Bert Riddick Finally Freed!

One of the most egregious paternity fraud cases in the history of the United States came to at least a partial close this week. For 13 years Bert Riddick (pictured) lost a huge chunk of his take-home pay to pay child support for a child everybody knew from the beginning was not his, and whom he had never met.

This week Riddick was finally, finally, FINALLY freed, as a Los Angeles court set aside his default paternity judgment. Sadly, Bert will never get back what he lost in terms of money, time, and heartache.

In my co-authored column Preserving Paternity Fraud (Orange County Register, 10/3/02), which concerned a paternity fraud bill vetoed by then-California Governor Gray Davis in 2002, I discussed Bert’s case, writing:

“California Governor Gray Davis had the chance to free thousands of falsely condemned men last week. He chose federal funds instead.

“Davis vetoed the California Paternity Justice Act (AB 2240), which would have helped thousands of California men who were wrongly assigned paternity in default judgments, and who have been compelled by the state to pay years of child support for children whom DNA tests have shown are not theirs. In Los Angeles County in 2000, for example, 79 percent of paternity judgments were decreed by default. Most of these men had no idea they were ‘fathers’ until their wages were garnished.

“Technical instructor Bert Riddick of Carson is one of the men AB 2240 would have helped. Ten years ago, Riddick was erroneously named by an ex-girlfriend as the father of her child. By the time Riddick realized what had occurred, the statute of limitations for challenging paternity had passed. Riddick, his wife and their three children have fallen from the middle class to homelessness because he is forced to pay $1,400 a month in child support and arrearages. Like many paternity fraud victims, Riddick has never even met the child he is supporting…

“Davis could have freed thousands of these innocent men and their families by signing AB 2240. The bill would have helped men assigned paternity in default judgments by extending to three years from the date of discovery the period during which such judgments may be challenged through DNA testing. The bill would have allowed courts to vacate default paternity judgments which are shown to be erroneous, thus relieving falsely identified fathers of further child support.

“Instead of justice, Davis chose money.

“Under federal guidelines, states must identify the fathers of children whose mothers are receiving benefits or risk losing federal incentive money. In addition, states receive federal funding on child-support orders. Because federal rules do not require DNA testing to prove paternity, states have no incentive to demand accuracy in establishing paternity.

“In explaining his veto, Davis said that if AB 2240 became law the state might not meet federal requirements on collecting child-support payments, putting California at risk of losing $40 million in federal funds.

“Opponents of the bill included NOW, the National Center for Youth Law and the San Diego-based Children’s Advocacy Institute. An institute official praised the veto, saying “we’re glad that the governor put children first”…

“Riddick was devastated by Davis’ veto.

“‘Davis and his supporters say they did this for the children. Let him come to my house and explain to my children why this is good for them.

“‘The system lies to children about their own parentage and Gov. Davis thinks that’s OK. The system defrauds thousands of innocent men and wounds their families and Gov. Davis thinks that’s OK. The system puts money ahead of truth and justice and Davis thinks that’s OK. What kind of message is this sending to our children?’”

To learn more about Bert’s case, see the Long Beach Press Telegram’s recent article Paternity case beyond personal (6/3/07).

There are numerous people who deserve credit both for Bert’s liberation and for the advancement of paternity fraud laws in California and other states. Some of them include:

Former California Assemblyman Rod Wright, who fought for years both for paternity fraud laws and child support reform.

Activist Carnell Smith, one of the early champions of this issue, who has helped promote paternity fraud laws in many states.

Michael Robinson of the California Alliance for Families and Children, who helped shepherd paternity fraud legislation through the California legislature in 2005, and also helped preserve the Navarro paternity fraud decision.

Dianna Thompson of the American Coalition for Fathers and Children, who worked to promote paternity fraud legislation during the late 90s and early 00s.

Marc Angelucci, Esq., who has legally represented paternity fraud victims, including Taron James.

Linda Ferrer, Esq., who won the Navarro decision.

Taron James, founder of Veterans Fighting Paternity Fraud.

The Best Interests of the Child How to Save Our Child When We Can’t Save our Marriage–New DVD set from Dr. Warren Farrell, foremost expert on children of divorce www.BestInterestofChildren.org

This entry was posted on Wednesday, June 27th, 2007 at 11:27 pm and is filed under Vox Populi. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. | 10 views | Trackback | Print this page |

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