Criminal Justice ... in Family Court

Anyone doubting that Massachusetts divorce courts have become feminist revolutionary war tribunals should talk to Mike Metrick. He received his divorce sentence Dec. 3 from honorable Judge Eileen Shaevel, one of the feminista commissars masquerading as a judge in Dedham Probate and Family Kangaroo Court.

As payment for his patriarchal crimes — providing for his family and loving his three children — Metrick got the full treatment. Equitable distribution of family property? Shaevel evidently believes that it is equitable for divorcing women to get all of the family property, because that’s exactly what she gave Patricia, Metrick's ex.

Shaevel’s failure to address the facts of Metrick’s income presented at the two-day trial can probably be attributed to that habit of judges to merely rely on the wife’s proposed findings of facts to write their judgments. Why bother to pay attention during the trial when the outcome is pre-determined and the wife’s attorney can be counted on to provide the facts? At least Metrick didn’t catch Shaevel pulling a Rotman: nodding off during his testimony.

If Shaevel had been conscious as well as awake, she might’ve grasped that Metrick earned $20,000 from his appliance repair business last year, not $45,000 as her findings claim. Even this modest amount is considerably more than the $13,000 he earned in 1996. The poor earnings are due to the criminalization process of the divorce that practically destroyed the business. Metrick did everything in his power to save it, and the turnaround last year enabled him to stay one step ahead of the vultures.

Nothing in the record supports the $45,000 finding. With an increased child support burden based on this virtual income, Metrick is again contemplating bankruptcy.

These are some of the financial penalties imposed on Metrick. But here’s the worst: the theft of Metrick’s children is now officially sanctified.

Metrick first lost access to his three boys (Richard, 7, Jonathan, 6, and Gregory, 3) via a 209A restraining order in October '95 resulting from an argument with his ex (no physical violence was alleged). Nonetheless, this led to Mike's illegal incarceration in Southwood Hospital for over two weeks, and a 6 month 209A issued at the ten-day hearing.

The divorce process was initiated by Patricia Metrick three months later. Soon after, Metrick was allowed supervised visitation (by a relative of Patricia) to allow "slow reintegration of the father with the children." Eventually, when the court would not allow normal visitation, all access ended.

The GAL recommended all contact be suspended. The final sentence included a permanent restraining order in accordance with the GAL's recommendation.

Metrick's boys are being held ransom, to extort more money from him that he does not have. If Metrick wants to see his children, he has to pay to play: enter a batterers intervention program, successfully graduate, and then he may be permitted to pay to visit with his children at a supervised visitation center.

Ironically, unnamed sources within the legal community claim that Shaevel is one of the state's better judges — but only until there are abuse allegations; then, "She loses it." Shaevel stated in a judicial seminar in 1996 that she believes 98 percent of 209A orders are valid.

Mike must be a terrible man. But no; he’s another victim of the abuse industry that manufactures female victims faster than McDonalds fries burgers. According to Metrick, the only violence between he and his ex is some shoving that happened during their 8-year marriage.

To look into Metrick’s eyes is to understand the pain that he bears. The look is unmistakable to anyone who has lost their children and been criminalized by the domestic abuse witchhunt.

Divorce court is the single most destructive element of the post-feminist world. Destroy men. Destroy father-child relationships. Destroy children. Destroy wealth. These are the poisonous spoils of the War on Fatherhood.

What is going through the minds of Richard, Jonathan and Gregory? How is their father’s absence explained? What are their subconscious minds creating to repair the damage and explain the unexplainable? Their dad, ... their Dad ...., can no longer see them? Are they being told that he doesn’t want to see them?

Shaevel’s judgment is an absolute disgrace. With no money to hire counsel, Metrick will now do what so many other fathers are forced to do: learn the legal system himself in order to survive. In the meantime, like so many other victims of the gender war, he will have to learn creative ways to survive.

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Silly Dad, courts are for Moms

During the holiday season court dockets fill with emergency motions as divorcing parents wrestle over visitation issues. Rick Charron of North Adams is now in the perilous temporary orders stage of his family breakup. Abuse allegations against him are flying.

Charron is the father of two boys Alex and Chris, aged 8 and 3. On Christmas Eve, Charron's emergency order for expanded visitation time over the holidays was heard in Berkshire Probate & Family Court before Judge Edward Lapointe.

The current order provides for only three hours on Wednesdays and Fridays. In June, Rick filed a motion to expand this. Acting pro se, he served his ex's attorney, John F. McLaughlin, Jr. of Pittsfield, according to the proper rules of the court. According to Charron, McLaughlin told him that he wouldn't accept legal paperwork from him and didn't have to answer anything served by him, only from Charron's former attorney. Consequently, Charron's motion was granted without opposition.

Later, Charron discovered that the visitation extension order had been vacated after McLaughlin filed a motion to have Charron's motion rescinded because he (McLaughlin) was not duly noticed. To add insult to injury, Charron wasn't notified of McLaughlin's motion to rescind, and with no knowledge of the hearing, didn't appear to oppose it.

Charron should have known better. At the close of the hearing, Judge Lapointe stated he would issue an order by 1pm, holding out hope that he might grant the request for extended time.

Rick has learned to take disappointment in stride by now, but he was shocked to discover that Lapointe's ruling not only denied his request completely, letting stand the three hours on Friday, but he also took the opportunity to grant an request by McLaughlin to establish a January 22 pre-trial date for the divorce.

When will these dads learn?

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Is it time to replace those antiquated slogans of dead, white male, vertical thinkers carved above the entrances of the state's courts? We're entering a new millennium, how about something more appropriate to our era? Here's a suggestion:

"Death to the patriarchal insects that prey on the lives of womyn!".

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