NH Supreme Court Case Decision In The Matter Of James J Miller and Janet S Todd – An Important Decision On Custody

THE SUPREME COURT OF NEW HAMPSHIRE

___________________________

Portsmouth Family Division

No. 2009-806

IN THE MATTER OF JAMES J. MILLER AND JANET S. TODD

Argued: November 17, 2010

Opinion Issued: March 31, 2011

Law Office of Joshua L. Gordon, of Concord (Joshua L. Gordon on the

brief and orally), for the petitioner.

John P. Carr, of Hingham, Massachusetts, and Elizabeth B. Olcott, of

Concord, on the brief, and Mr. Carr orally, for the respondent.

HICKS, J. The petitioner, James J. Miller, currently a resident of New

York, appeals an order of the Portsmouth Family Division (DeVries, J.),

recommended by the Master (Cross, M.), requiring the parties’ two minor

daughters to continue to live primarily with the respondent, Janet S. Todd, in

New Hampshire. We vacate and remand.

We have reviewed the extensive record in this case and set forth the facts

most relevant to the issues on appeal. Miller and Todd met in 1999 over the

internet and established a relationship. At that time, Miller lived in Michigan

and Todd lived in New Hampshire. Although they never married, their

relationship produced two daughters, Laurel born in 2002 and Lindsay born in

2003. During 2002 and 2003, the parties spent some time living together in

Michigan, Todd and the children spent some time alone in New Hampshire

living with Todd’s parents, and the parties all spent some time together at

Todd’s parents’ house in New Hampshire.

Toward the end of 2003, the parties’ relationship broke down. On

December 23, 2003, Miller obtained an ex parte order in the circuit court in

Michigan granting him sole temporary legal and physical custody of his

daughters. That same day, Todd took the children to her parents’ home in

Hampton, New Hampshire. On January 6, 2004, Todd was served with the

Michigan custody order. On January 15, the Rockingham County Superior

Court, in response to Miller’s petition for enforcement of the Michigan custody

decree, ordered Todd to appear at a hearing and on January 26, the trial court

ordered Todd to bring the children to Miller within twenty-four hours for the

purpose of transferring custody to him.

NH Court Overturns Custody Order - An Important Supreme Court Decision On Child Custody In NH (From The Nashua Telegraph)

NH court overturns custody order

Thursday, March 31, 2011

CONCORD - A Portsmouth Family Court Judge was wrong to award custody of two children to a New Hampshire woman who may have coached them to accuse their father of sexual abuse, the Supreme Court ruled Thursday.

In a unanimous ruling written by Justice Gary Hicks, the high court ordered Portsmouth Family Division Judge Sharon DeVries to reconsider the case of James J. Miller and Janet S. Todd.

Miller, who now lives in New York, and Todd, who lives in New Hampshire, had struck up a relationship in 1999, after meeting online. They lived together for a time in both Michigan and New Hampshire, and had two daughters.

See the court's ruling attached, or on the court's website:

www.courts.state.nh.us/supreme/opinions/index.htm

COMMENTS POSTED ON THE NASHUA TELEGRAPH WEBSITE:

Judge Kelly: Impeachment Probe Would Undermine NH Justice System - From The Website Of The NH Bar Association

Judge Kelly: Impeachment Probe Would Undermine NH Justice System
The following is an excerpt of the testimony provided by Hon. Edwin W. Kelly, Administrative Judge of the District Court and the Family Division at a Feb. 22 hearing of the NH House Judiciary Committee. He was commenting on HR 7, which directed the committee to investigate whether grounds exist to impeach marital master Phillip Cross and/or any justice of the New Hampshire superior court.

NH House investigating impeaching marital master - From The Website Of The Washington Examiner

NH House investigating impeaching marital master

By: The Associated Press 03/16/11 4:01 PM
The Associated Press

New Hampshire's House plans to investigate whether grounds exist to impeach a marital master, a court officer that handles family court cases.

The House voted 242-105 Wednesday to adopt a resolution giving its Judiciary Committee power to conduct the investigation and report back to the House. Supporters argue a series of complaints against Master Phillip Cross merit the expense of investigating further.

Opponents said the allegations arise out of three contentious divorce proceedings and have been shown to be untrue or mischaracterizations.

Marital masters are officers of the court that handle family court cases.

If You Know Of Any Attorneys Anywhere In The Country That Specialize In Helping Clients Deal With Parental Alienation Please Forward Your Information.

 A recent email was sent to this blog asking if we knew of any attorney’s in Maine that can deal with the dysfunctional family court system there and PAS issues.  The writer has lost their children to PAS and like many of us desperately needs to find a good PAS attorney to help them navigate through the system.  Anyone that can provide information on good PAS attorneys in Maine, NH or any other state, please forward your information to nh.unethical.attorney@gmail.com.  I will post their information as a resource.  If I get enough names, I will publish a page dedicated to PAS attorneys. 

Thank you for your support. 

People That Don't Feel Parental Alienation Syndrome Exist Need To Go To The Blog "The Angry Daughter - PAS Parental Alienation Syndrome"

During some recent research on PAS I came across a blog called "The Angry Daughter - PAS Parental Alienation Syndrome"

You really need to read this blog so that you can see just how PAS can effect a person well into there adult life.  I have to praise the Angry Daughter coming forward with her story. 

In the Angry Daughter's blog description she writes, "This blog is about my childhood dealing with PAS Parental Alienation Syndrome cause by my mother. I am 32 years old now & it still effects my life. To those who say there is no such thing you have no clue what you are talking about or maybe you don't want it to be recognized because you are the one's doing it to your kids. My heart aches for those children that get caught in the middle & are treated like a weapon against their other parent." 

The angry daughter's story is very real.  The following is a poem that she wrote and posted. 

Tuesday, 5 February, 2008

Poem To My Mother (From the Angry Daughter)

When you look in the mirror,
Who do you see?

Is it the person you want to be?
Or is it some one whom you do not know.

All of these lies that you know are not so.
Created from hatred revenge & spite.
Why do you bother you have lost this fight...

I have told you time & time again.
I will not rest until the vary end.

Rising above all that is untrue you have told.
Tearing down your lies with every thing that I hold.

I will not be silenced,
I will scream it from afar.

A stronger person I will always be.
For I had to live with a mother like she...

 

 

______________________________________________________

So with this said, please think about what you say to your children about their other parent. 

Parental Alienation Syndrome: What Do You Do When Your Child Stops Seeing You as Mom or Dad?

I recently came across this article on what to do when your child stops seeing you as mom or dad.  This was of personal interest to me. 

As you may recall from one of my recent posts, while speaking with my eleven year old son recently, he said to me that I wasn't a father to him and that I never really was a father to him.  Reading this article made me realize just what is going on in the minds of a child that has been alienated. 

As the article states, "PAS is not a situation that can be managed or controlled. An alienated parent is powerless without successful family therapy or court orders designed to repair the parent/child relationship. All this parent can realistically do is reinforce positive messages to the child—“I love you. I’m still your mother/father. I will always be here for you.” The parent should try and remain calm. He or she shouldn’t raise his or her voice or use force." 

While I feel that this is sound advice, it comes back to the same problem that many of us alienated parents deal with on a regular basis.  We don't have the resources to deal with these issues in court.  I personally was tapped out by my ex-wife and her scheming litigation attorney Jaye Rancourt of BCLI.  Unethical attorney's like Rancourt will try to make you spend all of your money defending yourself.  They are looking to destroy you and break the bank.  Once the bank is broken, if you had an attorney, they will leave you since you no longer have any money.  Watch out for this.  If you go up against Rancourt, this is her method of operation.  Hit hard and destroy the defenders ability to fight back.  She will do this at the expense of your children.  What does this say about Rancourt's ethics as an attorney?

Read the article and let me know what you think. 
_______________________________________
Parental Alienation Syndrome: What Do You Do When Your Child Stops Seeing You as Mom or Dad?
Children’s Voice Magazine, July/August 2004

Imagine observing a normal, healthy, loving parent/child relationship one week, and watching the child profess to hate, refuse to see, or speak with the parent the following week. Mental health professionals can certainly identify inappropriate anger or immaturity issues in children. But just like doctors in the 1970s recognized flu-like symp­toms—fever, headaches, nausea and vomiting—without understanding that their patient had AIDS, many mental health professionals recognize Parental Alienation Syndrome (PAS) symptoms without understanding what drives the alienating parent and child’s behavior.

Testimony of Stevan Gressitt, M.D. On January 17th 2006 To "Committee On Children and Family Law" Again Gives Disturbing Account Of Issues With The NH Family Court System

I came across the second of Doctor Stevan Gressitt's testimonies on the NH Commission On The Status Of Men website at http://www.nh.gov/csm/pas_gressit.html.  This was testimony given in support of a 2005 house bill.  If you read the testimony, you will see that Dr. Gressitt identifies lots of issues with the family court system in NH.  Dr. Gressitt outlines how the current court system encourages parental alienation.  This testimony was given almost six years ago and today the same problems exist with the NH family courts.  Nothing has changed. 

_____________________________________________________________________________
Testimony in Support of HB 1585

Stevan Gressitt, M.D.

Committee on Children and Family Law

Room 206, LOB

Concord, NH

Tuesday, January 17, 2006

My name is Stevan Gressitt, M.D. and I reside in Unity, Maine. Thank you for the opportunity to support HB 1585. I am a practicing psychiatrist, the Medical Director of Northeast Occupational Exchange in Lincoln, Bangor, Newport, and Portland Maine. I am the founder of the Maine Benzodiazepine Study Group, and currently am on the Executive Committee of the Maine Association of Psychiatric Physicians and the state Psychiatry Work Group responsible for advising the state Medicaid program on psychotropic medications. I was formerly the Chief of Psychiatry for the Department of Corrections for the State of Maine. Before that I was the psychiatrist to the Women’s Prison here in Goffstown, Maximum Security or SHU in Concord, and other sites with the New Hampshire Corrections Department and several county facilities. I also helped teach forensic psychiatry at Dartmouth for several years. I am speaking today from personal clinical experience and am explicitly not representing the position of any organization.

Testimony of Stevan Gressitt, M.D. On March 3rd 2005 Gives Disturbing Account Of Issues With The NH Family Court System

I came across Doctor Stevan Gressitt's testimony on the NH Commission On The Status Of Men website at http://www.nh.gov/csm/pas_gressit.html.  This was testimony given in support of a 2005 house bill.  If you read the testimony, you will see that Dr. Gressitt identifies lots of issues with the family court system in NH.  Dr. Gressitt outlines how the current court system encourages parental alienation.  This testimony was given six years ago and today the same problems exist with the NH family courts.  Nothing has changed. 

_________________________________________________________________________

Testimony of Stevan Gressitt, M.D.

 (HB 529)

Concord, NH

March 3, 2005

My name is Stevan Gressitt, M.D. My relevant background includes serving as a Court Psychiatrist in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts for about 6 years in the 5^th busiest District Court, Lynn assisting in Civil and Criminal matters. Subsequently I was the psychiatrist to the New Hampshire Department of Corrections Maximum Security Unit for about 6 years, and the former Women’s prison at Goffstown for about 7 years. I have also worked in the general population and the Secure Psychiatric Unit. I later became the Chief of Psychiatry for the State of Maine Department of Corrections. Currently I am the Medical Director of a mental health clinic in Bangor, Maine, which received the Lela Rowland Award from the National Mental Health Association in 2002 for Violence and Substance Abuse Prevention. Our clinic is listed as one of the few national model programs with SAMHSA.  I am also the Acting Secretary of the Maine Benzodiazepine Study Group studying prescription use patterns and abuse patterns in Maine, and nationwide, and internationally. Finally I am a charter member of the Maine Guardian Ad Litem Institute and am a trained as but not registered or practicing as a Guardian ad Litem under Maine statute. I am also a member of the National Association of Drug Diversion Investigators.

Do You Need Help In Telling Your Story? If You Have A Story About Parental Alienation, Divorce Or Have Information About Unethical Behavior With The NH Court Staff And Attorneys We Want To Hear From You.

Please feel free to contact us at nh.unethical.attorney@gmail.com if you would like help telling your story about the unfairness in the NH judicial system. 

We need people to come forward with information so that we can work at changing the system.  The first part about change is to educate others about the system.  Help us to educate others by contacting us with your stories. 

How many times do we see in the news a person living in a quite residential neighborhood becomes the focus of the news when they commit an egregious crime?  What I find remarkable are the interviews with the neighbors after an egregious crime happens.  You often hear, “they were a quite person, they kept to themselves, I always said hi to them, he was such a good kid.” 

We have heard it all.  The truth is there are things going on in our neighborhood that the public needs to know about. 

If having your identity online is a concern, don't worry.  We have no issues keeping identities anonymous. 

Thank you for your support. 

Helping To Understand Parental Alienation - The Stolkholm Syndrome

I recently came across this information which was on the NH Commission For The Status Of Men Website.  As I read this I noticed a lot of similarities with what is going on with my children and my ex-wife.  For example I noted the obsessive bonding between my oldest son and my ex-wife plus my children have been isolated from any of my perspectives.  I have highlighted several areas in which I can relate to with my children.  I really feel that to understand the Stockholm Syndrome can help you to cope with what is going on in the minds of your children if they are the victims of parental alienation. 

_____________________________________________________________

Stockholm Syndrome

Bonding to one's captor (abuser) is a survival strategy for victims that has been observed in a variety of hostage-taking situations.

A 2008 Report From The NH Commision For The Status Of Men About Parental Alienation Syndrome

The Following is directly off of the 2008 report from the NH Commission For The Status of Men posted on the State's website.

_____________________________________________________

Parental Alienation Syndrome

During its February 2007 meeting, the Commission invited Dr. Stevan Gressit to talk about issues related to Parental Alienation Syndrome (PAS). Parental Alienation Syndrome is defined by Dr. Richard Gardner as

“a disorder that arises primarily in the context of child-custody disputes. Its primary manifestation is the child's campaign of denigration against a parent, a campaign that has no justification. It results from the combination of a programming (brainwashing) parent's indoctrinations and the child's own contributions to the vilification of the target parent."

A 2008 Report From The NH Commision For The Status Of Men - What About Dads?

The Following is directly off of the 2008 report from the NH Commission For The Status of Men posted on the State's website.

_____________________________________________________

What About Dads?

One study from the Urban Institute found that most foster children were not living with their fathers at the time they were removed from their homes. While in foster care, these children may experience even less contact with their nonresident fathers. The study examined child welfare practices with respect to identifying, locating, and involving fathers of children in foster care and found that on resident fathers are often not involved in case planning, and nearly half were never contacted by the child welfare agency. See What About the Dads? at

http://www.urban.org/url.cfm?ID=411316.

In light of this finding, the Commission strongly recommends that the New

Hampshire Division of Children, Youth and Families identify and report to the legislature data regarding how many nonresident fathers they have attempted to contact and to what extent (number of attempts), and detail the methods of the attempts to contact them in order to participate in case planning for their child.

A 2008 Report From The NH Commision For The Status Of Men About The Importance Of Fathers

The Following is directly off of the 2008 report from the NH Commission For The Status of Men posted on the State's website.
_______________________________________________________
 

The Importance of Fathers

As stated in the Commission's previous report, lack of father presence has been linked to systemic problems such as poverty, high school dropout rates, crime, adolescent drug use, teenage pregnancy, and a higher demand for a variety of state-funded services. Worse still, children who grow up fatherless are more likely to commit suicide than those with a father present. (See "Father Facts," a compendium of research excerpts available via http://www.fatherhood.org)

According to Dr. Horn, one of the editors of the 2004 Father Facts booklet, it seems clear that children growing up without their father in the home face an increased risk of developing significant problems. This does not mean that all children who grow up in fatherless homes will encounter problems. Indeed, many of them will do just fine. But research indicates that fatherless children face more obstacles than those who grow up with both a mom and a dad, and are at greater risk for a host of developmental problems.

A 2008 Report From The NH Commision For The Status Of Men About The Status Of Fathers

The Following is directly off of the 2008 report from the NH Commission For The Status of Men posted on the State's website.

__________________________________________________________

THE STATUS OF FATHERS

In a speech before the World Congress of Families, former director of the U.S. Administration on Children and Families, Dr. Wade Horn, stated that one out of every three children in America is living in a home without his or her natural father. One out of every three children in America will go to bed tonight without a father to read them a story, bring them a glass of water, kiss them good night, or comfort them if they have a bad dream.

Attorney Jaye Rancourt of BCLI, GAL and Attorney Douglas Thornton and Marital Master David Forrest Makes Father A Pay Check – Helps Mother Of Two Continue To Promote Parental Alienation

I was encouraged to write this post because of some of my recent phone conversations with my children and I will use examples of actual conversations I had with my children.  I want people to be able to see the effects of Parental Alienation as it is happening and how two young boys are being abused by their mother and how the Family Court system in the State of New Hampshire will not do anything about it but and in actuality laid the groundwork to encourage the alienation in the first place. 

Because the State of New Hampshire currently does not consider Parental Alienation Syndrome (PAS) child abuse, thousands of perpetrators in the state of NH continue to alienate their children from their mothers, fathers, aunts, uncles, grandparents and other relatives.  

Concord Monitor Article With Reader Comments Tells The Truth - Legislature must end the witch hunts

Legislature must end the witch hunts

By Monitor staff

February 27, 2011

And now, more news from the asylum that is the New Hampshire House. Last year, a small group of state representatives, prompted by complaints from men angry about the outcome of their divorce cases, tried to use the archaic "bill of address" process to remove two marital masters and a judge. They didn't succeed, but they didn't give up.

This year, four representatives, Daniel Itse of Fremont, Paul Ingbretson of Pike, Al Baldasaro of Londonderry and Carl Seidel of Nashua, asked the House Judiciary Committee to investigate whether grounds exist to justify the impeachment of one of those marital masters, Phillip Cross, for maladministration and malpractice.

Their actions are an abuse of their legislative office and, as District Court Judge Edwin Kelly told lawmakers, an attempt to breach the separation of powers. It is these lawmakers, not Cross, who should be sanctioned. The full House should proceed no further with this group's witch hunt.

Mother Hits Father with Car on Video; Prosecutor Refuses to Bring Charges; Police Jail Dad (From the Website of Fathers and Families)

An Iowa father is knocked off his feet by his ex-wife after she drives straight into him.

Events caught on a school surveillance camera in Oelwein, Iowa on January 28 hold many lessons for the family court reform movement. The entire event can be seen here, and it makes fascinating viewing.

According to the dad, whom I will call “Josh”, he enjoys 50/50 shared parenting of his five children under Iowa’s fairly enlightened shared parenting laws. He claims mom had interfered with his designated parenting time the day before, so on the day of the videotaped incident, Josh was determined to avoid a repeat. He notified the school that he would be picking his daughter up an hour early. But the school notified mom, who came to the school six minutes before Josh.

NH Court Overhaul Plan Faces Hurdle (Article from Sunday Feb 13, 2011 Union Leader)

NH court overhaul plan faces hurdle

By MICHAEL CUSINEAU
New Hampshire Union Leader Staff Sunday, Feb. 13, 2011

House Speaker William O'Brien doubts the Legislature this session will approve $4.7 million for a proposed court system overhaul and predicts a review of the entire plan might not happen until summer.

"To throw this in the mix (of a tough budget year), it's difficult to see how it's going to come out in any positive way," O'Brien said in an interview last week. He also said the judicial branch may well need "to start looking for some immediate staff reductions" rather than thin its ranks solely through retirements and attrition. 

Parent Missing In Action

 PAS-Parent MIA

      Parental Alienation Syndrome

          Parent Missing In Action

Help to bring me and millions of other parents home

to our children.  If you have any contacts or resources

that can help fight against PAS in NH please email me

at nh.unethical.attorney@gmail.com