Published: December 07, 2007 10:53 am      

MAWAD, film shows struggle of divorce, child custody cases

\PRINCETON — With tears in her eyes, a woman looked through the projector’s screen at a room full of parents Saturday and said something that made every person around the table at Princeton Public Library’s annex nod in agreement.

“If you have money, people will listen to you. If you don’t have money, the court system really sucks,” she said.

The unidentified woman is just one of the 38 people interviewed for “Support?” a film that follows the everyday issues of stress, family, struggle, and suffering that many experience on the way through Family Court systems, divorce cases and child custody battles.

The documentary trailer debuted locally during the Men and Women Against Discrimination meeting, conducted by West Virginia MAWAD Director Tim Fittro and attended by families fighting to hold onto the “sacred bond” between parents and their children.

According to MAWAD literature, the non-profit organization operates under the theme “Truth, Justice and Equality in Family Law,” and Fittro said it aims to help all family members, not just fathers, maintain their “natural, God-given and Constitutional rights” to parent their children, unless there is clear and convincing evidence they are unfit.

“All parents that are fit should share maximum exposure to their kids,” Fittro said.

That’s not the case in current Family Court practices, according to the MAWAD members and supporters present Saturday. Leaders have argued for years that divorce and custody proceedings are unfairly skewed, typically in favor of mothers; are extremely susceptible to fraudulent allegations of domestic violence and child abuse; and revolve too much on money matters and court-ordered child support, instead of a finding family focus.

Essentially, they say current laws and the family court system have created a situation that pits parents against each other and puts the children in the center of the controversy.

“Children do better when you throw away the money and when Mom, Dad and extended families are all involved and are all engaged,” Fittro said.

That’s why the organization has repeatedly pushed for a 50-50 shared parenting law that would begin all child custody negotiations with moms and dads on even ground. Both parties would then be free to negotiate a custody plan that best fits their circumstances, with the assurance that the child would have access to both parents.

In addition to the 50-50 shared parenting, MAWAD has also introduced legislation targeting:

• Mandatory consequences for visitation denial.

• Mandatory consequences for false allegations of domestic violence or child abuse.

• Open family courts and provide the information decided therein as part of public record.

Most recently, Region V Director Kevin Summers drafted a proposed bill that would actually decrease the first-offense penalties for denying court-ordered visitation from a felony to a misdemeanor, in hopes of creating a law that will be enforced. Currently, denying or knowingly interfering with a child’s court-ordered visitation with a parent is a felony, but courts rarely, if ever, charge anyone with a felony, despite the fact that it’s clearly against state code.

“If you try to conceal a child from another parent, that’s child concealment. It says so right there,” he said, pointing to a passage in the state code outlining child concealment laws. “Nobody will enforce that. Nobody.”

His proposed bill outlines a progression of penalties designed to encourage law enforcement and court officials to charge anyone who interferes with visitation.

Any person found guilty of failing to make a good faith effort to provide or return a child for visitation period, or anyone who provides false information or conceals a child to prevent visitation, shall be confined for up to 10 days and/or fined up to $100, plus possible court costs. A second conviction would increase the penalties to up to 30 days in jail and/or $100-$500 fine, plus court costs. A third conviction could result in 1-5 years behind bars, or at the discretion of the court, up to one year in confinement and/or up to a $1,000 fine, plus court costs.

“On the third offense, we’d go into a felony, because, at some point, enough is enough,” Summers said.

In addition to proposed legislation, Fittro said MAWAD was working to offer continuing education opportunities for Family Court justices. Judges must currently complete 30 hours of training every two years involving domestic relations and ethics. This time, Fittro said there are a few hours up for grabs for elective training. He’s hoping to bring Dr. Warren Farrell, the author of “Father and Child Reunion,” to the judges for sessions involving the importance of both parent in children’s lives.

Daniel Simpson was another MAWAD member on hand Saturday. His custody battle has gone on for years, and he vowed last weekend he would never stop fighting for access to his children.

“They threw common sense out the window a long time ago. I think they threw their heart out, too,” he said, later adding, “My heart’s in this for the long haul. I’ve got nothing else.”

For more information on MAWAD, visit www.mawadwv.org, or call (304) 295-0053.

— Contact Tammie Toler at ttoler@ptonline.net.