Several months prior to this incident, Andrew Jackson at my insistence had filed a motion for the appointment of a Guardian Ad Litem. This was my second request as my first had been denied by Judge Herring. However, Andrew told me after filing the Motion that it was pointless to set a hearing because even if the Court ordered the appointment of one that the children would never receive one because the Guardian Ad Litems office was overwhelmed with cases and this case would not receive priority, thus would sit with no action being taken.
As I think back now, I cannot help but wonder why one wasn’t appointed after the Sheriff’s Office became involved. It would seem to me that one was legally required at that point. There existed prior allegations of neglect and abuse filed by me with DCF. There were the police reports as previously discussed. Custody was at issue etc..,. I have a feeling that Andrew did not ask for one because a neutral investigator’s findings would have reflected very negatively on prior Court decisions in the case, specifically on former Judge Herring’s competence and/or integrity. As some in the area may know, Judge Herring either had become or was in line to become the Chief Justice of the 10th Judicial Circuit.
Also, I cannot help but think that Andrew Jackson’s position as a County Commissioner influenced how he handled the case. I complained repeatedly to him about the teacher’s apparent failure to meet her Statutory obligations to report the sexual abuse allegation to DCF. Perhaps this created some conflict for him in his role as a Commissioner. I also complained about this Sandra Billings individual. She like the teacher is considered a “mandatory reporter” of child abuse and neglect allegations and based on her statements to the investigating officer as noted earlier here, she failed to meet her Statutory obligations.
Lastly, perhaps he thought that he would lose more votes than he would gain by acting on my behalf to protect the interests of my children. As I stated early on, my former wife had left me and the children and had become involved with an individual who was part of a large family that has been in the area for at least a few generations.
For whatever reason, he did fail to set a hearing on the motion asking for the appointment of a Guardian and as a consequence my children did not have their legal rights protected during this period of time or afterward.

Sorry for your unfortumate experiences. You’re giving too much credit to the lawyers. Many lawyers are incompetent, with no hidden agendas or hidden preferences. My experiences make me a believer in word of mouth recommendations from individuals having success with a particular lawyer, rather than taking them at face value.

My guess is the people involved did what they thought was best at the time. It is up to the consumer to get additional counsel when they feel under-represented, or not listened to about their case.

Been_There_Done_That - 17 January 2008 09:14 AM

Sorry for your unfortumate experiences. You’re giving too much credit to the lawyers. Many lawyers are incompetent, with no hidden agendas or hidden preferences. My experiences make me a believer in word of mouth recommendations from individuals having success with a particular lawyer, rather than taking them at face value.

My guess is the people involved did what they thought was best at the time. It is up to the consumer to get additional counsel when they feel under-represented, or not listened to about their case.

Thank you for your response. My initial thought in response to your comment is as follows. I think people always do what they think is “best at the time.” Best for who (or is it whom?) is what concerns me. We all have “free will.” However, in my opinion, this does not relieve individuals of responsibility for the decisions that they make. Specifically, assuming Andrew evaluated all possible courses of action and chose for reasons only he would know to not set a hearing for the Motion he had filed for the appointment of a guardian does not relieve him of responsibility for the consequences of the decision he made.
I also believe that the fact that his pattern of decision making took place over an extended period of time indicates that this was more than just a momentary lack of good judgement. There is much more regarding him and other individuals that I am going to talk about here as my time permits. Thanks again for your consideration of my comments.

I will wrap up my comments about Andrew Jackson next. I eventually fired him but not until after he represented me in a hearing months later and took what I earlier referred to as a “dive.” Maybe it was simple incompetence that led him to provide the representation that he did. Ultimately and unfortunately, the Florida Bar will be the final decision maker on that issue. I just have to reduce my concerns to a coherent complaint which is all the more difficult when it is such an emotional issue. This of course is one of at least two reasons why one should not represent themselves in Court. The other reason being what one attorney several years ago told me was called “professional courtesy.” That being that regardless of the merits of your argument as a Pro se litigant, typically the Court is going to rule in favor of the party represented by the attorney as a “professional courtesy.”

There is much more to this story but I just can’t seem to find the energy to complete it now.
For now, I will say that laws are meaningless without Judges, “Officers of the Court,” or some governmental entity willing to enforce them. I have seen numerous examples of violations of written laws including but not limited to tax fraud, ongoing medicaid fraud, fraudulent activity by Judges, lawyers, the Department of Revenue, the Department of Children and Families, the State Attorney’s Office, and one mental health professional. I’ve seen more lying, perjury, and other deceitful behavior than I ever wanted to see.
I’ve said before and I’ll say again that I did discuss what I have observed with a well-respected individual a while back. He said to me, ‘You know why they do what they do don’t you?” I said, “No, why?” And he said, “Because they can.”
I guess if this is the worst that I experience, then I’ll just have to accept it and file a couple of complaints. Unfortunately, if past performance is any indication of future results, it may get much worse.

Don’t give up or get dis-heartened! File your complaints! It’s the only way that wrongs can be righted and things have a chance of getting better.

Family court here is biased towards the woman. A woman can say and do just about anything with impunity (especially if she’s in tight with all the CAC and victims advocates from her job as a counselor in a local community Mental Health Center) and the man is guilty without any evidence. I’d have never believed how unfair it was until recently.  SEE MY RECENT POST UNDER DOMESTIC VIOLENCE. Even if the man has a great reputation and background. His word is worthless in this climate.

stevesglide - 23 July 2008 11:24 PM

Family court here is biased towards the woman. A woman can say and do just about anything with impunity (especially if she’s in tight with all the CAC and victims advocates from her job as a counselor in a local community Mental Health Center) and the man is guilty without any evidence. I’d have never believed how unfair it was until recently.  SEE MY RECENT POST UNDER DOMESTIC VIOLENCE. Even if the man has a great reputation and background. His word is worthless in this climate.

I’m sorry to hear you are having problems. As can be seen here, I had my share of experiences with the Highlands County Family Court. I have concluded that there really isn’t much that can be done. I ended up defaulting on over $100k in unsecured financial debt due to the divorce system. However, when considering interest, financially I’m better off paying cash for everything.

As far as the domestic violence allegations, women frequently use false allegations to gain a strategic advantage in a child custody fight but there is nothing that can be done. Although, it is against the law to falsify the allegation, and falsification is supposed to be considered by the court when awarding custody, the local Court does not enforce it or consider it.

Years ago, my former wife made her allegation and submitted it to the Judge. Judge Durrance denied the request for an injunction, so she took the written request back, added more false allegations and resubmitted the same form on the same day, thus meeting the minimum requirements for a temporary injunction to be awarded. She never tried to prove it when the Motion was finally heard but in the mean time she gained the advantage that she wanted. Certain lawyers are frequently involved to coach their clients through the process locally. As a side note, I remember reading about a Judge somewhere around Tampa who was quoted as saying that when a domestic violence allegation comes before him, someone is going to jail, either the alleged victim or the alleged perpetrator. He didn’t put up with false allegations or domestic violence. Perhaps, the local Courts should do the same.

As far as the local mental health counselors go, I never had a problem with Marge Brewster. However, I know of at least one fibbing idiot with MSW degree who was giving the court expert testimony in child custody cases frequently. Anyone who has read the paper regularly for a few years, knows how her son turned out and knows she probably should not have had custody of her own child. A few years back, her kid’s friend was shot to death in this kid’s SUV allegedly while trying to sell a firearm in a bad part of town. In addition, he has an extensive criminal record of his own. Unfortunately, there are a few mental health professionals that for one reason or another will tell the Court whatever it wants to hear or whatever will help the litigant they are inclined to support, and that goes for DCF as well.

My advice for anyone reading this who foresees a custody fight in their future is to relocate to a larger city, Orlando, Tampa, etc.., where everyone doesn’t know everyone else. That way at least you will be on a level playing field if the marriage is not successful. I wish I could give you some good advice but the best that I can tell you is that you should try to maintain as much self control as you are capable of doing and recognize that some things are beyond your control, and frequently are not what people would consider fair. It’s just the way it is.

Time seems to fly by as we get older, and soon your daughter will be eighteen and on her own. In fact, usually when they get to about 13 or 14 or so, they get to the point that their residence is nothing more than a place to sleep anyway, and are thinking alot more about their friends and their lives than their parents.

Lastly, I’m not sure of your financial situation but my custody fight was financially devastating. However, once I gave up my concern with material possessions, I found my life to be much more personally fulfilling and wonder why I became such a slave to the material world and the worries that come along with it.

Thanks for the kind words. I know someone at that facility who is such an expert in psychology that she allows her husband PINCH their son for discipline.  I foresee some serious problems with him in the future. In fact the child’s had tantrums all his life and is already medicated. Knowing all the personal scoop and inside info on those folks I wouldn’t send my dog there. Due to my position at a DCF contracted agency, I lost my job over these false allegations and the arrest. Financially it’s bleak.....but I know it’ll be worth it in the long run to be rid of all the emotional abuse and heartache I’ve endured caring for this sick person for 15 years.

Those methods of pinching a nerve on the shoulder, along with medications, are ones frequently used for controlling the behavior of children that seems to be in vogue. I don’t care for them but I guess they are ways of controlling the behavior of children without the potential for leaving physical evidence. Most normal children in a healthy, nurturing environment should not need these forms of control in my opinion. However, children seem to be very resilient and all to frequently have to overcome the shortcomings of those who are responsible for their upbringing in order to be responsible adults and parents themselves.

The parent is Psychologist and allows her husband to do that to the child. I’m finishing my Masters in Psychology (went back in my old age) and have taken many child development classes in my undergrad (a few years ago) and never read or heard where that is appropriate discipline.

I don’t necessarily agree that it is a good method of controlling an unruly child so don’t misinterpret my comment. But, I remember a couple of years ago I was substitute teaching in Highlands County Schools and observed it being used by at least one individual in authority to control the behavior of a middle school child so just assumed that it was an acceptable method. I have many of the same concerns that you have.

tstarkey is this related to the case which began in 1998?

ray - 26 July 2008 12:27 AM

tstarkey is this related to the case which began in 1998?

I’m don’t know steveglide but wassup and I seem to have alot in common. Hopefully, that answers your question. Wassup may answer any questions you have about comments made anonymously.

I think I got it, I’m slow