American Fathers 4Change with a mission of helping to bring awareness that by increasing the proportion of children growing up with involved, responsible, and committed fathers it will improve the well being of children.
"The man as he converses is the lover; silent, he is the husband." ~ Honore de Balzac
Welcome to new and old members alike! Our organization's focus is on REFORMING CURRENT ALIMONY LAWS IN FLORIDA with an eye on future family law issues. For any society to grow there has to be a belief system that will advance that society. ...
Judge Leonard Edwards wrote an article for the Judges Page on the National CASA website where he says that judges need to stop rubber stamping these cases and enfor...
The Miami-Dade State Attorney’s office must pay $7,645 in legal fees to a man who was wrongly accused of owing money to his ex-wife.
When his ex-wife falsely accused him of shirking on $3,632.25 in child support, Miami businessman Tony Schehtman discovered that the government had stripped him of his passport.
That sparked a lengthy legal dispute that ended in unusual fashion: a Miami-Dade judge chastised prosecutors for going along with the claim, then ordered them to pay Schehtman’s legal bills.
The judge’s unusually scathing order sanctions prosecutors and Schehtman’s ex-wife, ordering them to each pay $7,645 in legal fees. Circuit Judge Pedro Echarte, in his Jan. 8 order, called their actions “reprehensible” and “irresponsible.”
The judge said that even though Schehtman had proven he was not in arrears, the prosecutors failed to correct the wife’s claim, instead quibbling in court for months and hindering Schehtman’s ability to travel for work.
“This court finds that the State Attorney’s Office engaged in pointless litigation,” Echarte wrote.
Prosecutors have decided against asking a higher court to review the judge’s decision.
“We are not appealing the judge’s order despite a belief in the merits of our position,” said spokesman Ed Griffith.
The legal clash stems from a bitter divorce between Schehtman and former wife, Lina Maya-Schehtman. Together, they have a 6-year-old son.
Schehtman describes himself as the CEO of International Technologies Marketing, a tech sales firm focused on Latin America.
The State Attorney’s Office, through Florida’s Department of Revenue, is tasked with enforcing the payment of child support.
In December 2010, Maya-Schehtman went to the State Attorney’s Office and filed a routine sworn-affidavit alleging her ex-husband was late on child support.
Schehtman, the judge later found, filed documents with the court and prosecutors showing the affidavit was wrong. Prosecutors nevertheless “certified” the delinquent child support, reporting it through a computer system to the Florida Department of Revenue.
In Tallahassee, any “non-custodial” parent who owes more than $2,500 in back support is then automatically reported to a federal child support office, which then notifies the U.S. State Department — which then freezes the person’s passport.
Schehtman — who says he travels often to Latin American for business — did not know the document had been frozen until he went to renew his passport. He was out of work for several months, his lawyer say.
“This is one of the most egregious cases I have ever witnessed in 19 years of practicing family law,” said Schehtman’s lawyer, Jonathan Jonasz.
A slew of court hearings followed. Prosecutor Stephen Glazer told the judge that as they soon as they learned the wife was wrong, they tried to amend the affidavit. Echarte didn’t buy it.
The State Attorney Office’s said the case has sparked change in internal policy. Now, the office does not report back child support payments to Tallahassee based only on a sworn affidavit — instead, prosecutors wait for a court order.
“We acknowledge that no system is infallible,” spokesman Griffith said. “The State Attorney and her leadership team are constantly seeking ways to improve the process. This case has afforded such an opportunity.”
Schehtman has since hired San Francisco lawyer John G. Heller to explore a civil lawsuit.
“The State Attorney deprived a law-abiding citizen of a fundamental liberty: his freedom of movement,” Heller said. “We will do what it takes to make sure this never happens again.”
Excerpts from the Preamble: A Lawyer’s Responsibilities ~
“No disciplinary action should be taken when the lawyer chooses not to act or acts within bounds of such discretion…. The rules simply provide a framework for the ethical practice of law….. Violation of a rule should not give rise to a cause of action nor should it create any presumption that a legal duty has been breached…. They are not designed to be a basis for civil liability…. Accordingly, nothing in the rules should be deemed to augment any substantive legal duty of lawyers or the extra-disciplinary consequences of violating such duty.”
As one can see, these rules have very little significance in relation to the ethical conduct of members of The Florida Bar and Florida lawyers’ implied duty to the public as officers of the Court. What the rules seem to give, the preamble nullifies with a few skillfully crafted sentences carefully embedded within it. Therefore, these rules are apparently nothing more than window dressing to disguise an ugly and vile commercial industry that reaps its rewards from the miseries and misfortunes of others. The Rules of Professional Conduct appear to be a cruel hoax upon the public which gives clients a false impression that the practice of law is honorable and ethical. The Supreme Court of Florida approved every word contained in these rules. So, who do you believe the Court is really trying to protect–the client or the Florida lawyer?
If you feel the need to file an official complaint with The Florida Bar against a Florida lawyer, click here to get the official form. This form is in Adobe Acrobat Format (PDF) so almost anybody can print it using their own computer and printer. It is certainly a lot easier than getting someone at The Florida Bar to mail one to you. Use the free Adobe Acrobat Reader software to print it or any other PDF document you encounter. Download Acrobat Reader here if you do not already have it on your computer.
Before filing your complaint you should peruse the Rules of Professional Conduct and pick out the particular rules that were violated. Cite the specific rules violated in your complaint and describe how they were violated. Keep your complaint reasonably short and stay on point. Attach additional pages and copies of documents, etc. that will help illustrate the rule violations. It does no good to rant and rave even though it may feel good at the moment.
Good luck!
If you need to file a judicial complaint against a Florida judge or judicial officer clickHERE.
Dennis G. Jacobs, the chief judge of the federal appeals court in New York, is a candid man, and in a speech last year he admitted that he and his colleagues had ''a serious and secret bias.'' Perhaps unthinkingly but quite consistently, he said, judges can be counted on to rule in favor of anything that protects and empowers lawyers.
RESPONSIBLE FOR PROVIDING A FLAWED PSYCH EVALUATION TO THE HONORABLE JUDGE MARIA ESPINOSA DENNIS OF THE 11TH JUDICIAL CIRCUIT IN/FORMIAMI-DADE COUNTY, FLORIDA
Dr. Julio & Laura Vigil
Location
Therapeutic Horizons, Inc. 5803 NW 151 Street. Suite 203 Miami Lakes, FL 33014
"So live your life that the fear of death can never enter your heart. Trouble no one about their religion; respect others in their view, and demand that they respect yours. Love your life, perfect your life, beautify all things in your life. Seek to make your life long and its purpose in the service of your people. Prepare a noble death song for the day when you go over the great divide. Always give a word or a sign of salute when meeting or passing a friend, even a stranger, when in a lonely place. Show respect to all people and grovel to none. When you arise in the morning give thanks for the food and for the joy of living. If you see no reason for giving thanks, the fault lies only in yourself. Abuse no one and no thing, for abuse turns the wise ones to fools and robs the spirit of its vision. When it comes your time to die, be not like those whose hearts are filled with fear of death, so that when their time comes they weep and pray for a little more time to live their lives over again in a different way. Sing your death song and die like a hero going home." (Tecumseh).
American Fathers Liberation: ALL Men’s Rights are Human Rights. ’nuff said http://bit.ly/1JgMgEm
NewJudge.com
Fatherhood.gov
