This is what is wrong with our court system today and why so many children end up neglected and become part of the system instead of the solution. I am talking about an ubsurd decision rendered yesterday by the Stafford County Juvenile Court, Judge Dalton. He gave us all the opinion his decision was rendered based upon his desire to go home early on a Friday afternoon rather than reviewing the facts in the case. My son and his fiance, Tina, split after a 13 year relationship, and have a 3 year old daughter together. Tina had recently quit a $40K, plus bonus, salary job so she could claim she was in poverty and wanted to move to Tucson, AZ. She claimed it was also to be near her parents, but she recently rekindled a relationship in Tucson with a former lover and ex-convict, though she denies this. My son has a journal she wrote admitting to this. Additionally, she had stated to several people, including the attorneys in this case, that with or without her daughter, she was moving to AZ immediately after the court hearing. Is this a rational decision, by a woman who really is looking out for the interest of her children? She was willing to abandon her daughter, if necessary, to fulfill her own selfish desires. She did leave almost immediately after the "so-called" hearing. My son's case was to have began at 1:30 PM but the judges previous hearing ran late and my son did not get in until shortly after 3:00 PM. The previous case ran for approx 2 1/2 hours. My son was before the judge for less than 30 minutes. Judge Dalton would only listen to Tina's attorney. My son's attorney, not very competent, never spoke. The judge said he would not hear further because he had already decided. Clearly, it appeared to us, he just wanted to get home on a Friday afternoon. He ruled that this 3 year old child would be shuttled every 30 days between AZ and VA. My son's request was for joint custody, he being primary, because of Tina's instability and lack of good character. He also requested that Tina remain in VA if she wanted to share custody. This is typically the ruling made by competent judges. We had been told that Judge Dalton is known for bad decisions and primarily ruling for the mother, regardless of circumstances, as he did in this case. Our son's lawyer also told us this when he discovered who had the case. Tina quit a good paying job, and in the past 4 months, has bounced her children through 5 different residences. She has several creditors after her for non-payment, including a car loan she hasn't paid on in months and is using to get to AZ. She was evicted from one residence for failing to pay rent, lying about her income, and failing to repay a loan given to her by the friend she was living with. The loan was to pay off charges she made on my son's credit card without his knowledge, before he found out. We had witnesses and documented proof of the above, showing the mother's instability, which Judge Dalton refused to hear. We logically feel it is not in the best interest of a 3 year old child to be uprooted every 30 days and transported across the USA. Further, the judge supposedly based his decision on the poverty of the mother, yet said she would have to pay to get the child to VA, and my son would have to pay to get her to AZ. How is a woman with no credit, no job, no education, going to pay approx $600 in airfare every other month? Additionally, she is temporarily, once again no stable home environment, moving in with her parents. They live in a 3 bedroom home, the father is an alcoholic, in failing health, and Tina has 2 other children, a teenager with the ex-con, and a pre-teen whom we are unsure of the parentage. All these people in a 3 bedroom house, and supposedly with a dieing alcoholic. Is this an environment for a 3 year old? My son owns his home, has a steady well-paying job, and can provide the nurture needed for a child so young. He accepted Tina's other 2 children and raised them as his own for 13 years, taking them out of the former poverty they lived in when he met them. He is a good man, treated unfairly in an unjust judicial system. He has custody of his daughter for the first 30 days until Dec 26, when he is to make the first trip to AZ. When Tina dropped her off to him last night at 6:30, the child was wearing no coat. When my son called her to bring a coat, she refused, saying just put her in a sweater. This is a caring mother? Tina then left for AZ. Other factors in the case that concerned us, but not Judge Dalton, are the quality of education and crime rate in the community Tina will reside in Tucson, AZ. Violent & Property crime in Tucson is 7 on a scale of 10, with the USA average being 3. Stafford, VA is a 2 on the scale. The percentage of high school graduates in Tucson is 47.19% compared to 91.9% in Stafford, VA. I would challenge the court system to question any child psychologist what is best for this child in her situation.
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