"More Bad Judges"

Jack Newfield of The Nation has a piece about the Bush administration's latest crop of federal judicial nominees. Needless to say, he does not approve, concluding:

Bush is trying to transform America through lifetime judicial appointments for this biased batch and their clones. The bottom line is that the reckless Bushies are willing to violate computer privacy and vandalize the Bill of Rights to expedite this transformation. George W. Bush was appointed President by the Supreme Court after losing the popular vote by more than 500,000. Now he is trying to use the courts to legislate a mandate the voters never gave him by abusing the power of appointment and ignoring the Constitution's "advise and consent" clause.

You can read the whole thing here. (via How Appealing)

Comments

[Bob Sell]

The reason we have 3 branches of government is so they can limit each other. If the legislature passes laws that don't comport with the constitution(s), the judicial branch is supposed to tell them so and declare the law null and void because of it. With family law, the legislature has given judges unlimited descretionary power to do to people what they wish. people appearing in family courts have no constitutional rights or protections in their courtrooms. Judges can and do take your children, your assets, your self respect,privacy, liberty, and enslave you to another person for life via alimony. When you don't pay it they jail you without a jury trial or for lack of or in light of any evidence to the contrary. There have and continue to be suicides, murders, and violence of all sorts because of "family law". While the men of America were sleeping, the leftist feminists pushed this on us and continue to push it on us and it's time someone started saying enough is enough. The destruction of your life begins with a $30 state marriage license and ends with you killing your ex-wife and the judge who persecuted you.

[shame_on_you]

Judge Weller was a Judge! Nothing more, nothing less. He had to make choices on peoples lives, because they were too immature to make the choices on their own! If people could JUST sit down and decide "We can't be married, but we have kids and lets do it this way" then the family court Judges would never have to be involved! The Judges are left with deciding our futures. Every single person who has ever gone through divorce has had the opportunity to decide things for themsleves...when they act like children and can not get along, the court is called upon to make the choices for us, which none of us ever like! WE CAUSE THIS! We "ask" the court to decide our fate! Then we hate it when it does not go our way!

You read things on this blog from angrypeople, who's cases did not go their way. Of course they are going to be angry! Having said that, 100% of the Family Court Judges in this entire country are bad, if we only listen to the "losing" party side of the story! How about listening to the "other" side? Like "My child was saved because the judge heard my story and my ex-husband, who is a drunk won't be seeing the kids until he is sober" Or "My kids are safe from being molested again" Or "My kids do not have to deal with the dads/moms hate and anger towards me" OR better yet " My husband is in prison because he tried to kill the judge (and me) because I got child support and spousal support"

You all are flabergasted at Charla Macks amount award of spousal support, but do any of you really know how much this family was making BEFORE the divorce? The amount she was awarded might be just enough to pay the bills THEY made TOGETHER! They were a wealthy family and 10k a month might sound like alot to you or me, but that is what she needed to pay bills. They made these bills together.

None of us know the situation! Darren was a very wealthy man... er, was in the past years. He recently filed bankruptcy (public records). Stop talking about what Charla Mack was awarded, it was based on Darren Macks income! It is the same in EVERY divorce! Numbers don't mean anything - income is income. Read the public records, people!Charla Mack was not some money hungry, hateful lady...she had bills to pay, just like you and I have bills to pay. That condo alone must have cost at least $3,500 a month! HE put his family into this position! He afforded them the lifestyle they were living in. She had every right to ask for enough $$$ to continue that lifestyle. She was raising his children!From what I read on court banner, Judge Weller did everything he could to protect this family and made choices. He apparently knew as well that Darren was out of control. His life had changed and he was not a happy camper. This doesn't give Darren (assumed) the right to SHOOT the Judge or (assumed) KILL the mother of his daughter!

Judge Weller had NOTHING to do with the choices that Darren Mack made! Judge Weller, nor Charla Mack did not deserve to die or nearly die, because a man couldn't deal with the life he made for himself! Maybe this man was a time bomb, ready to go off, years ago! We don't just wake up one morning and decide "I am going to kill people today, because they all screwed with me" I pray to God that Darren is an innocent man and has nothing to do with any of this - that he is just running scared.

This is a very sad story with what is going to be a horrible ending! The posts here make light of this fact. You should all be ashamed of yourselves for turning this horrible event, into some blog war! Children just lost Mommy and Daddy, doesn't anyone care about THAT fact?

I thought NEP cared about our kids - isn't that what we all came to NEP for in the first place? Maybe we should set up a "loving" blog instead of a "hate" blog! NEP needs to STOP adding wood to the fire and making people HATE our court Judges! SEE WHAT YOU HAVE CAUSED? A MOMMY IS DEAD! Are you happy with yourselves?

Just keep fueling the fire NEP, angry dads really need you- Judges families really need you, Kids who's moms have been murdered by dad need you! See what your little group helps? Are you proud of yourselves? Mr.M, I just watched your interview on Channel 4- oh how concerned you seemed! Shame on your group for fueling the fire in an already horrible situation, as in child custody and divorce. A MOM is dead NEP, a Judge is in the hospital, are you happy now? Enjoy your "next" meeting where you will no doubt say "Although we hate the Family Court Judges and our ex-wifes, and joke about killing them, we do not condone this type of violence"...Yeah right, but you fuel it by talking to dads who have had enough. You send them "hate the wife, emails" and what you think are "funny" put downs towards woman. I attended one of your meetings last year and received a few "funny emails"...against woman. We all must wonder...Just WHAT did your group tell Darren Mack, or WHAT advise did you give him while he attended your meetings? His wife is DEAD, NEP. How do you feel now? Am I angry? Hell yes, I am. Do I blame your group? No, not directly, Darrens choices were his own, but I think your group helped fuel his rage.SHAME ON YOU!

[Curious]

How do you know she wasn't "money hungry"? No one pontificating on this matter has the facts, not even you, shame_on_you. I'm sure there's much more to this story than what is being opined about here. Perhaps it would be best to let the facts come out before villifying or worshipping anyone involved in this case.

It's a sad, sad event where no one comes out on top. That is the only thing anyone outside of the immediate family or friends really knows. The rest is just words from armchair quarterbacks.

[Michael W Weller]

Mr WarrenMy brother, the judge was shot by a sub-cretin like you. Chuck is an educated person and will understand the reactions of people of your ilk, I however, am retired from the US Army and think the gene pool needs to be flushed!

[Childless Father]

In all these heated comments I'm glad to see a few examples of compassion and reason. Many people write to this blog without the courtesy they would muster for a stranger on the street... Try leaving the vitriol aside and offer comments with less passion and more reason.

Obviously, attempted murder and murder are completely unacceptable behavior and Mr. Mack will be held accountable and pay the price if he is guilty.

This case brings to front and center the highly emotional topic of "family justice", how it is practiced in America, and how ordinary law-abiding parents respond when their children are kidnapped from them (albeit "legally").

The pivotal issue is this: The present "family justice court" standard operating procedure is to provide initial outward signs of gender impartiality, but to issue rulings that manifest a high degree of unequal treatment towards men and women, with significant partiality paid to women. In fact, all sorts of things are paid to the woman, such as the family home, the preponderance of the family assets, etc., and this is justified by judges because the woman is the defacto custodian of the children (about 95% of the time), and anything that benefits the custodial parent (read: woman) then benefits the children. And we all want the best for our children, don't we?

So the judge has no moral qualm with applying the "gender neutral law" in a highly gender biased manner. Besides, if he didn't he wouldn't get re-elected; who's going to vote for a judge who earns a reputation for "being hard on women" in his court room? Of course, being hard on someone is usually just holding them accountable for their actions.

As a previous poster stated, "in custody disputes less than three percent of fathers win custody of the children. Joint custody is also only ordered less than five percent of the time. This means that ninety two percent of the time sole custody is awarded to the mother". These are accurate statistics.

This sad state of affairs is contrary to the 14th amendment of the US Constitution, which states:Section 1. ... No state shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any state deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.

The constitutional question is the issue of priority of the phrases "equal protection" or "protection of the laws".

The Civil Rights Act of 1964 is based on the idea that that the "equal protection" of the citizens is the key value though worth of protection by the framers of the Constitution, such that to comply with this section laws must be passed that protect people equally, without respect to "race, color, religion, or national origin" (Civil Rights Act of 1964, Title VII).

The only thing missing here is gender. This was added to the Civil Rights Act of 1991: (Sec. 107(a)In general. [This subsection amends section 703 of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (42 U.S.C. 2000e-2) by adding a new subsection (m), clarifying the prohibition against consideration of race, color, religion, sex, or national origin in employment practices.]

It is clear that in a just society "equal protection" should extend to all citizens.

Judges at the family court level don't make case law, they have to follow it, but they have a lot of room for discretion. The fundamental problem with the system is that, since these judges hold elective office, they have to worry about their public image in order to be re-elected. So as a general rule, they aren't going to be hard on women. And they really don't care about their image with men because the men don't band together like woman do and organize to redress such social injustices, they just bow their heads in disbelief and go back to work to try to earn all the money they have been ordered to pay.

On the bright side, they get to look forward to seeing their children for perhaps 1 day in a 2 week period, and that only if the mother allows it to happen, because judges won't punish a mother for failing to allow visitation. What can he do, put her in jail? (No: the children would be vulnerable); assess a fine? (No: the children might be hurt). But if the father fails to pay child support, well, now the judge can fine him without hurting the children, or throw him in jail (the children are safe with their mother).

The crazy thing is that most people in our society are completely unaware of how skewed the system is until they get chewed up and spit out by it. Female divorcees don't see it as a biased system because they are on the receiving side of the equation, and who wants to kill the goose that's laying golden eggs? And fathers who haven't yet had their children kidnapped from them tend to adopt the same line as do the women: that if divorced fathers don't have access to their children it must be due to their own actions, such as failing to pay their child support.

The only solution that truly is in "the best interests of the children" is a legislated default presumption of joint custody upon divorce. If one parent is unfit then the other side must prove it beyond a reasonable doubt before that parents rights to one-half of the parenting time can be taken away. If one parent is unable to keep the children for one half of the time, then the parenting time would be determined by negotiation.

Finally, custodial parents' failure to cooperate with (allow) visitation is more damaging to childrens lives than non-custodial parents' failing to pay child support dollars. Any discussion of "child support enforcement" must include equal discussion of "parenting time enforcement". And failure to cooperate with parenting time should require forfeiture of support money to the father. Anything else is "unequal protection".



Children need two parents, not one parent with a financial entitlement from the absent parent (absent by court order). It is paradoxical that social commentators deplore the modern crisis of "single parent families", when many if not most of these families have only one involved parent because that parent asked a judge for custody, and she gets it, and the father's parental role is then severely minimalized if not virtually terminated by the judge, especially if the mother then chooses to move away or out-of-state.

Single parent families are indeed a social crisis in America, but it's an artificial crisis created by elected politicians who promise things before election day but lack the guts to pass meaningful and fair family laws when actually in office (because there is no upside in it for their careers), and by judges who face re-election and who have limited legal options (due to lack of better guidance from the legislature) but who will never stick their neck out for fathers because there is no upside in it for their careers.

Certainly the right to spend as much time as you want with your children is a fundamental privilege or right as a human being. The US Constitution prohibits states from "abridge[ing] the privileges ... of citizens ...". Surely fathers privileges to parenting their children are being severely abridged by modern family court practice!

Children and our future society are paying for this "family law" folly that ejects fathers from their families, and the damage will continue for generations. "You reap what you sow..."

[sad]

Weller was not my judge, but the one that wasdid nothing but harm and fiancially displace my children.I have no idea how we made it all those yearsdue to his horrible judgement and non-enforcemnent of his own orders. The Washoe County family court reform hopefully begins dueto the loss of Charla. Bless and pray for thosechildren...omg how horrible a fate to face...andif anything, reform and make the family courtsfor the children. Hopefully, like accountantsmust speak the truth in a court of law, lawyerswill be forced to tell the truth, instead ofpolish their fictional horror stories so thatthe judges can actually deciepher the truth instead of the inflated non-truths. I see itas a problem of good ole boys and their built insystem gone wild...the judges seem to think thatkids are like books, to be sorted and shifted atthe whim of the courts, and not for their best intersest and overall-development. Shame onthe Family Courts of Washoe County. Domesticviolence doesn't stop for the person beingpunched, until the children have come of age.

Family court needs so much help to make them fair, able to really study the situation, andnot by quick/slick attorneys that have no ideawhat the kids will/are going through.

Family Court, go to school now, the bell,sadly, tragically, has rung, and the judges are late.

[querry]

I know Chuck Weller to be a gentleman. I think most people living at Reno have seen him around downtown Reno. He always shows up at events and he is mild and mannered. The fact that he has been shot and nearly killed is just devastating to me.

But we live in a different age. People are often disenfranchised or simply not included. No matter how you spell it ..it spells trouble.

This matter of fact system of trial courts and lawyers and judges is simply not working. I for one don't like the principals they work with. It just seems more like a crap shoot than justice.

When issues like miranda rights mean more than the actual crime... get real...we are living with corruption as the new knowledge. The light of fraud as the justice of the mob. It doesn't matter who is right or honest...what matters is...Who is in the majority...

[Thankful]

The first time I met Judge Weller was in a "mediation" type setting. When I left I honestly thought he must have been beaten as a child and put in the closet by his Mother. Now I have learned the real truth which is it doesn’t matter if you are male of female-it matters who your lawyer is and if there is a personal interest involved. What Judge comes in and says "I’ve made a decision" before hearing any witnesses?? Read the transcripts people from some of his cases, IT HAPPENS! Unless you have dealt w/ Judge Weller yourself, you've been in his courtroom, and have experienced him as a Judge your comments have no value. His behavior is UNBELIEVABLE, as a Judge (I don’t care what type of guy he is out side of the courtroom) He is a sorry excuse of a Judge and has no business being in the position to ruin people’s lives.

I am surprised this didn’t happen sooner. I would love to have Darren's address so I can send him a Thank You card. He has brought Judge Weller's behavior out into the open, and its just too bad he had to be shot to get people to pay attention.

[lara]

I understand we all have different opinions based on our history with Judge Weller, but I believe that when things do not go our way, we tend to look to place the blame on someone other than ourselves. I realize that this is not always the case, but it is more often than not. I know I have been guilty. For years, I had been trying to prove that my ex-husband was drinking himself into oblivion with our son in his house, and I was treated like the "bitter ex-wife". My ex came across so gentlemanly that nobody believed me, especially since I am very assertive and outspoken. When Judge Weller took over our case, not only did my ex hang himself in regards to his alcoholism, come to find out he was doing meth as well. In fact, after he was ordered by Weller to take a drug test, not only did he fail his drug test, he showed up intoxicated!! Please understand, during our hearing, he laid into both of us for not following our previous order stipulations, but in the end he threatened to take custody from my ex if he did not get his act in gear. Even so, my ex still cannot get it together. But at least Judge Weller recognized my ex's problem when Judge Jordan and Judge McGee(who was struggling from alcoholism as well)refused to address the issue. I am not saying everybody's experience was pleasant, and I was certainly afraid too, but my case finally was heard after all these years of falling on deaf (judges) ears. It saddens me that someone so bitter would resort to killing his estranged wife and attempt to murder a judge over divorce. There is a saying..."Criminal court brings out the best in the worst people...and family court brings out the worst in the best people." God Bless.

[lara]

One last note...anybody who posts comments praising Darren Mack for shooting Judge Weller is heartless and cruel. It seems to me that if you favor this type of primitive behavior, I can see why your hearings probably went so poorly before Judge Weller. We may not like everybody we encounter for one reason or another, but what gives us the right to attempt to kill them? Imagine what his family is going through right now. Imagine what you would be going through if I shot one of your loved ones because they did not support my point of view. Those of you who are Thankful are no different than Darren Mack.

[Curious]

A divorce and bankrupcy are blips on the radar screen of life. They can be overcome. Death is final. Murder should NEVER be tolerated.

Amen, lara!

[Mark]

Though the court administrator cites that there are risks to solving problems, in my experience, the feminist family court actually creates problems for the family, especially the father and children.

When a divorce industry employee experiences wrong doing, I develop Sympathy Deficit Disorder.

I disagree with violence as a reaction.

Read about how family court treats our fathers at:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fathers_rights

Or visit your county's family court one morning, Monday through Wednesday. It's free and you do not need reservations.

A man is foolish to consider marriage today because of these of family court.

Blessings,

[wildoldwest]

I have known Chuck Weller on a proffesional level for almost 20 years. I was a foster parent for many years and have witnessed the family court throughout the years. The Judges are bound by laws, that thankfully are changing, and they also are continually in a position of trying to sort out the truth. No Judge wants to make a decision that puts a child into the hands of an abusive parent. I have been before Charles McGee and Scott Jordan many times as well. I did not always agree with their rulings with my knowledge of the situation and my heart, but I could step back and understand their decision. It can be very hard, when emotions are involved, to have a clear prospective.Chuck Weller represented a foster child and I in a custody battle with an abusive father that she did not want to be forced to live with. During this time I cane to know him as an excellent attorney and a very caring person especially when it came to the children caught up in "the system". I can say without a doubt that he is very concerned about each and every case he hears. He is a very caring and giving person. He wanted this position so he could make the family court work better for the children and their families.One last thought, when you are splitting up a family, it will never be a win, win situation. Children need to feel loved and accepted. They are part of their father and their mother. When you trash the other parent (deserving or not) you are trashing your child's self-worth. If we truly think of our children first, perhaps we won't have to go down such a bitter road of distruction.Love and Peace to the Weller and the Mack families.

[angry as hell]

At six, I was taken from a wonderfull father and given over to an irresponsible mother by one of Chuck Wellers predecessors, judge Clark Guild. As a predictable result, I suffered a childhood of abuse and deprivation. My sympathies go to Mr. Mack; I have no sympathy for the likes of Chuck Weller.When there is no reasonable recourse to corrupt divorce judges, violence will reasonably result.

[querry]

Ok ...Why is no one even considering the issue of Darren Mack and his third generation business. Why is no one even relating to the idea that trial courts are a failure....just rife with corruption. How can you get up and say..."Its the best we have" and leave it at that.

I have been studying Mack's website at ebay and while fragil it is getting sales. Sales that were no doubt disrupted by this recent court action.

Come on people we need to evolve and grow. The only hope we have is realize our failures and grow. I see it in my head... "What do we get" "Freedom of Speech" ..."What do we get" "The Right to Bear Arms"....and so on.

In many ways this whole episode is not about Darren Mack or even Chuck Weller...in many ways its about we the people and the protections we established so long ago. Violent Protections.

Believe me this situation is not going away. We are seeing it repeated ever more frequently. Our society is fagile ... look at what we have done ...we changed the fabric of reality in our own time...now we face a corrupt legal system.

The only way to avoid the horror of the day is to realize and correct...develop and grow.

[Cobalt Shiva]

"Mack, from what I can discover, was a decent guy when times were good. Can't speak to his state of mind when times were bad."

The true measure of a man's character is how he acts in times of adversity. By that standard, Darren Mack is a shitbird.

[Cobalt Shiva]

And "Nevadans for Equal Parenting" have disabled their website and taken down their blog.

Cowards.

[Tripwire]

What the hell did they expect, If your going to brutalize someone, kidnap their kids, extort money and torture you with arrogance and iron fascist rule with no accountability FOR 18 OR MORE YEARS. It would be more humane to offer a quick paid in full option like lethal injection then to suffer the rule of these mass murders in black robes. It is not a court of Law and should be put out of business and they know it. DON'T GO DON'T PAY and all the Nazis will starve the lawyers ,judges, social workers, psychologist, Div of child support, DHS, . or then again they may round us up and hold us in barbed wire complexes till we break.....GO USA

[averageguy]

To demesq: Wow! What an ego trip you're on! Every once in awhile we poor average people run across someone like you who is convinced that he is our intellectual superior, he is never wrong, and he is incapable of speaking anything but the absolute truth --everyone else is beneath you, aren't they? Well, too bad. I have as much education, legal, and life experience as you do, but I would never presume to tell others that my opinions are superior to theirs. You are in dire need of being taken down a notch or two.

[querry]

Since when does education have anything to do with this situation? Its probably education that got us into this situation. A man and a really good one has been shot. Another man probably just as good is facing capital murder charges.

I cannot believe he shot his wife. He will die for that one.

Either way the system is corrupt and "It the best we can do" just ain't cuttin it.

We need a new system... I suggest a forum of people with no education and no life experience and no intelect...just to show you there is no patent to knowledge and wisdom.

[Curious]

For some insight on a relationship gone very, very wrong, here's an article on Darrren & Charla's last year. So sad!

http://news.rgj.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060614/NEWS10/606140341/1002

From the article, I can't see anything wrong with Chuck Weller's decisions in this case.

[anonymous]

Nevadans for Equal Parenting are angry, bitter, emotional parents who are not willing to compromise with the CPs. It's kind of scary that they think posting slanderous statements about local officials is politically correct and I feel sad for those who join their cause without considering how the fighting is affecting these kids they claim to love so much. Good luck.

[DB]

The article is very one-sided, just like the courtroom can be.

I never knew the two. I don't care to bash either. The story is very much "she said;" doesn't look like what 'he said' mattered much.

Think for a moment:

Why does an unemployed person need to live in a $1,000,000 home?Why does that person require $10,000 per month to live? (especially when the other person is already ordered to pay all her expenses)Why does that person have no work experience? Married at 30, did she never work?

If another situation had presented itself- the business going under or him dying, she would have gone out and found work.

Just for marrying someone, we are not owed a standard of living for the rest of our lives.

We should all take some pride in earning our own way.

When a marriage fails, we each need to take responsibility for it and our futures.

How does anyone know where Darren was going on those weekends? Was he being followed?

The articles displays much inequity.

And, no I'm not a guy. But someone who has taken part in the Family Court system and didn't like what I saw.

The garbage that goes on there only serves to perpetuate animosity, does nothing to help families, and is nothing more than job security for the self-proclaimed gods who make decision that affect peoples' LIVES.

Like I said before:

Something had to give. Something has to change.

[anonymous]

It figures that the NEP took their site down.. they are truly a bunch of spineless, emotional, mostly men who just want the need to feel vindicated.

my Husband, who has battled for his Daughter for almost 17 years, went to a meeting with them and walked out of there feeling dirty, and disappointed with their 'cause'.

He and I both met with them.. they didn't want to 'change' things, they wanted validation and to commiserate.

So, Darren Mack was a member, huh? Great representative, NEP. Hope you're happy with the results. I told you a few years back something like this would happen, didn't I?

[anonymous]

I gotta say that there would be no NEED for judges to make decisions for these people IF the people would get it together, grow up and STOP fighting about their minor children.

Do you all think the judges WANT to make decisions for little kids that they don't even know? They don't. They do it because the parents are way too busy trying to control everything and ignoring those kids who they claim to love sooo much.

Come on people. Stop blaming the judges - blame yourselves.. Grow up.