Fatherhood in Florida by Judge Sue Robbins

WHY IS THIS A CRITICAL ISSUE?

The Florida Bar

Journal

December, 2010 Volume 84, No. 10

Fatherhood in Florida

by Judge Sue Robbins

Page 24

Florida courts have been firm in asserting that a child has only one father, and that paternal rights and responsibilities cannot be spread or shared between two or more individuals.¹ However, the reality of the law is somewhat more complex. A man may be a presumptive father, a putative father, a prospective father, or an unmarried biological father, and yet have no rights other than notice of proceedings with respect to the child. If the child is born to a woman who is married to someone other than the man in question, he may be entitled to even less.² Paternity has been distinguished from legitimacy so that the rights and duties of fatherhood can sometimes be shared, or transferred from one man to another, without disturbing the child’s legitimate status.³ A man may be proven to be the biological father of the child, but not be recognized to have any parental rights.⁴ Parents may stipulate in a dissolution of marriage case that the husband is not the father of the wife’s then unborn child. Thereafter, the father may be required to be joined as a party in a termination of parental rights case because his rights continue.⁵

This article will provide a broad overview of what it means to be a father under different statutes, and will summarize, compare, and analyze the current law of fatherhood in Florida, not only under the paternity statute itself, but also under the statutes concerning dependency, dissolution of marriage, adoption, and other statutes.⁶

Fatherhood under Ch. 39

Section 39.01(49) defines what it means to be a “parent”:

“Parent” means a woman who gives birth to a child and a man whose consent to the adoption of the child would be required under Sec. 63.062(1). If a child has been legally adopted, the term “parent” means the adoptive mother or father of the child. The term does not include an individual whose parental relationship to the child has been legally terminated, or an alleged or prospective parent, unless the parental status falls within the terms of Sec. 39.503(1) or s. 63.062(1) (emphasis added).

Section 63.062(1) enumerates those persons whose consent to the adoption of the child is required as follows:⁷

[A] petition to terminate parental rights pending adoption may be granted only if written consent has been executed as provided in Sec. 63.082 after the birth of the minor or notice has been served under Sec. 63.088 to ...

(b) The father of the minor, if:

1. The minor was conceived or born while the father was married to the mother;

2. The minor is his child by adoption;

3. The minor has been adjudicated by the court to be his child by the date a petition is filed for termination of parental rights;

The "preponderance of the evidence" standard of proof.

Over at Minding the Campus, Brooklyn College Professor KC Johnson highlights a shocking c-ville (Charlottesville, Va.) 

interview with Wendy Murphy, discredited media pundit and adjunct professor of law at New England Law.

Johnson takes issue with the interviewer’s dereliction of duty, failing to note Murphy’s history of "repeatedly [making] false statements of fact about the [Duke lacrosse] case … coupled with myriad unsubstantiated claims and bizarre interpretations of law" with respect to the Duke lacrosse scandal in which Duke lacrosse players were falsely accused of rape and later exonerated.

Johnson also highlights this shockingly incorrect statement of law by Murphy, commenting on the April 4, 2011 "Dear Colleague Letter" and the "preponderance of the evidence" standard of proof:

[In one case, d]espite finding [an accuser’s testimony] "credible and compelling," a panel ruled in favor of the accused, said Murphy. And that’s a problem.

"The preponderance standard is simple," Murphy said. "When [an accuser’s] accusations are deemed credible, and [a defendant’s] denials are not described with the same glowing terminology, [the accuser] wins."

As Johnson notes, Murphy is essentially arguing that "a failure to convict amounts to an OCR violation." Johnson writes that "[f]or the OCR even to consider [Murphy’s] absurd claim would be highly problematic."

Have you been mistreated by the Judicial System?

Miami, Florida Fontainebleau Miami Beach Miami beach, fl Downtown Miami Mi Familia Vota - Florida Class Action Against Utah Family Law Corruption - Our Children Have a Voice Troxel v. Granville
Posted by American Fathers Liberation Army on Thursday, August 20, 2015

~~ Color of Law and Other Laws ~~

FLORIDA A SYSTEM OF INJUSTICE COMPLAINT APPLICATION

Florida- A System of Injustice

Dear Attorney General of the United States

Please Hear My Cry!

A SYSTEM OF INJUSTICE

• WHAT TYPE OF CASE: FAMILY □ HOUSING □ CIVIL □ CRIMINAL □ SMALL CLAIMS □ APPELLATE □ SUPREME □

  
  

  DO YOU BELIEVE YOUR COURT FILES WERE TAMPERED WITH BY CLERKS/JUDGES? YES □ NO □

  
  

  IF MORE THAN ONE OFFICE FILL OUT SEPARATE APPLICATION FOR EACH COMPLAINT

  
  

  NAME: ___________________________________________________________________ DATE: ________________________

  ADDRESS: _______________________________________________________________________________________________

  
  

  PHONE:

  
  

  EMAIL: ______________________________________________

  
  

  WERE YOU ARRESTED?

  
  

  DATE YOU WERE ARRESTED: ____________ 

  
  

  DATE YOU WERE CONVICTED: ______________

  COURT LOCATION: ______________________________________________ JUDGE: _________________________________

  
  

  NAME OF PROSECUTOR:

  
  

  DID YOU HAVE AN ATTORNEY? __________

  
  

  NAME OF YOUR ATTORNEY:

  
  

  WAS THIS A PUBLIC DEFENDER?________

  
  

  WHAT WAS THE OUTCOME OF YOUR CASE: ____________

  
  

  _

  
  

  IF DCF CASE, WERE YOUR CHILD(REN) TAKEN AWAY? 

  
  

  HOW MANY CHILDREN? ________

  IF CHILD SUPPORT CASE, DID DSS AND ATTORNEY GENERAL’S OFFICE REPRESENT THE OTHER SIDE? ________

  WHERE DO YOU BELIEVE THE MISCONDUCT STARTED: POLICE _____ PROSECUTOR______ JUDGE________OTHER __________

  WHAT HAPPENED? WHY DO YOU BELIEVE THE STATE OF CONNECTICUT JUDICIAL SYSTEM MISTREATED YOU?

  __________________________________________________________________________________________________________

  __________________________________________________________________________________________________________

  __________________________________________________________________________________________________________

  __________________________________________________________________________________________________________

  DID YOU REPORT THE MISCONDUCT? ____________ IF SO, TO WHOM? ______________________________________

  WAS THE PERSON REPRIMANDED? __________ IF SO, HOW? _________________________________________________

  (Use additional sheet if necessary)

  DO YOU BELIEVE YOUR STATE AND/OR FEDERAL CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHTS WERE VIOLATED? YES □ NO □ DON’T KNOW □

  
  

  I attest under penalty of perjury that my statements are true to the best of my knowledge.

  
  

  ______________________________________

  Signature

  
  

  Mail to: The Attorney General of the United States, Dept. of Justice Rm. 4400, 950 Pennsylvania Ave. N.W,Washington, DC 20530-0001 - Fax no. 202-307-6777 Email: Askdoj@usdoj.gov 

  (Keep a copy for your records)

NOT A LAWYER ----LEGAL STTEMENT -----NOT an Attorney, Lawyer, Juris Doctor, Barrister, Solicitor...you get the idea. NO legal advice on this entire blog and this site is for information only. Nothing here should be construed as legal advice. While we find the information here interesting, we may not be in agreement with everything. The SOLE opinion of posts are for education purposes ONLY.

Please voice your opinion on your experiences, evidence, nightmare, and documentation!

This site is for information only. Nothing here should be construed as legal advice. While we find the information here interesting, we may not be in agreement with everything. Nothing should be taken as fact without verification.

Family Courts give power over you to someone that hates you.

The Family Court System

Sometimes hostile people will be vindictive enough to file false allegations of child abuse. With this going on the child suffers because the parent only filed false allegations to get the upper hand. Maybe they just want to get even with the other parent, step parent and sometimes other family members. In some cases abuse does occur. But in these cases that many of us have to deal with one of the parents will lie in court about child abuse. Sometimes even sexual child abuse.

The hostile parent will not lie only once but many times because they can get away with it. The court system should make these parents accountable for their bad actions. There should be at least a fine to pay, loss of custody, or even possible jail time.

Lying about abuse isn't okay it's perjury and it's wrong. It's also a form of using the child as a pawn in a selfish game some parents play. The law should uphold the law and keep people accountable when they lie about child abuse and lie in court papers.

Children shouldn't be used as a pawn to hurt others. They shouldn't be caught up in a lie made by their parents. Children should be love and not used.

Please start keeping parents accountable.

WHY IS THIS A CRITICAL ISSUE?

Just hearing the words child support sparks an emotional response. Fathers who feel like the rules are more about the paycheck than the parenting, mothers who say they cant live on what they have.

Facebook.com/AmericanFathers

In general, the perception is, its unfairly biased against men in the state of Massachusetts, says John Ollen of Marthas Vineyard.