Victory! CA Appellate Court; Study Finds Father Involvement Has Large Effect on Children’s IQ
Glenn's E-Newsletter/Week in Review, October 15, 2008
Victory! CA Appellate Court Says Excluding Men from Domestic Violence Programs is Unconstitutional
California attorney Marc Angelucci scored a tremendous victory today as the Third District Court of Appeal in Sacramento ruled that California’s exclusion of men from domestic violence violates men’s constitutional equal protection rights.
The taxpayer lawsuit -- Woods. v. Shewry -- was initially filed in 2005 by four male victims of domestic violence.
In 2007, Sacramento Superior Court Judge Lloyd Connelly dismissed the case, ruling that men are not entitled to equal protection regarding domestic violence because they statistically are not similarly situated with women.
Today the Court of Appeal reversed that decision and held:
The gender classifications in Health and Safety Code section 124250 and Penal Code section 13823.15, that provide state funding of domestic violence programs that offer services only to women and their children, but not to men, violate equal protection.
The plaintiffs' attorney, Marc E. Angelucci (pictured above left), said:
We’ve been through the daisy wheel of judicial activism on this issue. Now the courts have finally addressed the injustice, but the struggle is not over. Many taxpayer-funded programs, especially in Los Angeles, still deny men services such as counseling, advocacy, shelter or hotel vouchers, which is endangering their children.
Men pay at least half of the taxes that fund these programs and they should be entitled to services regardless of sex. I have seen the damage this does to men and kids and I will never stop fighting to end it, even if it means filing more lawsuits.
Numerous experts submitted sworn declarations supporting the plaintiffs and explaining that Domestic Violence against men is a serious but hidden problem. Children are being emotionally harmed as witnesses of the violence while their fathers are unable to get help.
Experts in the Case explained that although men report it less than women, empirical survey data consistently shows women are at least as violent as men in relationships, and that men suffer one-third of injuries.
To learn much more about this important victory, click here.
Man Has to Pay Alimony for Ex-Wife's Horses!
From Ex-wife given £50,000-a-year maintenance for her three HORSES as part of £1.5m divorce deal (Daily Mail, 9/22/08):
A wife has been awarded £50,000 in maintenance for her horses as part of a £1.5m divorce package in a landmark case that could spark bitter disputes over pets.
The woman, who has not been named, was awarded the yearly sum after appeal judges agreed her three horses were a key part of her life.
They also ruled she should be given a lump sum of £900,000 from her ex-husband, a banker in the City, to allow her to buy a house with enough land for the animals.
Lawyers believe the case could break new ground in divorce cases with couples claiming maintenance for their pets as well as themselves and their children.
The talented rider's annual package came to £80,000, including the £50,000 for her three animals which the court heard were almost a child substitute.
The couple, who live in Gloucestershire, had been married for 11 years but had no children after she lost a baby in 2001...
She had given up her part-time job in a financial company after they married while her husband carried on working in the City.
Come again? They didn't even have any kids, and he's still being hit like this!?
I do believe that alimony is appropriate under certain circumstances, such as when one parent has made substantial career sacrifices in order to be the primary caregiver for the couple's children, and upon divorce their incomes are very unequal because of these sacrifices. What has this woman done that merits this lavish alimony?
She didn't give up anything to raise kids, had only worked part-time to begin with, and has apparently had most of a decade to do very little--no wage work and no childcare.
Perhaps the most outrageous line in the story is this:
Judge Segal said: 'In any event, the wife does not want a 9-to-5 job, because this would not give her enough time with her horses...'
Let me get this straight--she shouldn't have to work because she doesn't want to?! She shouldn't have to work because it wouldn't give her enough time with her damn horses? And her ex-husband is expected to pay for all of this?! Wow...
To discuss this issue on my blog, click here.
Study Shows Dad Involvement Means Higher IQ, More Success for Kids
Ned Holstein, MD, MS, Executive Director of Fathers & Families, has an interesting new piece on an English study which found that father involvement has a large, positive effect on children's intellignce and success.
Holstein writes:
Published in the summer of 2008, this study looked at all the children born in Britain in a single week in March, 1958. When the children were eleven years old (1969), the mothers were asked, “How involved is the father in the management of the child?” In the same year, the children took an IQ test. Finally, the researchers looked at the children’s upward social mobility at age 42 (year 2000).The researchers found some very interesting results:
• The fathers’ involvement in 1969 was “equal to mother” in 62 percent of the cases;
• Children with high father involvement had significantly higher IQs at age 11 than those with low father involvement;
• By age 42, children with high father involvement had shown substantially more upward mobility than those with low father involvement;
• Fathers tended to be slightly more involved with sons than daughters, but when they did engage equally with daughters, the positive effect was just as great as for sons.
Read more here.
Girl Texts Boy Her Naked Photo, Boy Gets Arrested, Held in Juvenile Detention
A 13-year-old boy was arrested and held in juvenile detention overnight because a female classmate sent him (and other boys) a naked picture of herself. The best line of the story--"So far only the 13-year-old boy has been arrested."
Beyond the prudery and overreaction, the most outrageous thing about the story is that this boy and only this boy is being punished for something only the girl did. She sent the photo, he gets punished.
From Student faces porn charge over text message sent by classmate (WFAA-TV, 10/-8/08):
SANGER - A controversy has arisen out of Denton County involving a 13-year-old boy, a cell phone and a text message. That message has landed the middle schooler in juvenile detention on child pornography charges.
Text messaging has become part of our everyday lives.But at Sanger Middle School, it has become a problem and in some cases, pornographic.
“He doesn’t know what a felony means. He doesn’t understand what pornography means,” said one parent.
She is a mother of a 13-year-old boy arrested Monday and suspended from school and spent the night in a juvenile detention center after an eighth grade female student texted him a naked picture of herself...
“I know some girl was taking pictures of herself and sending it to multiple guys. Obviously, they’ve still got their picture on their phone because they are now getting in trouble,” said Bethany Mitchell, a classmate.
So far only the 13-year-old boy has been arrested.Police and the school district are not discussing actions against any of the other students.
I encourage readers to write to reporter Craig Civale and encourage him to continue investigating the story. His email address is ccivale@wfaa.com.
To discuss this issue on my blog, click here.
Man Defamed by Child Support Enforcement Error Sues
A couple years ago my 80-year-old father received a slew of Victoria's Secret charges on his credit card. He was able to get it straightened out, but said something along the lines of "It's amazing what these idiots do--they could've caused somebody a divorce with an error like that."
Illinois resident Joshua Brown is suing the state of Tennessee for sending him a notice indicating he had a child in Tennessee with a female other than his wife.
Brown claims the state sent him a non-custodial parent delinquency notice on March 26 indicating he was responsible for past due child support.
"The Notice was discovered by his wife," states the complaint filed Oct. 7 in St. Clair County Circuit Court. "Mr. Brown's parents and in-laws learned of the Notice from his wife and also inquired."
Brown claims he "reassured all" that he was not having an extra marital affair that produced a child.
He claims he informed the state that it had the wrong person by pointing out the difference in middle initial and social security number, but the state persisted by notifying his employer. He claims he also received a notice that his income would be withheld for child support.
"Plaintiff's wife again saw these various documents again causing turmoil and strife in the home," the complaint states. "Plaintiff again tried to assuage his family's fears.
Brown claims he contacted an attorney after the state sent him a notice that his employer was being directed to add the Tennessee child to his health care plan.
He claims the correspondence eventually ceased when the state was "apparently satisfied" that it had the wrong man.
His suit seeks damages for defamation.
"This publication caused his pregnant wife and himself severe hardship, caused plaintiff to lose sleep, have constant anxiety, suffer humiliation, embarrassment, nervousness and mental pain and suffering," the complaint states.
"That Defendant knew or should have known of the falsity of such statements considering the different middle names and different social security numbers."
Brown is represented by Jarrod Beasly of the Kuehn Law Firm in Belleville.
He is seeking "an amount in excess of $50,000 for the damage to his reputation at work, at home and within his family, punitive damages and cost of this suit."
I hope he wins. Send a note thanking reporter Ann Knef for reporting the story by clicking here.
To discuss this issue on my blog, click here.
Some of the other stories I'm covering this week include:
Amazing--a Woman Commits Domestic Violence and...
A Soldier's Sad Letter, with a Twist...
But I Bet She Still Wins Custody of the Kid...
K-Fed Gets Some Props from His Mother-in-Law
Woman Scalds Sleeping Man, but Don't Call It 'Domestic Violence'...
Alleged Child Support Debtor Sues over Denial of Timely Hearing
Funny How Nobody Will Ever Call This Mom a 'Deadbeat'...
Divorced Dads: How Would Your Son or Daughter Answer This Quiz? (Part III)
The Feminist Dissident: 'MRAs don't believe there even is such a thing as patriarchy'
Obama Backers Trying to Create Media Storm over Harmless McCain Remark
To comment on what I've written or to join the lively discussion on my website, simply click on the "comments" link below each blog post on my website.
Best Wishes,
Glenn Sacks
www.GlennSacks.com
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