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A Wiccan Mom loses her kids
- Nov 20, 2008 at 7:07 PM
- By
- Comments (202) Total Views (5647) Everyone can see this journal post.
Now im probably gonna get alot of hits from some christians for this post, so go ahead and say what you think you need to say(Patronas Referio). But to the rest of you, if you feel that this is absolutely terrible, please repost this on other websites that you feel will help bring attention to it. It is awful that this woman lost her kids because of her faith. Well you'll see as you read on. Blessed be all
Slandered "Wiccan" Denied Rehearing
Did talk
of a mother's (alleged) adherence to Wicca cause her to lose custody of
her child? That is the allegation of Andrea Hicks, who said that Chicot County Circuit Judge Robert Vittitow improperly considered her religious views in his ruling.
"In
her appeal of Chicot County Circuit Judge Robert Vittitow's decision,
the mother noted Vittitow described Wicca in his opinion letter as 'a
religion, movement, cult or whatever it that may be.' The judge also
wrote that while the mother testified she was only joking when she told
the boy's father that she was involved with Wicca, the 'court believes
she is much more involved than she would lead us to believe.'"
Hicks' first appeal was denied,
even though the two dissenting judges believed that the ruling
'impermissibly considered' her faith. You can read the opinions of the
judges on the appeal court, here (Andrea Hicks v. Joshua A. Cook). Now, somewhat unsurprisingly, a motion to rehear the appeal has been denied with the same justices dissenting.
"In
a dissenting opinion Wednesday, Hart said Circuit Judge Robert Vittitow
interrogated the mother about the practice of Wicca and made an
explicit finding that she was practicing Wicca in his written order.
Even if the mother did practice Wicca, "there is absolutely no evidence
that practicing Wicca was in an way harmful to the child," Hart wrote.
Hart also accused the child's father of making "vile and slanderous"
statements in his response to the petition for rehearing..."
It
is becoming blatantly obvious that a miscarriage of justice is
happening here. Why don't a majority of the Appeals Court judges see it
too? The Arkansas Blog has a possible theory.
"Judges
Robert Gladwin, David Glover, Wendell Griffen and Pryce Marshall formed
the all-male majority in favor of the mother losing custody. Judges Jo
Hart and Sarah Heffley formed the all-female dissent."
So a
guy accuses his wife of being a witch in court to a male judge and wins
custody, and when the decision is appealed, it, and a subsequent
petition for a rehearing, are voted down across gender lines? I'm no
patriarchy conspiracy theorist or anything, but this stinks to high
heaven. Judge Jo Hart obviously thinks so too.
"As the appellant points out, this court committed a clear error by ignoring the obvious fact that the
trial judge based his change-of-custody decision in large part on his
finding that the appellant was a participant in some nefarious “cult.”
...As
I stated in my dissent, even if it were proven that the appellant was a
practicing Wiccan, that conclusion can have no bearing on the decision
to change custody. The majority makes
a clear mistake of fact because there is absolutely no evidence that
practicing Wicca was in any way harmful to the child or even
that there were any practices conducted in the child’s presence.
Accordingly, this cannot be a reason for changing custody.
...
Finally, I am compelled to mention that the appellee’s intemperate
response to the appellant’s rehearing petition was not only
inappropriate but was vile and slanderous. He argues, among other
things, that the majority was correct to allow the trial court to make
a custody decision based on his perception of the appellant’s religious
beliefs because not all religions are worthy of constitutional
protection. He denigrates Mormons, asserting that “Mormons practice
incest and child marriages,” and proclaims that “Wicca is a cult, not a religious belief.”
He admonishes that “this court is committing a grievous error if it
allows cult activities to be protected” and that the “trial judge
appropriately ruled in this case after carefully considering the
facts.” In light of the appellee’s further illumination of this issue,
I simply cannot say that the trial court’s decision was “appropriate.”
I lament that this court has accepted the appellee’s invitation to
embark on a grand inquisition."
This case needs some
national attention, and some serious legal muscle, immediately. If this
is allowed to stand, you better not be a Pagan thinking of getting a
divorce in Arkansas any time soon.
vote popular, I want alot of people to see this..ty
Comments:
Good grief. Why don't we just go back to old days and start burning everyone who isn't a Christian and stoning them to death? Some days unfortunately I think a lot of people would like that.....then again, it's Arkansas so I can't say that I'm shocked.
Wow, is this the Salem witch trials? That's just wrong on so many levels.
I'm sure there was Much more to it than that............. for her to loose custody, because courts aren't allowed to have religious biass........ I know the woman was neglectful in some other form.....
Kay that was my first thought BUT if the dad was trying to get custody there really may not be more to it than that. I've seen people in custody battles say anything they can think of to make the other person look bad.
I can't believe she is still dealing with this. I saw the original hearing years ago for her and no she was not neglectful in any way according to what I've read. The judge really does have a bent against her for her religion. It's very very very sad.
Gods, should I be breaking out the flame retardant clothing? As if it's not bad enough worrying about someone calling CPS on you for disclplining your kids in public or something stupid like that, we have to worry about them using our RELIGION aganist us too?
This is terrible. I voted popular, & will repost on other websites!
What a travesty. I don't have the time tonight to read the links, but will over the weekend. I hope that I'll find that her religious practices weren't really taken into consideration at all, and that there were other valid reasons for her to lose custody. If not, I will be beyond disgusted.
I would hate for my religious beliefs (whether joked or real) to be considered in a court of law like that...I absolutely defend her ability to appeal such an action.
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i am christian.and i have to say this is disgusting :( It makes me angry that this could happen
- babysyoungmom1
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