Children jailed for refusing to lunch with father

[Mischief]

Michigan judge throws kids in jail because they won’t eat lunch with their dad

I'm not making a judgment on who is in the wrong here, as between the mother and the father. Maybe the mother has indeed brainwashed the kids and alienated them from their father - I don't know.

However, whatever is going on, it seems to me to be completely absurd (not to mention counterproductive) to place these kids in juvenile detention. IMO, the judge is so way off in doing so that she shouldn't be a judge.

 

[alyssasmithsweet]

This story sounds crazy!!! I am not even sure what to think.

 

[Second Summer]

That sounds like a judge on crack. I don't think I've ever heard a judge use such language, not even on TV shows.

 

[shyvas]

I'm sure that there is more to the story that we may not be aware of. I would say that it is a case of a parent being alienated which is a most serious offence. It can leave permanent scars on young children as they are literally brainwashed to thinking that one of their parents is an 'enemy' and not a parent.

If the judge did place the children into a juvenile home, she did have the right to do so. I'm quite shocked by the language that she used to address these children which are obviously most distressed by the whole situation.

 

[Mischief]

If the judge wanted to remove the children from the mother because of the harm caused by alienation, she would have placed them in the custody of the Department of Human Services, which would have placed them in an appropriate foster situation.

What she did instead was to put them in juvenile jail. She may have had the power to do so, based on their "contempt of court" for failing to obey her order to have lunch with their father, but it's unprecedented to send kids this age to juvenile detention for something like this.

I see that she has ordered them to have psych evaluations. If this contentious custody fight has been going on for years, and if the judge believes that the mother is alienating the kids from their father and brainwashing them, psych evaluations should have been done long ago.

 

[Mischief]

The power of publicity:

Judge releases 3 kids locked up for failing to meet with dad - Houston Chronicle

 

[Andy_T]

To me it seems more like a case of a judge shocked by perceived contempt of her office....

 

[RascalsMom]

What the actual ****?

 

[ledboots]

What the actual ****?

This.

Send the judge's kids to juvie because she is a jerk, how about.

 

[Katrina]

If the mother was doing something wrong then why were the kids punished. That makes no sense.

 

[AeryFairy]

However, whatever is going on, it seems to me to be completely absurd (not to mention counterproductive) to place these kids in juvenile detention. IMO, the judge is so way off in doing so that she shouldn't be a judge.

I'm sure that there is more to the story that we may not be aware of. I would say that it is a case of a parent being alienated which is a most serious offence. It can leave permanent scars on young children as they are literally brainwashed to thinking that one of their parents is an 'enemy' and not a parent.

If the mother was doing something wrong then why were the kids punished. That makes no sense.

It says in the article that the mother was encouraging the children to have a relationship with their father but they refused because the father hit the mother. There was absolutely no mention of alienation, or of the mother doing anything wrong. It also says that the judge refused to accept the accusation physical abuse without a conviction. It seems like these children don't feel safe around their father, or are justifiably angry at the person who they feel has hurt their mother, but they're being punished instead of listened to.

 

[Katrina]

There was absolutely no mention of alienation, or of the mother doing anything wrong.

In the first article, the judge says that the children were "brainwashed." In the follow-up article, we find out that "the judge blamed the mother for alienating the two boys and their younger sister from their father."

I'm curious to know if there is any real evidence of alienation, or if the judge just has her own family issues and she is taking it out on this family. I agree that the kids should be listened to.

 

[AeryFairy]

In the first article, the judge says that the children were "brainwashed." In the follow-up article, we find out that "the judge blamed the mother for alienating the two boys and their younger sister from their father."

I'm curious to know if there is any real evidence of alienation, or if the judge just has her own family issues and she is taking it out on this family. I agree that the kids should be listened to.

Ah, she did say brainwashed in that article, but it wasn't mentioned alongside anything about the mother. I didn't read a follow-up article so I didn't see that second part. I just thought the idea of brainwashing/alienation was really at odds with this part:

"The judge praised the teen’s mother for encouraging the children to have a relationship with their father"

Also, everything the judge said about the father - well respected in the community etc. - it's very typical of not-so-nice people to seem wonderful and kind and charitable. Just rings alarm bells for me.

 

[Katrina]

Also, everything the judge said about the father - well respected in the community etc. - it's very typical of not-so-nice people to seem wonderful and kind and charitable. Just rings alarm bells for me.

agree x100.

 

[Second Summer]

Yes, that's typical for psychopaths / sociopaths types.

 

[shyvas]

Yes, that's typical for psychopaths / sociopaths types.

Psychopaths manage to lure innocent people into their 'web'.

The Psychopath: The Mask of Sanity