PASRailroadingchildabusevictims?

Parental alienation is often times used against child abuse victims reporting abuse as the criminal defense for pedophiles and parental abusers of physical child abuse and mental child abuse.. For the children the advertising, promotion and use of a pro-criminal theory supporting incest must end. Write your State and Local officials and ask them to raise awareness about the harm caused to children when incest is promoted with pro-pedophile parental alienation therapy and theory. thank you.

Saturday, April 30, 2011

parental alienation theory harming children: http://parentingnewsnetwork.com/?p=496

parental alienation theory harming children: http://parentingnewsnetwork.com/?p=496: "Wyatt's brother Dakota holding Justice for Wyatt sign (Facebook) On January 21, 2010, Judge Robert Lemkau denied a protective order claimin..."

parental alienation theory harming children: Did Richard Gardner Also Cause 16 year old Nathan ...

parental alienation theory harming children: Did Richard Gardner Also Cause 16 year old Nathan ...: "Did Richard Gardner Also Cause 16 year old Nathan Grieco's Suicide? The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, in performing their civic duty to inform a..."

Parental Alienation "Therapy" Children need. . . THIS? standards and practices in chld custody evaluations

Children need. . . THIS? standards and practices in chld custody evaluationsCHILD CUSTODY EVALUATORS: IN THEIR OWN WORDS

APA Guidelines for Evaluating Parental Responsibility - parenting evaluations - child custody

IMPORTANT NOTICE: hereANOTHER IMPORTANT NOTICE hereparenting parenting plan or time parental rights and responsibilities for MAIN ARTICLE see hereThis webpage is: CUSTODY EVALUATOR QUOTES at http://www.thelizlibrary.org/liz/custody

EXCERPTS FROM:
Parental Alienation "Therapy"
ANONYMOUS LISTSERVE REQUEST]: "Some time ago, around July 2004, there was a discussion on this list about the Rachel Foundation. I would like to review some of the comments/opinions presented in this list but cannot find the thread in the archives. If anyone who has these emails would share them with me I would appreciate it. Or, if any of the posters from back then would be willing to contact me back channel, that would be helpful also." (Texas doctorate-level MHP, March 5, 2005).
[ANONYMOUS LISTSERVE COMMENT]: "See this: http://www.rachelfoundation.org" (California doctorate-level MHP and list moderator, February 15, 2007).

Lots of work for three therapists... (this is extortion, brainwashing, and child abuse, by the way)

[ANONYMOUS LISTSERVE QUERY]: "Is there anyone out there that has reference to or a model for "reunification treatment plans"? - maybe from a public or adoption agency?" (Florida doctorate-level MHP, April 22, 2007).
[ANONYMOUS LISTSERVE ME TOO]: "Please share what you learn. I have heard this term for years and have not seen any lit. on it." (Texas doctorate-level MHP, April 22, 2007).
[ANONYOMOUS LISTSERVE RESPONSE]: "You might see what The Rachel Foundation For Family Reintegration has to offer. They work with Hague Convention cases and alienation cases, both of which involve reunification planning. I have no personal experience with them, so I can't say if they are competent, legitimate, etc. or not." (Missouri doctorate-level MHP, April 22, 2007, recommending what might be incompetent and illegitimate.)
[ANONYMOUS LISTSERVE RESPONSE]: "We do a lot of this... generally starts with a court order... result of a thorough psychological assessment... a team approach... three psychologists - one for each parent and one for the child(ren)... the "truth" is irrelevant... We need to work from the child's truth as a beginning... In the first sessions between parent and child both the child's therapist and the estranged parent's therapist are present... the first session allows the child to directly or indirectly (through the therapist) to express their concern, then a break is taken where the parent is coached in how to respond... Sessions involve two therapists until the child's therapist is confident... for the first session(s) the child meets the parent only in the office and is allowed to leave first... child is picked up from school by the "estranged" parent, brought to the session, then picked up after the session by the residential parent... the time the child spends with the parent increases to overnights and weekends. By always terminating the visit with a counselling session, any negative events can be documented and the "residential" parent, if engaged in alienation does not have a chance to re-write history before the child is seen by a third party...." (Canadian doctorate-level MHP, April 22, 2007).

http://www.thelizlibrary.org/site-index/site-index-frame.html#soulhttp://www.thelizlibrary.org/site-index/site-index-body.html#Parental Alienation

Children need. . . THIS? standards and practices in chld custody evaluationsIN THEIR OWN WORDS

Children need. . . THIS? standards and practices in chld custody evaluationsCHILD CUSTODY EVALUATORS: IN THEIR OWN WORDS
EXCERPTS FROM :
"Sex Positivism" and Pretextual Nonjudgmentalism
ANONYMOUS LISTSERVE COMMENT in response to Missouri appellate case holding that trial court could consider husband's exhibitionist masturbation in awarding custody of child to wife]: "Since this would be in the area of "value" would the evaluator defer on addressing this issue or is a conceptual sleight of hand appropriate, saying the father had impulse control and judgment problems." (Colorado doctorate-level MHP, January 12, 2004).
[ANONYMOUS LISTSERVE RESPONSE]: "I think there is a difference between someone flashing at the playground at Central Park and masturbating in a darkened porno theater." (New York doctorate-level MHP, January 12, 2004).
[ANONYMOUS LISTSERVE COMMENT]: "Step Dad admits to groping 14 year old female while asleep. Both were on couch watching TV. Claims history of sleep walking etc. Appreciate any information on this phenomenon. TIA" (California doctorate-level MHP, January 15, 2004).
[ANONYMOUS LISTSERVE RESPONSE]: "If you do a literature search on sleep walking you will find a fair amount of support for a hypothesis about wierd somnabulistic behaviors, even murder. If there is a family history and substantial personal history for sleep walking the case is stronger." (Colorado doctorate-level MHP, January 15, 2004)
[ANONYMOUS LISTSERVE RESPONSE]: "Evidence that would tend to increase or decrease its credibility might be found in a sleep study..." (Michigan doctorate-level MHP, January 15, 2004).
[ANONYMOUS LISTSERVE RESPONSE]: "Here is another reference I found: Sexsomnia:... Describes a distinct parasomnia involving sexual behaviour... Eleven patients (aged 16-43 yrs) with distinct behaviours of the sexual nature during sleep are described..." (Missouri doctorate-level MHP, January 17, 2004).
[ANONYMOUS LISTSERVE RESPONSE]: "There was a similar case recently in my locale - an enebriated man climbed into his own bed late one evening and briefly touched the breast of a 13 year old teen friend of his daughter spending the night before he fell into a deep slumber... " (Illinois doctorate-level MHP, January 17, 2004).
[NOTSOANYMOUS LISTSERVE COMMENT]: "The paraphilic "noncure" assertion seems bandied about like a mantra. However, as best as I can determine, it is simply a concept borrowed from AA propaganda... widely accepted uncritically... Does holding a desire, in whatever strength, which one never acts upon, or acts upon no longer, mean one still has the "problem?" If a "normal" (with no Hx of deviant behavior) shows arousal as measured by the PPG to images of nude children, is he pathological? ...seems to me a reasonable paraphilic construct might require a mens rea AND some deviant action." (Illinois doctorate-level MHP who usually works on the side of men accused of sex abuse in criminal actions and child custody disputes, March 20, 2007).
[NOTSOANONYMOUS LISTSERVE RESPONSE]: "I think there is something seriously wrong with a man whose favorite sexual fantasies involve children. That something wrong can be described as a personality disorder (in the developmental sense rather than the DSM sense of overall adjustment), or a borderline personality organization (in Kernberg's sense), or just as seriously disturbed (as I described in my book on child abuse). That disturbance is bound to manifest in intimate and ambiguous situations, in my opinion." (Denver doctorate-level MHP professor, March 20, 2007).

[Over a period of six years, while the subjects of child sex abuse allegations as well as pornography repeatedly were raised, the rare point of view -- that a parent's sexual disorder is bound to manifest in various ways, even if not in literal child sexual abuse as legally defined -- was never once expressed by an MHP on the anonymous listserve of child custody evaluators. The opinions were readily contra, however, if the disorder did not involve sex and was a mother's disorder. See, e.g., infra.]

[ANONYMOUS LISTSERVE COMMENT re the arrest of a noted child custody psychologist for secretly videotaping a woman using the toilet in his office bathroom, and masturbating to it]: "I'm simply sad because the situation exists and life for him and his family will be very difficult for some time." (Vermont doctorate-level MHP, July 14, 2007).
[ANONYOMOUS LISTSERVE COMMENT]: "[]'s workshops are the best I've ever attended. He has graciously shared his time and materials with me. I'm stunned," (Missouri doctorate-level MHP, July 14, 2007.
[ANONYMOUS LISTSERVE COMMENT]: "...we should not jump to conclusions in either direction. If the charges are not valid, an unspeakable wrong has been done to him." (California doctorate-level MHP, July 14, 2007).
[ANONYMOUS LISTSERVE COMMENT]: "Absolutely! These should be no rush to judgment. We know much good about [] and nothing whatsoever about this allegation..." (Illinois doctorate-level MHP, July 14, 2007).
[NOTSOANONYMOUS LISTSERVE]: "Stu's alleged criminal conduct sounds incredibly flawed and not to be condoned in any way (example he is no longer listed on the ABFP diplomate website). Nonetheless, I remain quite concerned about him as a person and sent him my support in that regard in an email sent yesterday..." (Colorado doctorate-level MHP, July 14, 2007).
[NOTSOANONYMOUS LISTSERVE]: "I would also respectfully suggest that, especially in our public comments, we express equal concern for the alleged victims..." [FOLLOWUP]: " I'm just noting that one of the alleged victims was reportedly a psychologist in his office - which means that this person is also a colleague and may have access to professional listservs. I can only imagine how it would feel to be in her position, if the allegations are true, and then to sign on to professional lists to see concern expressed only for Stu. I'm just suggesting that if we are withholding judgment at this time, we express concern for both sides." (California doctorate-level MHP, July 15, 2007).
[NOTSOANONYMOUS LISTSERVE]: "It is appropriate to express concern and outrage for victims of crimes. It is also appropriate to express concern and outrage for perpetrators of crimes... In my work in the correctional system for the last three years, I have learned a lesson that few who work outside the walls realize: perpetrators are also victims of their own deeds. Crime is a tragedy no matter who is involved." (Washington doctorate-level MHP, July 15, 2007).
[NOTSOANONYMOUS LISTSERVE]: "How highly inappropriate to remove him from the ABPP website before he had been found guilty of anything. I don't know who made the decision to remove him, but I think ABPP people would be among the last persons to do such a thing given their journeymen positions in our profession." [FOLLOWUP] "I just went to the ABPP website and Stu Greenberg is still listed." (California doctorate-level MHP, July 15, 2007).

The last post above was a child custody evaluator who specializes in sex abuse allegations. He and others exhibit the very common MHP confusion over appropriate standards of proof when questionable behavior also could be a crime is raised in another milieu, requiring for all purposes the criminal standard of proof and a conviction, versus evidence (such as a confession) that otherwise should be adequate in civil court to take protective or compensatory action. Below, "overly" restrictive? Bias, anyone? Also see Self-Protection Above All

[NOTSOANONYMOUS LISTSERVE]: "Anyone have research on the effectiveness (if that is even possible) of overly restrictive conditions of parole or probation on Sex offenders? For example if a Judge tells a defendant that the Conditions of probation (Child Porn conviction) will be that they can go nowhere where children are present (Grocery stores, wal-mart, parks, etc). Is there any research on whether this is effective management or whether this has a negative impact on the probationer?" (Missouri doctorate-level MHP, July 23, 2008).
http://www.thelizlibrary.org/site-index/site-index-frame.html#soulhttp://www.thelizlibrary.org/site-index/site-index-body.html#Parental Alienation

Children need. . . THIS? standards and practices in chld custody evaluations IN THEIR OWN WORDS

Children need. . . THIS? standards and practices in chld custody evaluationsCHILD CUSTODY EVALUATORS: IN THEIR OWN WORDS
Parental Alienation Theory
EXCERPTS:
search of a theory...
[ANONYMOUS LISTSERVE COMMENT]: "...8. Data is beginning to accumulate to show that no one intervention is consistently helpful. Forget counseling when it comes to moderately and severely alienated families. In these cases, placing the child primarily with the aliented parent may help more often than not." (Pennsylvania doctorate-level MHP, February 27, 2005).
[ANONYMOUS LISTSERVE RESPONSE]: "I concur with all but #8. I believe the current thinking is that "parentectomies" are ill advised." (California doctorate-level MHP, February 27, 2005).
[ANONYMOUS LISTSERVE RESPONSE]: "what about mutually alienating parents" (Florida doctorate-level MHP, February 27, 2005).
[ANONYMOUS LISTSERVE RESPONSE]: "But what about cases in which BOTH occur? I'm thinking of a scenario where a kid has a rational reason to feel estranged, but then this is fanned into alienation by a 3rd party?" (California doctorate-level MHP, February 28, 2005).
[ANONYMOUS LISTSERVE COMMENT]: "I think we should begin to educate courts that the estrangement or alienation of a child from a parent in a complex, multi-level process with many individual, parent-child, and family level contributors that cannot be reduced to simple explanatory frameworks, In my practice, a child's disaffection from a parent (expressed via visitation avoidance) is very often a complex mix of realistic estrangement (rational, sometimes trauma-base) and irrational (the result of internal cognitive distortions by the child or toxic contributions from an alienating parent)." (New York doctorate-level MHP, February 28, 2005).
[ANONYMOUS LISTSERVE COMMENT]: "Myself and ___ have identified specific behaviors leading to a definition of parental alienation. We do make a distinction between estrangement and parental alienation. We anticipate future publications on the results of our studies." (Ohio doctorate-level MHP, February 28, 2005).
[ANONYMOUS LISTSERVE RESPONSE]: "The Drozd Olesen decision tree has much to recommend it. The only element that I sometimes have trouble with is the idea that in a case where there has been abuse and the abused parent is engaging in behavior that would have the effect of undermining the other parent-child relationship, that behavior is necessarily based on fear or protection. Depending on the type and severity of the abuse, how much mutuality there was, whether it was a battering relationship... a case of common couple violence or a high conflict case that escalated to violence, the abused parent may be engaging in undermining behavior that is based on other issues - such as anger, high conflict dynamics, or an attempt to use a single-incident as a tool in the custody conflict." (California doctorate-level MHP, February 28, 2005).
[ANONYMOUS LISTSERVE RESPONSE]: "I have seen several other cases in which the alienating parent was the father, not the mother. It isn't always the mother. If fathers are doing the alienating as much as mothers, it shouldn't be seen as a concept manufactured by the father's rights movement. I agree that the behaviors should be described but the term "parental alienation syndrome" avoided." (Minnesota masters-level MHP, February 28, 2005).
http://www.thelizlibrary.org/site-index/site-index-frame.html#soulhttp://www.thelizlibrary.org/site-index/site-index-body.html#Parental Alienation

Children need. . . THIS? standards and practices in chld custody evaluations

Children need. . . THIS? standards and practices in chld custody evaluationsCHILD CUSTODY EVALUATORS: IN THEIR OWN WORDS
Parental Alienation Theory
[ANONYMOUS LISTSERVE QUESTION]: "I have a question about the literature and relapse behaviors -- the potential for relapse of a mother who, in the past, engaged in alienating behaviors that resulted in her children being further alienated from their father than they already were... I am treating a mother who was sent to me by Dependency Court for alienating her children from their father... history of domestic violence and child abuse... case that has gone on for almost a decade. At this point in time the mother does not need treatment for trauma herself... I have been the mother's therapist at the request of the presiding judge for about 3 months. After significant work in treatment the mother has recognized how her overt and covert/conscious and not so conscious behavior has hurt the children... The mother (and the father) have had only monitored contact with the children since September. The children are living with their maternal grandparents... The judge is considering gradually lifting the monitoring for the mother... The judge has this question of me: If the monitoring is lifted what is the chance of a relapse in the mother's behaviors?" (California doctorate-level MHP, January 18, 2004).
[ANONYMOUS LISTSERVE RESPONSE]: "Here are three articles by Richard Gardner that may be of assistance..." (Florida doctorate-level MHP, January 18, 2003).
[ANONYMOUS LISTSERVE QUESTION]: "A quick example of this last one. I had a case a few years ago in which two children, one in late elementary school, the other in high school--accused their father of physically and emotionally abusing them, said they hated him and never wanted to see him again. Mother was perfect in every way. Members of mother's extended family strongly vilified father as well. I saw the kids as alienated and not at all abused. I decided that the younger child should live with father (and father's now blended family) despite his absolute refusal and that mother's time should be severely curtailed with him temporarily. The older child was too physically out of control around father and intimidated stepmom too much for this solution to work and I regretfully left him with mother. Several outside experts hired by mother said some pretty slanderous things about me and ridiculed my methods and my opinions, but the judge ultimately followed my advice..." (California doctorate-level MHP, December 8, 2004).
http://www.thelizlibrary.org/site-index/site-index-frame.html#soulhttp://www.thelizlibrary.org/site-index/site-index-body.html#Parental Alienation

Parenting Evaluation, Parenting Plans... Reevaluating the Evaluators: Rethinking the Assumptions of Therapeutic Jurisprudence

Parenting Evaluation, Parenting Plans...
Reevaluating the Evaluators: Rethinking the Assumptions of Therapeutic Jurisprudence in the Family Courts
EXCERPTS: There is an evolving and worsening mess in the systems and procedures currently in place to determine child custody and perform child custody evaluations when parents disagree.
This article discusses the minimum disclosures every child custody evaluator (also known as "parenting evaluator" or "best interests" guardian ad litem or GAL) [1], or parenting coordinator (herein called a "mental health professional" or "MHP") [2a] should be required to make, responding satisfactorily and in full, before being appointed in any family law case to do a child custody evaluation -- in fact before doing anything beyond answering a list of limited, detailed, specific, and narrowly-crafted questions the answers to which are directly within the MHP's field of proved expertise. This format is being used to help illustrate a problem, and with another purpose in mind. That purpose is to call for a revolt altogether against the notion of "therapeutic jurisprudence" -- which has been proved to do little to benefit children, much to benefit the divorce industry, much to complicate and pervert our family laws, much to erode fundamental rights and liberties, and much to harm the families who become trapped in the system. There are many problems, of course. But they are symptoms. Step one is to get the agent of most of them out of our family courts. The Emperor has no clothes.

Child Custody Evaluations -why custody evaluators' arguments about not turning over test data are wrong

There have been many calls for reform [2b], but for the most part, while they are admirable and well-documented intentions, they miss the boat; while they identify various problems and propose fixes in the system, they fail to identify and address the core reason the system is sick. Thus the proposals seek to treat only symptoms while failing to apply a cure to eliminate the disease.
Contrary to the public perception, and the perception that those seeking lucrative appointments in the court system wish to convey, a degree in some field of mental health does not qualify the individual to perform work that consists of open-ended investigating, evaluating, recommending, or decision-making about other persons' families and children. [3] What originally commenced, and was thought to be a good idea as a judge's assigment of fairly narrow tasks designed to streamline fact-finding and protect individuals' therapy records [4] (e.g. asking a social worker to do a home study, e.g. asking a psychologist to opine on the possible effects on functioning of a party's known or suspected personality disorder or state of depression when mental health already is at issue) has burgeoned into a free-for-all in which a panoply of MHPs make work and involve themselves in the family court system at enormous cost and detriment to the parties with expensive litigation-exacerbating processes, trials-within-trials, experts and counter-experts, and inevitable referrals to additional MHPs (often cronies) for all manner of alternate dispute resolutions and sometimes endless (and often utterly unproven) therapies. [5]
(1) Do you have a law degree or previous
SEE REST HERE http://www.thelizlibrary.org/liz/child-custody-evaluations.html

E. Why should this matter to you?

E. Why should this matter to you?
Some people who have not or are not currently facing a contested divorce with minor children may believe that those who are "made their bed and now can lie in it." But what about the children who didn't choose to be embroiled in litigation and the corresponding financial devastation associated with it?
Some of you reading this article have children or grandchildren who have or someday may face a divorce. I urge everyone who is reading this article to get involved and to pay attention to what is happening in our family court and with our family laws that are being passed in the legislature. Currently, far too often, a workable and equitable end result is an illusion. Bad laws must be changed.

Lisa Macci is a licensed attorney in four jurisdictions, and has been practicing law since 1988. She is a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania and Pepperdine University School of Law. Prior to entering private practice, Lisa worked as outside counsel to the Trump Organization, as a municipal court prosecutor, and as the in-house corporate counsel to Tropicana Casino in Atlantic City. Currently, her practice includes family and constitutional law, litigation and appeals. She also hosts the award-winning Justice Hour radio talk show.
Note from Lisa: For those interested in getting involved in Florida: One way to get involved is through the "Court Watch" program run by the South Palm Beach County National Organization for Women (NOW). Volunteers are needed to help oversee and to improve our family courts for the good of everyone. Free training is available for volunteer opportunities throughout the county. If you are interested, contact Adele at 561/394-3717.

Family Court is Not a Family-Friendly Placeby Lisa Marie Macci, Esq. http://www.thelizlibrary.org/site-index/site-index-frame.html#soulhttp://www.thelizlibrary.org/site-index/site-index-body.html#Parental Alienation

A. Elimination of Tender Years' Doctrine

EXCERPT: Sadly, the interests of the children have taken a back seat to a formal presumption of gender neutrality. In numerous cases in family court involving infant children, judges have ordered mothers to pump their breast milk to provide to the father during his timesharingwith the infant -- frequently days and overnights with the newborn, and sometimes involving hours of commuting time.
http://www.thelizlibrary.org/site-index/site-index-frame.html#soulhttp://www.thelizlibrary.org/site-index/site-index-body.html#Parental Alienation

Family Court is Not a Family-Friendly Place

Family Court is Not a Family-Friendly Placeby Lisa Marie Macci, Esq. EXCERPT: Today, if the child(ren) stay with the mother, they may experience a far declined standard of living because of the replacement of realistic spousal support awards with amounts established pursuant to the child support guidelines. In other cases, application of child support guidelines may cause inequities for payors. The divorce laws first largely eliminated fault considerations in divorce remedies, but then effectively tied child support to who has custody of the children, with the combined effect of placing many parents into a position of feeling that they have no choice but to fight for extensive time share for their own financial protection.
The changes in child custody law have exacerbated divorce litigation by turning the children into financial assets. This often leaves both parties, as well as the children, unnecessarily wounded
http://www.thelizlibrary.org/site-index/site-index-frame.html#soulhttp://www.thelizlibrary.org/site-index/site-index-body.html#Parental Alienation

. Best Interests of the Child becomes the Standard

Family Court is Not a Family-Friendly Placeby Lisa Marie Macci, Esq. The "best interests" of the child is now the so-called "gender neutral" standard adopted by courts for cases of child custody. While this lofty ideal sounds lovely on its face, it is meaningless in legal terms. Chapter 61 of the Florida Statutes provides a non-exclusive list of items for the judges to utilize in determining "best interests" of the child for custody purposes, without specifying what weight should be given to the factors and otherwise lacking much guidance.
http://www.thelizlibrary.org/site-index/site-index-frame.html#soulhttp://www.thelizlibrary.org/site-index/site-index-body.html#Parental Alienation

Rev. Anne Grant: The discredited 'Parental Alienation Syndrome'

EXCERTS SEE LINK FOR FULL ARTICLE:
Abusers with money or other forms of influence, skilled at terrorizing their families, easily gain the upper hand. Their children, suffering nightmares and stomach ailments, refuse to visit them. The abusive parent charges the protective parent with "brainwashing" the children, and wins sole custody.

The so-called Parental Alienation Syndrome, touted by many in the Rhode Island Family Court, has been discredited by the American Psychological Association and, recently, by both the National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges and the Children's Legal Rights Journal. For more than a decade, I have witnessed the devastating effects of this strategy in Rhode Island courtrooms and families.

Legislators seem too busy to care who, if anyone, is watching the children.
The Rev. Anne Grant, a retired minister and former executive director of the Women's Center of Rhode Island, is writing a book on domestic-violence child-custody cases.
http://www.projo.com/opinion/contributors/content/projo_20060627_ctgrant.184a360.html

It is the position of Justice for Children that PAS is junk science.

"P.A.S. per se (not “parents lying about abuse allegations”) is not a syndrome. People lie on the witness stand every day but that does not make it a syndrome. Various credible studies have documented that the incidence of false allegations of abuse in custody proceedings make up significantly less than 5% of all abuse allegations in custody proceedings. When mental health experts or attorneys claim that P.A.S. is a “syndrome” -- knowing full well that it lacks scientific validity, is the concoction of a disgraced psychologist, and has been soundly rejected by the National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges -- that is disingenuous at best and unethical at worst. Moreover, when it is used as a vehicle to keep children in the custody of men who abuse them, it is also immoral. " - Randy Burton, Founder, Chairman and President - Justice for Children

PAS' admissibility through an analysis of PAS' roots inGardner's theory of human sexuality, a theory that views adult-childsexual contact as benign and beneficial to the reproduction of thespecies.

Published April 1, 2006 by American Bar Association's Children's Legal Rights Journal

The Evidentiary Admissibility of Parental Alienation

by Jennifer Hoult

Science, Law, and Policy, 26
American Bar Association, Child. Legal Rts J. 1 (Spring, 2006).

Abstract:

Since1985, in jurisdictions all over the United States, fathers have beenawarded sole custody of their children based on claims that mothersalienated these children due to a pathological medical syndrome calledParental Alienation Syndrome ("PAS"). Given that some such cases haveinvolved stark outcomes, including murder and suicide, PAS'admissibility in U.S. courts deserves scrutiny.

This articlepresents the first comprehensive analysis of the science, law, andpolicy issues involved in PAS' evidentiary admissibility. As a novelscientific theory, PAS' admissibility is governed by a variety ofevidentiary gatekeeping standards that seek to protect legal fora fromthe influence of pseudo-science. This article analyzes everyprecedent-bearing decision and law review article referencing PAS inthe past twenty years, finding that precedent holds PAS inadmissibleand the majority of legal scholarship views it negatively.

The articlefurther analyzes PAS' admissibility under the standards defined in Fryev. United States, Daubert v. Merrell Dow Pharmaceuticals, Kumho TireCompany v. Carmichael, and Rules 702 and 704(b) of the Federal Rules ofEvidence, including analysis of PAS' scientific validity andreliability; concluding that PAS remains an ipse dixit and inadmissibleunder these standards. The article also analyzes the writings of PAS'originator, child psychiatrist Richard Gardner - including twenty-threepeer-reviewed articles and fifty legal decisions he cited in support ofhis claim that PAS is scientifically valid and legally admissible -finding that these materials support neither PAS' existence, nor itslegal admissibility. Finally, the article examines the policy issuesraised by PAS' admissibility through an analysis of PAS' roots inGardner's theory of human sexuality, a theory that views adult-childsexual contact as benign and beneficial to the reproduction of the species.
The article concludes that science, law, and policy all support PAS' present and future inadmissibility.

To read full article click here (pdf)

http://www.stopfamilyviolence.org/info/custody-abuse/parental-alienation/the-evidentiary-admissibility-of-parental-alienation

The Myth of Epidemic False Allegations of Sexual Abuse In Divorce Cases

Published by Court Review

The Myth of Epidemic False Allegations of Sexual Abuse In Divorce Cases

by Merrilyn Mcdonald

EXCERT:
It is commonly believed that false allegations of sexual abuse in the context of divorce are epidemic, that most allegations made in the context of divorce are made by vindictive mothers and that these allegations are almost always false. These beliefs are not supported by scientific evidence.1
It is widely believed that at least 50 percent of all allegations of child sexual abuse are false, and that an accused person appearing in a court of law is quite likely to have been falsely accused. Those who defend accused child sexual offenders want us to believe that 50 percent of individuals brought to trial are innocent. These beliefs are not supported by scientific evidence, either.2
http://www.stopfamilyviolence.org/info/custody-abuse/statistics/the-myth-of-epidemic-false-allegations-of-sexual-abuse-in-divorce-cases

Published November 30, 2005 Rates At Which Batterers Receive Custody by Joan Meier, Esq.

One statement in Breaking the Silence: Children’s Voices that has provoked controversy was my statement that “the studies are showing” that up to 2/3 of accused or adjudicated batterers receive joint or sole custody in court. While no empirical study can definitively determine a universal statistical rate, the key point is that the research consistently shows that accused and adjudicated batterers receive joint or sole custody disturbingly often. This confirms the anecdotal experience of domestic violence attorneys and victims around the country. The following research supports this perspective.

. A History of Domestic Violence is Common among Contested Custody Cases.
II. Domestic Violence Perpetrators are More Likely to Contest Custody than Non- Abusers.
III. Accused and Adjudicated Batterers Receive Joint or Sole Custody Surprisingly Often. A. Multiple studies have documented gender bias against women in custody litigation.
B. Studies show Accused and Adjudicated Batterers Receiving Sole or Joint Custody Surprisingly Often.
A study of 300 cases over a 10-year period in which the mother sought to protect the child from sexual abuse, found that 70% resulted in unsupervised visitation or shared custody; in 20% of the cases the mothers completely lost custody, and many of these lost all visitation rights.
- Neustein & Goetting (1999), “Judicial Responses to the Protective Parent’s Complaint of Child Sexual Abuse,” Journal of Child Sexual Abuse 8 (4): 103-122.

These cases included a case in which the perpetrator had been repeatedly convicted of domestic assault; in which a father was given sole custody of a16-month old despite his undisputed choking of the mother resulting in her hospitalization and his arrest; in which the father had broken the mother’s collarbone; had committed “occasional incidents of violence”; and had committed two admitted assaults. More such instances can be found in Meier, supra.
http://www.stopfamilyviolence.org/info/custody-abuse/statistics/rates-at-which-batterers-receive-custody

Published November 30, 2005

Rates At Which Batterers Receive Custody

by Joan Meier, Esq.

MYTH 4: Domestic violence has nothing to do with child abuse.

FACT: A wide array of studies reveal a significant overlap between domestic violence and child abuse, with most finding that both forms of abuse occur in 30-60% of violent families.

FACT: Other studies have shown intimate partner violence (“IPV”) to be a strong predictor of child abuse, increasing the risk from 5% after one act of IPV to 100% after 50 acts of IPV.
http://www.stopfamilyviolence.org/info/custody-abuse/statistics/10-custody-myths-and-how-to-counter-them