The Gauntlet has been thrown and F4J has now arrived in Ohio

[Bolivar]

From: John Fowler [mailto:[email protected]]
Sent: Thursday, May 11, 2006 2:11 PM
Subject: The Gauntlet has been thrown and F4J has now arrived in Ohio



All,

Yesterday I(John Fowler) was able to testify in front of the Ohio Juvenile and Family Law Committee on behalf of Fathers-4-Justice in favor of HB_479.

HB_479 allows a parent who is called to active military duty to file a motion with the court to temporarily modify a prior decree allocating parental rights and responsibilities.
Bill Summary:
- Allows a parent who is called to active military duty to petition the court to temporarily modify a prior decree allocating parental rights and responsibilities to grant reasonable companionship or visitation to a designated relative.
- Requires the court to give the temporary modification case calendar priority and handle the case expeditiously.
- Limits the duration of the temporary modification to the tenure of the parent's active military duty.

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This was, to say the least, an interesting experience that I would like to share with you all as I would hope that most of you would have a similar opportunity in the future. First of all, we were aware that HB_479 will probably have no trouble passing as is. I saw this as an opportunity not only to practice testifying, but more importantly to give the Juvenile and Family Law Committee a rather interesting introduction to Fathers-4-Justice and send a message that we are here, we are watching and that from this day forward it will not be "business as usual" regarding Family Law legislation in Ohio.

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[FONT SIZE=�+10�] Let me set the stage. [/FONT]

There were seven Juvenile and Family Law Committee members in attendance. There were about 10 people beside the committee members in attendance including myself supported by fellow F4J member Robert Mendris (Thank you Robert!).

Both of us were wearing our black long sleeve F4J shirts which contrasted very well with the suites and ties of the other attendees. I do not believe they we expecting any testimony and I was the only one who testified. I have pasted a copy of my testimony below. Notice I used the opportunity to raise a few other "issues".

The testimony took about 8 minutes. After I was finished I was asked two questions.

 

[FONT SIZE=�+3�] Representative Willamowski, whom we know to be a supporter of Equal Parenting, asked if we had any suggestions on how speed up the process to petition for the temporary change in custody because military personnel are often called to duty very quickly. [/FONT]

[FONT SIZE=�+3�]I responded that I agreed that could be a problem and that would ask our members for suggestions and get back with him. Any ideas would be appreciated. I learned later that there is already a modification in the works that would require the court to give the motion priority and hear the motion within 10 days. I think Willamoski knew this but was looking for our ideas and opinions. [/FONT]


 -


[FONT SIZE=�+3�]The second question was asked by Rep. Jennifer Garrison of Marietta. A Democratic domestic attorney. Obviously not one of our bigger fans. The one change that I recommended was that if a plan for reasonable companionship or visitation is rejected, that the court be required to state the specific reasons for the rejection. [/FONT]

[FONT SIZE=�+3�] Rep. Garrison reminded me that Judges are not currently required to do this in custody cases so why should they be required to do this in this situation. I responded by saying that I am aware of the lack of that requirement in the ORC however we as an organization to not agree with current law and that does not prevent this committee from making a positive change in HB_479 and that I would still recommend that change be made since parents deserved to know why their plan was rejected. Somehow I believe my answer did not convince her. [/FONT]

 <<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<  ï¿½ï¿½ï¿½.  >>>>>>>>>>>>>>

[FONT SIZE=�+3�]After the hearing I was approached by Rep. Jennifer Garrison who interrupted a conversation I was having to state that she has been a Domestic Attorney for 20 years (hoping I would be impressed and intimidated) in a rural area of Ohio (Marietta) and that the courts there were extremely fair to both Fathers and Mothers. [/FONT]

[FONT SIZE=�+3�]Not knowing much about judges in Washington County I told her that may very well be and I hoped that was the case but I did not believe that was the case everywhere in Ohio. I told here that we believed that a Father and Mother should always enter a court as equals in custody disputes. She said that she believed that they currently do. I responded by telling her I respectfully disagreed as she turned around and walked away without so much as a goodbye.[/FONT]

 


[FONT SIZE=�+10�] Now it gets really good! [/FONT]




[FONT SIZE=�+3�] As we were getting ready to leave we approach by another gentleman who when asked we found was the Aid to high ranking Republican representative was the main sponsor to HB479.  He had overheard our conversation with Rep. Jennifer Garrison and gave us some background as to why HB479 was introduced. Apparently a military father being deployed to Iraq in Medina County had asked for temporary custody for his children while he was deployed. [/FONT]


[FONT SIZE=�+3�] The reason was that his Ex had made it clear that while he was gone that she would not allow the children to see their paternal grandparents or anyone from is side of the family. The judge was also aware of her position.  The temporary custody was denied. [/FONT]


[FONT SIZE=�+3�] I asked if the Judge Paulett Lilly. He looked surprised and asked how I knew. [/FONT]


[FONT SIZE=�+3�] I told him we were aware of her and will probably be looking to make sure she was not re-elected. I think he was shocked and impressed that we were so well informed and were looking to take action. Judge Lilly was on the Ohio Child Support Guidelines Task Force and opposed every positive and fair change suggested by PACE'S Don Hubin prompting him to formally resign form the task force in protest.[/FONT]


[FONT SIZE=�+3�] This contact may turn out to be a very good friend as we begin to move forward and advocate for major changes.[/FONT]

 

[FONT SIZE=�+10�]All this in only one hour. Just imagine the impact that our Rally JUNE 17 on the Columbus State House steps For Equal Parenting will have. [/FONT]

 

 

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

The following is my testimony given to the Juvenile and Family Law Committee regarding HB_479

 

5/10/2006



Members of the Juvenile and Family Law Committee,

My name is John Fowler, I am the Ohio and US Coordinator Fathers-4-Justice and member of the board of directors. Fathers-4Justice is a not for profit organization advocating for major reform in family law.  

Thank you for the opportunity to speak regarding HB 479, the bill allowing a parent who is called to active military duty to file a motion with the court to temporarily modify a prior decree allocating parental rights and responsibilities.  

I will try to be brief and to the point.  

Fathers-4 Justice fully supports HB 479 and urges the members of the Juvenile and Family Law Committee to send this bill to the legislature for a vote without significant delay.

While I have never had the privilege of serving in the military, I am a non-custodial parent of 3 children and have been divorced almost 17 years. As with many non-custodial parents I was �granted� very little time with my children as is the case with many of our military parents (mostly fathers and some mothers) Because another parent saw little value in our children spending time with their father it was a struggle to enforce what little time I was granted.

An unfortunate bi-product of this struggle was that my children were denied the ability to have any significant relationship with their paternal grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins.  

As difficult as this was for me and my children, it is even be more difficult to maintain any type of relationship between children and their extended family for a military father or mother when deployed.

The winners of this legislation will be our children who will benefit from the wisdom and love of BOTH their maternal and paternal extended family who are also represent that connection to the parent deployed.

I also request that the committee consider one minor change to the bill. As noted in the copies of HB 479 that I have provided I am asking that, if a plan for reasonable companionship or visitation is rejected, that the court be required to state the specific reasons for the rejection. Without this specific requirement plans run the risk of  being rejected without justification just as courts in Ohio and other states currently reject shared parenting plans without written justification. If this bill is to have any positive impact, Judges must be made to justify why they have denied any plan submitted.  This is a very reasonable change and our military men and women deserve nothing less.

Through my discussions with parents and organizations around the country I have learned over the years that Ohio has gained the unfortunate national reputation for having a family law system that is anything but progressive. This system has been especially cruel to those serving our military. HB 479 would allow Ohio to take one very small step in the right direction.

Unfortunately HB 479 addresses on one issue our military personnel face relative to out domestic courts.

One common problem faced by our military across the country (mostly fathers) is that time away from children as a result of calls to active duty currently counts against military parents in custody determinations. In Michigan a bill sponsored by Rep. Rick Jones, Michigan HB 5100 signed into law by Michigan Governor Jennifer Granholm amended their Child Custody Act, prohibiting courts to use absence of a parent while serving in the Army National Guard or as a reservist as a negative strike against the parent in custody determinations. It also does not allow for a permanent change in custody arrangements while a military parent is away.  

There are numerous examples where military fathers have come home from serving their country overseas and are surprised to find an empty house, their children and spouse gone and a huge child support arrearage. This is an injustice that must also be corrected in future legislation.

Once again, Fathers-4-Justice fully supports HB 479 and strongly recommends it be sent to the legislature for a vote without delay with the minor change suggested.

On behalf of Fathers-4-Justice I would like to thank you for the time to express our views and opinions.

Thank you again.



John Fowler
Fathers-4-Justice-US
US Coordinator/Board Member
Columbus, Ohio
614-309-5572
//www.fathers-4-justice.us





 

John Fowler
Fathers-4-Justice-US
Families-4-Justice-US
US Coordinator/Board Member
Columbus, Ohio
614-309-5572
//www.fathers-4-justice.us

Mail:
FATHERS-4-JUSTICE
PO BOX 14954
MINNEAPOLIS, MN 55414-0954

 

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