access to both fit, willing, and caring parents.

Nationwide Child Support Enforcement Fails Needy Families

NATIONWIDE		% change from FY 06
Collections Distributed	$24,854,768,488	3.8%
- Current Assistance	$946,283,222	-4.0%
- Former Assistance	$9,469,870,384	2.5%
- Never Assistance	$11,322,297,160	3.2%
- Medicaid Assistance	$3,116,317,722	13.8%
Total Expenditures	$5,593,864,242	0.6%
Cost Effectiveness ($ Change)	$4.73	$0.15
Paternities & Acknowledgements	1,729,141	1.7%
Orders Established	1,177,589	1.6%
Full Time Equivalent Staff	60,104	-0.5%
Total Caseload	15,755,322	-0.6%
- Current Assistance	2,136,693	-8.5%
- Former Assistance	7,194,998	-1.0%
- Never Assistance	6,423,631	2.9%
Net Undistributed Collections	$471,977,847	-2.8%
Arrears Amounts Due	$107,248,465,839	-2.0%

 

Over participation continues to be a major problem in the nation's child support enforcement program. I have highlighted important sections regarding participation numbers, collections, and undistributed child support. Net Undistributed Collections appears to make up the equivalent of about 50% of the total collections of means tested needy families. These are nationwide numbers. You will see that between former and never assistance, actual needy families are a super minority of this social welfare program.

 

Adding eligibility requirements into the nation's Title IV-D/Child Support Enforcement Program will benefit needy families and will also constitute a significant savings to the taxpayers at both the federal and state levels. Removing affluent feuding families from the program will also benefit children of those divorce and child custody cases, by emphasizing on the parent-child relationship rather than encouraging bickering and fighting over who is going to receive a check and for how much.

 

Actual Federal Expenditures Nationwide:   $5,593,864,242.00 (Billions)

Estimated State Expenditures Nationwide: $1,845,975,199.86 (Billions)

Taxpayer Expense, not including other social programs and costs of incarcerations is over 7 BILLION DOLLARS!

Collections for ACTUAL MEANS TESTED NEEDY FAMILIES: $946,283,222.00 (Millions) which is less than the State's expenditures on the program nationwide. Why is the federal government getting involved in these cases?

(please note there is no verification to determine if the money was distributed after collection.)

This program would be better off distributing money out of the budget directly to needy families and just get rid of the employees behind the Child Support Enforcement Agency. With Net Undistributed Collections totaling nearly 50% of the amount collected for needy families, one has to wonder how many needy families are indeed being helped by the program.

ABOUT.COM Covers Story of Fathers Pedaling 758 Mi for Kids

ABOUT.COM Wayne Parker Fatherhood Blog Covers Story of Fathers Pedaling 758 Miles on Bicycles for Children. A Moving and Inspirational Story. Digg! If you support!

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Hunt for Deadbeats is on in Jackson, Michigan

More than half the money involved in 2007 that was "owed" to parents was forgiven by them, again demonstrating that many individuals involved in the program don't want to be, or otherwise shouldn't be in the program at taxpayer expense. This year about 2/3 of the money that was owed was also forgiven. Read the complete article for more important information that you can learn from this article!

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Lary Holland: Public Concern Over Definition of Father

Lary Holland

Host and Producer:

Get Off The Bench & Family Court Reports

5199 Highland Rd. Suite 229

Waterford, MI 48327

 

Hon. Tracey A. Yokich                                April 9, 2008

40 N. Main St.
Mt. Clemens, MI  48043

 

RE: Public Concern over Definition of Father

Dear Honorable Tracey A. Yokich,

I have some concerns about the operations of the Macomb County Circuit Court and its definitions. You may or may not remember that in 2005-2006 the Macomb County Referees were only providing 4 days to object to referee recommendation/orders, which was not in compliance with court rule.

Through my initiating a Complaint in the form of a Request for Investigation under MCR 8.113 I took action through the State Court Administrator's Office and subsequently directly through Hon. Clifford Taylor's Office with the Supreme Court. My purpose was to ensure that Macomb County would comply with the statutory 7 days for objection and 21 days for request for de novo hearings upon disagreement with Referees.

In July of 2006, Keith Beasley confirmed that the local court would comply with the court rule and adjusted the local court's practice. This I was grateful for, because many people, especially the tremendous number of "pro per" litigants that you publicly acknowledged, were denied a fundamental access to justice by having such reduced time limits to figure out how to lodge their objections.

It was recently brought to my attention when I came across a video of your court room on "youtube," an online public social networking site for videos, that you provide your own personal definition of a father. To my surprise, what you responded to the litigant with is classical gender bias and is unbecoming of a sitting judge. It would appear that you believe that a father should work as many jobs as it takes while mother is allowed to work only one job to provide "roofs" over the heads of the parties' children. In this situation, I actually have been to home of the father and observed a wonderful roof over their head, and where he has been struggling to provide the best possible environment for the children which go unrecognized by your court room. It would appear there is a greater emphasis with your courtroom for income shifting from one household to the other without much evidentiary proof of its necessity, other than to comply with the funding requirements of Title IV-D of the Social Security Act.

As an expert on Title IV-D of the Social Security (CSE Program), the purpose of the Act was to recuperate the expenses of Title IV-A welfare benefits that the federal government pays to the states, but in the particular case where you lambast the father, he is the individual on Title IV-A (TANF Assistance). Your courtroom has lost site of the best interests of the children in that case and has placed procedural and contractual performances ahead of real judicial discretion. This is unfortunately a very sad day in society where free for all welfare programs like Title IV-D of the Social Security usurp the best interests of the children and allow parents to continue fighting. In the case at hand, both parents should be providing for their own households so they may jointly and equally provide for their own children because both parents are fit, caring, and loving parents. In the situation of a father receiving TANF the court's role should be limited in attempting to carry out contractual performance under Title IV-D as it is directly contrary to the purpose of the act. It is understood for every dollar that is spent on the guise of "child support enforcement" that your local county receives two more dollars. I was integral in ensuring that the financial double-dipping was revoked from the federal statute and it is my goal to remove a significantly larger number of cases from the Title IV-D caseload. This will help judges reclaim real discretion, so that you are not forced to be a cash cow for the local county under the federal program.

I would hope that you take a moment to update your definition of what a father is by referring to many of the numerous resources that are available to you including this one:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Father

This will help you understand the importance that this father plays in his children's life, which has nothing to do with supporting the mother's higher standard of living at all, but rather empowering the children through his continued contact with them. It makes little sense to allow two parents to continue fighting over one of the things that likely led them to the initial break-up, being money and power, and do something that places both parents on equal standing ground and nothing more to fight about.

Creating the appearance of an absent household to allow for these type of income shifts is both unethical and detrimental to the relationship of both parties with their own children and only adds to the tremendous caseload that you are juggling on your docket. Let's solve problems instead of contributing to them.

Sincerely,

Lary Holland

722.26a Joint custody.

(6) Joint custody shall not eliminate the responsibility for child support. Each parent shall be responsible for child support based on the needs of the child and the actual resources of each parent. If a parent would otherwise be unable to maintain adequate housing for the child and the other parent has sufficient resources, the court may order modified support payments for a portion of housing expenses even during a period when the child is not residing in the home of the parent receiving support. An order of joint custody, in and of itself, shall not constitute grounds for modifying a support order.

(7) As used in this section, "joint custody" means an order of the court in which 1 or both of the following is specified:

(a) That the child shall reside alternately for specific periods with each of the parents.

(b) That the parents shall share decision-making authority as to the important decisions affecting the welfare of the child.

Michigan Resources: Self-Help Legal Assistance: Know Your Attorney Before Paying!

In Michigan it is very valuable to research prospective attorneys before handing over that $1,000.00 - $10,000.00 retainer fees. If you think you will have a highly contentious divorce, custody, child support, or paternity action, you might invest some of your time is seeing if your attorney has any appellate experience regarding your current legal needs. You can view all of the cases an attorney has in Michigan's Court of Appeals.

Don't forget to rate attorneys by following the instructions at this link.

Get Off The Bench Talk Cast! Listen to it while you work!


Attorney Case List
http://courtofappeals.mijud.net/resources/public_acl.htm

The attorney case list can be used to research the types of cases that an attorney has experience with at the court of appeals level. The P(Number) is the number assigned to an attorney when accepted into the State Bar of Michigan. The Attorney Name must be in LAST name FIRST name format. You can check the box for "include closed cases" which is always helpful to see how cases were ruled on.

Search Court of Appeals and Supreme Court Opinions by Key Word
http://courtofappeals.mijud.net/resources/ts.htm

You can search various opinions from both the Court of Appeals or the Michigan Supreme Court opinions by key words and phrases. You can do things like... child custody or parental rights. You can see reasons why orders were overturned, affirmed, or modified.

Michigan Court Rules
http://courtofappeals.mijud.net/rules/

These are the Michigan Court rules arranged by Chapter. If you plan on representing yourself in court, you need to plan on understanding the rules of civil procedure (Chapter 2) and then the applicable Chapter for example... Chapter 3.200 for Domestic Relations Actions.

Michigan Rules of Evidence
http://courtofappeals.mijud.net/rules/documents/2MichiganRulesOfEvidence.pdf

How can you conduct a trial if you don't understand the Rules of Evidence and how to object or what is admissible / inadmissible.

Michigan Rules of Professional Conduct
http://courtofappeals.mijud.net/rules/documents/5MichiganRulesOfProfessionalConduct.pdf

These are the rules of professional conduct for attorneys. These are the rules that THEY must adhere to when representing or advocating for a client. You should know these so you know when you are not being well-represented. Know the rules that attorneys must follow so that when or if they break them, you can take action against them.

The knowledge represented above is invaluable if you plan on self-representation and is only a start for Pro Se Litigants in Michigan. In the past I have published a mini-manual for people that includes Friend of the Court Act, Support and Parenting Time Enforcement Act, and other important pieces like the Michigan Constitution. Let me know if there is still a need for such a resource. I will make them available online for you. If you have more questions send me an email at laryholland@familycourtreports.com.

Get Your Justice Live with Get Off The Bench

Now there is a new interactive talk show designed to expose many of the injustices of the family court system, child protective services, child support enforcement agencies, and officials that have gone wild with the power that they wield. Every Sunday and Wednesday Night you can call in live or listen at http://www.getyourjusticelive.com.

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Lary Holland on House Joint Resolution NN (2008)

Lary Holland provides a quick information piece on House Joint Resolution NN (2008). Be sure to spread the word and get people contacting their legislators immediately.

Dr. Ron Paul with William Wagener OnSecondThought.Tv

... just one of the many federal programs where the federal government bribes state governments to comply with their version of public policy. As stated in the video the Title IV-D program sounds like "old fashioned debtor prison" and that the Child Support Enforcement program is "little more or little less than a system of organized crime."

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Senate Majority Leader Mike Bishop and Lary Holland Discuss Equal Parenting in Michigan

Senate Majority Leader Mike Bishop and Lary Holland of Michigan discuss Equal Parenting at the Farmington Hills League of Women Voters Public Town Hall Meeting on January 28, 2008. Michigan currently suffers from the highest unemployment rate, the highest juvenile life sentence rate, and a significant number of incarcerations all related to the breakdown of the Michigan Family. We are seeking to put the family as nearly back together as possible by minimizing the conflict between parents post-divorce, post separation, and post-paternity. Tune in to GetYourJusticeLive.Com for more details on Michigan House Bill 4564 and the happenings in Family Court around the United States.

Lary Holland and House Speaker Andy Dillon at the Farmington Hills League of Women Voters Public Townhall Meeting. Discussing House Bill 4564, Michigan's Presumption of Equal Custody Bill, which will place parents on even footing in child custody disputes unless either parent is unfit, unwilling, or incapable of caring for their children.

UPDATE: Andy Dillon and House Democrats: Lawmakers Aim to Cut Deal with Energy Suppliers to Sidestep Voter Approval on Tax Increase

Rep. Jack Hoogendyk and Lary Holland at Americans for Prosperity

Representative Jack Hoogendyk and Lary Holland discuss shared parenting, part-time legislature, and other issues that have major economic rammifications for Michigan's single-state recession economy.

Lary Holland at Americans For Prosperity

Scott Tillman, of the Sam Adams Alliance, and Lary Holland, of Family Court Reports, discuss political strategies and concerns for Michigan issues and several campaigns. The Americans for Prosperity event focused on Conservative values with guest speakers ranging from Senator McCain, Mitt Romney, Mike Rogers, and more.

More information about the American's for Properity event will be forthcoming over the next several days. The event was a huge success with many quality breakout events and opportunities for networking.