I am going to tell you a story of arrogance, bullying, bias
and self-serving agendas. And for a
change it is not about big business, banks or political candidates. It is far worse than any of those
things. And the saddest part is that it
involves people charged with protecting the best interests of children. I am talking about judges and custody
evaluators in the family court system.
Now many people tell a story “changing names to protect the
innocent”. Well there is no innocence in
this story. That is except for the
belief in justice and its ability to prevail in spite of socio economic status.
Maybe I am naïve but I want to believe in the idea that in our
self-proclaimed “greatest country in the world” we wouldn’t have to worry about
the “haves” getting the benefit of the doubt and the “have-nots” being bullied
into submission in our court system.
Unfortunately that is exactly what is going on in Multnomah County and I
will not protect the names of anyone who believes that they have the right to
destroy families based on a personal whim, vendetta or personality conflict
with the people involved.
This isn’t the Wild West and it surely isn’t some third
world country with an evil dictator, yet no one is held accountable
anymore. Have we become so complacent
that we believe that we do not have the right or duty to hold people
accountable for the decisions they make, especially those that are in “public
service”? Interesting that as an
educator no one seems to hesitate to tell me what I need to do better. Last time I checked the duty of the judicial
system is to remain impartial and avoid becoming self-serving. Someone needs to let Multnomah County Judge
Paula J. Kurshner and custody evaluator Lori A. Bonnevier know that they are
not above accountability. The way these
two conduct themselves is a travesty.
Why are we so quick as a society to reach out to places
around the globe in need and yet turn a blind eye to the injustice right here
in our own backyards? In a country that
preaches about rights for all, those who question these two are met with
hostility and threats. Bonnevier is
blatant about choosing sides before completing an evaluation and from my
understanding that is usually whichever side is paying her fee. Little hint Ms. Bonnevier- usually the person
who needs to enlist you and pay you doesn’t have custody for a reason. This isn’t the “good ole boy’s club” and yet
scratching each other’s back seems common place for these people.
That fact that I personally know two people who have had
negative experiences with Bonnevier and neither of which have any knowledge of
each other is a red flag. When both have
told me independently that she has accused them of being angry and difficult to
work with (among more appalling things) and both happen to be strong mothers
who will not cower to pressure, I have to wonder what self inadequacies are
haunting her.
In a recent case that was tried by Kurshner, one side was
allowed to introduce evidence based on hearsay of a five year old. Yet when the mother intended to call the
twelve year-old brother of the child to refute accusations Judge Kurshner told
her that if she insisted on putting her child on the stand that it would
reflect negatively on her. Yet Kurshner
who was opposed to putting a child in the witness chair would not talk to the
child in chambers one on one. What is
her agenda? How is it just to allow one
child’s words to be used and another’s not even to be heard? I am appalled that this woman would even be
allowed to rule on a traffic ticket, let alone decide the fate of a family. She
shouldn’t be judging a chili competition and she is appointed to sit in family
court. I wish that was the worst thing
she had done and sadly it might not make the top five idiocies of this story.
The custody evaluator on this case was none other than Lori
Bonnevier. When the mother asked for a
new evaluator to be assigned the judge refused. After the mother filed a
complaint with board for bias on her part Bonnevier actually recused herself
for in her own words a “conflict of interest” and somehow still managed to
testify in the trial. Bonnevier was even
so arrogant as to state that mother had a mental illness. A statement which had no foundation and for
which she had about as much authority to make as I have to perform a heart
surgery. When questioned about the
credential of Bonnevier to make such a statement, Kurshner replied that she was
quite aware of Bonnevier’s credentials and allowed her to continue. She went on to say that the mother lived in a
home of chaotic disorganization. Which
by the way she had never set foot in. The
arrogance of both these women to not even try to hide their inability to remain
impartial is one of the most sickening things I have ever seen.
In the end a good person and great mother had her kids
removed from her custody without one shred of evidence that the children were
in danger from anything. As I watched a
ten-year old boy and his twelve-year old brother forced in tears to leave with
a father they didn’t want to be with, searching for answers to the question
“why”, I couldn’t help but wonder where was Judge Kurshner? Why wasn’t she required to watch the result
of her decision? Why wasn’t she being
held accountable?
As I search for my own answers to these questions I can’t
help but wonder what Kurshner’s agenda is.
Is she out to prove that she will not rule in favor of mothers? Does she
just hate them? I can’t help but think
of the children who are left in situations they shouldn’t be in for lack of
evidence, yet this Judge based on no substantial evidence of any kind removes
children from the care of a loving and compassionate mother who puts nothing
before the welfare of her children.
Webster’s defines corruption as…
a)
impairment of
integrity, virtue, or moral principle
b)
a departure from the
original or from what is pure or correct
Take your pick of either, but both describe Judge Paula J.
Kurshner and custody evaluator Lori A. Bonnevier. It is time to take a stand against abuse of
power by those we trust with protecting us.
