The Court Battle - Day 1

Well we finally got our day in court, which turned out to be four days. 

The proceedings began in much the same way as the last two years of attempts to bring this in front of the courts has began.  Her side pleading the courts for a continuance.  This time it was because her and her lawyer had a falling out just a week prior and she needed more time to get a new lawyer.  However, her ex-lawyer suddenly showed up minutes before our case was called.  He pleaded for a continuance but were denied and so we proceeded.   At that point he presented himself as a friend of the court but not her counsel.  A few other cases were called before ours started and when we returned he was now her counsel again.  This is indicative of the bizarre games being played through this whole process.

The opening statements where made and my lawyer called my ex to the stand.  I won't bore you with the details but for a better part of the first day she was on the stand and continuously dodged questions or answered them in a way that was not a direct answer to the question.   The demeanor of the Judge through this process was one of disinterest, seeming to stare off into the back of the courtroom with no real attention to the proceedings. 

As the questions continued it became very evident to the positioning she was taking of trying to accuse me of being an untrusting and unattentive father.  Even to say she had presented me with various opportunities to see my daughter at controlled events, choreographed by her or the home schooling community.  I have attended some of these in the past and the contact I get with my daughter is limited and uncomfortable because her mother controls the whole event.  I chose not to go to these events because of that and after there was so much time between my last contact with my daughter I felt it would be even more uncomfortable. 

The fact is I was at my ex's house every time I was suppose to get visitation over those 11 months but she chose to put my daughter in the car and drive her away so I would not even get to see her let alone pick her up.  It's this kind of double standard accusation that is just sick.  In fact it came out in the hearing that they were home one time I had come for my visitation but my ex made my 8 year old daughter hide out with her and wait until I went away.  Now there is a good, honest, core value parenting plan just ripe with all kinds of good wholesome life lessons. 

My Apartment - Notice the trees, it's like living in a treehouse

As the day came to a close and through the constant chant from her about the unsafe environment I live in the Judge decided to send out a social case worker to check it out.   I live in a two bedroom two bath apartment in the middle of Sandy Springs, Georgia.  If you don't know where that is it is one of the nicest areas of Atlanta and my apartment is surrounded by trees and woods and stays extremely quiet.  Except when the neighbors kids are playing outside. 

The day ended with the two lawyers and the case worker coming to my apartment and looking around and literally talking about basketball and hanging out in the apartment, breeze way and parking lot.  I am happy to report there were no illegal or unsafe activities to report and that was the finding reported to the court. 

Can The Police Help Enforce Your Visitation Rights??

Today is November 29, 2011, it has now been over 6 months since I have last seen my 8 year old daughter.  Thanksgiving break has come and gone and as typical the flurry of emails and text messages that precede a visitation period have ceased from my daughter's mother.  Until the next visitation period, which is suppose to be this upcoming weekend.

I have been documenting the ordeal for a number of reasons but one of the biggest reason's is to try and bring some awareness to the apathy from the judicial system about this very real and all too common problem in our society.

This case has been in the court systems for 2 years.  I filed a contempt of decree charge almost 2 years ago because I was denied my visitation rights for the 2009 Christmas season.  I was then denied weekend visitations beginning in January of 2010 and that is when I contacted a lawyer and started the process.  I had no idea it would turn into this long arduous battle not only with my X-wife but the entire judicial system of Georgia.

The case has been stalled out in the court systems since the early part of 2011.  That was the last I have heard of any court time or information about where this is in the courts.  I have been denied 2010 summer weeks of visitation and now the last time I have laid eyes on my daughter was 2 weeks before Father's Day 2011.

I have been at my daughter's mother's house every time I was suppose to get visitation rights over the last 6 month's.  She has not been there each and every time.  I have a series of videos documenting many of the attempts at visitation.

When I went to get my daughter most recently for Thanksgiving Break I arrived at the mother's house at noon on Wednesday.  I had sent an email Tuesday at 1:00pm stating that would be the time I would pick her up for my holiday visitation period.  At 11:33 am on Wednesday I received an email, this is very typical of the process, telling me all the reason's why I was not going to get my daughter.  I went to the house anyway as I usually do and went through the motions of ringing the doorbell and waiting for a 10 - 15 minutes and then left.

My sixteen year old daughter was visiting for the holiday as well and desperately wanted to see her sister, she has not seen her for over 6 months either and so I decided to go to the police station and see if there was anything that could be done.   I had already had a police officer meet me at the house about a month prior but she was not home then either and so nothing was done.

I was curious as to what would happen at the police station and armed with my decree and my sixteen year old daughter I entered the police station.  When I finally got my turn to talk to an officer I was not surprised when he said there was not a lot they could do.  He took the decree, filed a complaint, gave me a card with the case number and told me I could come back next week and pay the money to get the report.  I asked him if there was not the possibility of having an officer escort me to the door and help me get my daughter during the visitation time that was clearly laid out in the official decree issued by the Superior Court of Georgia.

He said I would be better off contacting the Sheriff and see what they could do for me.  Later that night I put my current wife and my daughter in the car and started driving to my daughter's mother's house.   I called the Sheriff and got a lady on the phone that started asking all of the usual questions and when she understood what I was trying to do said I needed to get a "Keep the Peace" document.  I told her I had never heard of this.  She proceeded to tell me nothing could be done until I got that document and then the Sheriff would be able to meet me and retrieve my daughter for me.  I talked to her a while longer, begging her to see if there wasn't something that could be done now so I could get my daughter for the break.  She put me on hold.

A few minutes later she asked if there was a number to call me back on and that she would have a Deputy Sheriff call me and talk about what could be done.  About 30 minutes later I received the call.  I talked in length about what was going on and yet again was told there was nothing that could be done and since the courts are closed for the holiday I would have to wait until Monday to get the document and start that process.  He told me I would be able to get that document at the North Fulton Annex building.

I went into the North Fulton Annex on Monday following the Thanksgiving break and asked the front desk where I needed to go to get this "Keep the Peace" document and sure enough,  they have never even heard of such a document.  Unbelievable.  I was told I could go to the Superior Court office within the North Fulton Annex building because this was surely something that needed to be done at the Superior Court level.

When I got to talk to the lady in the Superior Court office and went through my story again I was given the same run around.  She has never heard of it and there is nothing that can be done to help me.  She makes a phone call to some person who might have an answer and when the phone call ends it's the same thing.  Nothing can be done and you need to go file a contempt charge.

I have been denied priceless time with my daughter, I am a good father that continues to pay his child support, I have filed a contempt charge, I have been on time and at the pick up spot every time my legal visitation was suppose to occur for the last 6 months.  I have been in conversations with police officers, court clerks and lawyers and nothing has happened.  This is a hopeless situation in our society and in our modern day with all of the focus on poor parenting and dead beat dads and child abuse and neglect when a father who has been blatantly and supposedly unlawfully denied his precious time with his 8 year old daughter you would think someone would step to the plate and advocate for this ongoing unspoken tragedy of our modern family.

My Thanksgiving was a mess but we made the best of it.  It's like having one of your kids held hostage.  I was not even allowed to talk to my 8 year old on Thanksgiving day.  I just don't have words to describe the helplessness that comes with this ordeal.  If you do, please leave your comments below. 

Denied Visitation Thanksgiving Day - Not Even Allowed To Talk To My Daughter

Thanksgiving day 2011 has all but come and gone and not only was I denied the visitation time with my daughter today but the mother also blocked all of my calls.  

I have called all day long and never got an answer.  I did receive one text message though and thought I would let you take a look at that since it is so blatantly sent by her mother since all of the punctuation is included.  My daughter is 8 years old so the punctuation would certainly not be so well laid out.   Especially in a text.  

Happy thanksgiving love marlayna!!!! 

I am at a friends house and can't call right now. I love you.

This was sent from her mother's phone so I don't know why she would not have been able to call me.  In fact I received this directly after one of my phone calls to the cell phone about 7:00 pm Thanksgiving Day. 

In one last attempt I just called the cell phone and the house number a few times but neither was answered. It is about 9:00 pm.

Once again I am just really typing this to try to find some relief because the weight of this ordeal is incredibly heavy.

I feel like people must feel when their loved one is kidnapped.  Helpless, angry, desperate, scared that you will never see them again.  It's a kind of panic that makes it hard to breath at times. 

The idea that this kind of behavior can go on without any recourse is just depressing.  It makes you want to scream and yet all I can do is sit here and try to stay calm. 

If you are reading this and have a similar situation please leave a comment and let me know I am not alone.  I will say the more this carries on, the more I desperately want to find a way to bring about change in our system to give some power to the good and loving father's that experience this kind of torture.

I really don't understand how our society and the rest of the world can continue to allow this to occur and rationalize that this is any different then other forms of child abuse, child neglect, and kidnapping.   

On top of that the pain and suffering that occurs for the parent who is getting refused the right to see and spend time with their children is tremendous.  The loss of time, that will never be returned.  There is no monetary value that can be applied to the loss of time.  

Please leave your comments below and thank you for reading. 

A Full Day of Custody Attempts - No Success - November 23, 2011

I am just exhausted both mentally and physically.  I wanted to write this though before the night turned into the morning and I lost pieces of the day.

Today was a full on battle to try and get my daughter for the Thanksgiving Holiday. This year Thanksgiving is my holiday of rotation but just like all the other visitations that have been taken from me, Thanksgiving has been taken too.

After stating in an email on Tuesday afternoon around noon that I would be at my daughters mother's house at noon to pick my daughter up I did not hear back from the mother until 11:33 am. on Wednesday, stating that I would not be allowed to have my daughter for the holiday. I showed up at the house and video taped the attempt and then went straight to the Sandy Springs Police Department to see if there wasn't something that could be done.




You see this holiday was a little different then the regular scheduled visits because my younger daughters step sister is here for the holiday as well and she desperately wanted to see her sister who she has not seen in over 6 months. This whole thing is such a disaster I can't even get my head around it.  I am so disgusted with the apathy of the system and the lack of sense about what is really going on in our society.  To have such a movement against dead beat dads but completely turn the other way when so many mother's are creating this kind of societal melt down, I can't believe it.

This phenomenon has really started to gain momentum and will cause more harm in the years to come in our society then any dead beat dad situation.  This is ripe with hatred and spite and deceit and every other kind of societal behavioral disaster you can think of. 

The bottom line is once again, but in greater detail there is nothing the police can or are willing to do in this type of case. I was told to try and contact the Fulton County sheriff because they deal more with the civil cases. I called the Sheriff's office to see if I could get a Sheriff to meet me at her house but they are not willing to do anything either. My hands are tied in so many ways it is not even funny and there is no one willing to step up and help out with something like this. The mother gets to act and behave the way she wants and there is no authority to hold her accountable.

The ironic thing about this whole process is the Jury Duty notice I received in the mail last week. I have to appear in court next Tuesday for Jury Duty or else I am in contempt of the court and can be fined or do jail time. This is the second Jury Duty summons I have had in about 3 years. My case for the contempt of the decree and to modify visitation against my X-wife has strung out for 2 years. It seems the courts are able to put the citizens in rotation for jury duty and threaten them with contempt of court more efficiently then they are able to help the citizens work through civil situations that are blatantly in contempt of court.

There have to be more people living in Fulton county then there are cases in front of mine I put in the court systems over 2 years ago, don't you think?

Georgia Father Denied Visitation - November 4, 2011

Here is another piece of the ongoing saga of denial of visitation rights for my daughter. I have not seen her for 6 months now and barely been able to talk to her but for a handful of times. This is a quick video to document the attempt at pick up.

Daughters Request For Visitation - Will This Be Denied Too

Here we are on the eve of another visitation period and very little has changed in the ordeal.  It's October 20, 2011 and I have not laid eyes on my daughter since 2 weeks before Father's Day of this year.  We live in the same city about 15 miles apart.

I am a good father that is current on his child support, loves his kid, has no criminal record, works hard and has been denied the right, as stated in the divorce/child visitation decree signed and proclaimed 7 years ago in the state of Georgia by a judge, to see and visit with his 8 year old daughter.  It's pathetic.

I am documenting the process to have some record of what is happening because the real fact is this is happening around the world and there is very little public awareness.  There are a few small groups attempting to bring about change but for the most part it is swept under the society rug and ignored.

There are all kinds of things I could call it and have in recent posts but at this point, at the core, it is child abuse.

Here is a message left on my phone this past week.  It speaks for itself.  My visitation period starts at 5:00 pm Friday October 21, 2011 and goes through Sunday at 5:00pm.  I will be at the pick up spot at 5:00.  They most likely will not.  What do you call that?


Daughters Request For Visitation

Atlanta, Georgia Father Denied Visitation Sept 16, 2011

It's Saturday morning, 5:00 a.m.  I can't sleep.  I went to bed about 1:30 am thinking that I would sleep late today but woke up and couldn't stop thinking about my daughter.  This was another weekend I was suppose to have her and, YES, another weekend of denial. It's like a heavy weight is laying on my chest and I can't get it off.

The mental and physical torture that comes with this ordeal is amazing.

I had tried to attempt to let this weekend pass without having to deal with what has become a routine at this point.  I knew I would not get my daughter once again and the mental torture that goes on through the week of bantering back and forth with my X is just physically and mentally exhausting and then to be dealt the final blow of not seeing my daughter is just too much to take. 

So the whole week is a struggle.  I just didn't want to go through it again so I waited to see if there was going to be any interaction from the X.  Usually it starts on Monday or Tuesday but this time she waited until Thursday to send an email.  Very short this time.

I responded and then I receive the regular lengthy letter highlighting my great qualities and inability to perform as a puppet for her.  The denial of visitation and have a good weekend.  

I did show up at her house though, as usual and found the car in the garage but nobody home.  I dropped off the child support payment and card for my daughter.  I wonder if she will get it.  And I better drop off the child support payment or I will go to jail.  

This is why there just has to be some changes made.  If I don't drop off the child support payment for the months I haven't seen my daughter there would be a warrant for my arrest. 

How does the mother gets to keep the child from the father even though the same document that states the child support payment also states the visitation agreement? 

How are they different?  If I was not to pay child support then I would owe the money for the back support that was not paid.  Why don't we get the back time that was taken from us.  We might not ever get visitation, how is this possible in our culture.  A culture that spends so much time talking about how important it is to have a father in the children's lives does nothing to help a father that is blatantly being denied the right to be in his child's life. 

It has gotten to the point of watching other father's and families interact and knowing I am just missing such an important part of my daughter's life.  I will never get this back yet there is nothing I can do about it that I haven't already done.  I have taken it to the courts, I talk to my lawyer but nothing is being done except precious time is continuing to pass.  

I shot a short video of the attempted pick up.