Fairfax Bar Association Racket in Judge Appointment

Long-Overdue Reforms needed to elect Judges

The Centerville Times, The Chantilly Times

by Rob Whitfield

In November 2002, a number of fathers and one mothers went to Richmond to testify at a public hearing against the re-election of several Fairfax County judges and a Court of Appeals Judge.

One Circuit Court Judge, in particular, as trial records and abundant testimony in Richmond showed, has demonstrated an ongoing pattern of rampant anti-father bias as well as multiple violations of the Canons of Ethics and Virginia Law in several recent domestic relations cases appealed to the Court of Appeals.

On December 18th 2002, at a "closed door" meeting in Annandale, delegates and senators from the Fairfax County delegation to the General Assembly met to consider the qualifications of several new judicial candidates and to vote on the re-election of four existing judges in the Fairfax County Circuit and General District Court.

Secret votes were taken at the meeting to re-elect the incumbent judges and to submit the candidate chosen as a new judge to the General Assembly for election under "suspension of the rules" votes. Prior to the start of the December meeting, the General Assembly members in the room were provided with confidential packages from the president of the Fairfax Bar Association with information about judges.

This secret process in conducting the review and selecting judicial candidates has been the practice in Fairfax County since Sen. Joe Gartlan headed the Senate Courts of Justice Committee. In most of the last century, Democrats controlled the General Assembly of Virginia and generally excluded Republicans from their meetings about judges. Several members of Fathers for Virginia showed up in Annandale to observe the proceedings. They were prevented from entering the conference room where state Del. David Albo ( R-42nd) chaired the judicial election process for the Fairfax delegation.

At the end of the secret session and private interview of judges, Del. Albo came to the door and gave back the "secret" packages to a man who, when asked, identified himself as John Wascowicz, president of the Fairfax Bar Association. Wascowicz seemed surprised that several people were present outside the meeting room to object to the re-election of existing judges. He declined to answer any questions to those present about the propriety of an "officer of the Court," who regularly appears before the judges up for re-election, providing secret packages about the judges to legislators.

A secret method of evaluating judges subjects members of the General Assembly to the appearance of cooperating in a form of influence peddling by lawyers. The primary duty of General Assembly members is to serve the best interests of the public rather than the pecuniary interest of lawyers and judges.

If public trust in the Virginia court system is to be restored, the General Assembly must pass long-overdue legislative reforms governing the election of judges. They must also adopt more stringent oversight of judicial performance and act to remove promptly those judges who exhibit bias, abuse judicial discretion and lack fairness in their rulings.

By ignoring the complaints of the public and voting to re-elect these judges on the secret advice of lawyers, most in the General Assembly have demonstrated that they place a priority on the rule of lawyers over the rule of law and the public interest. Our founding fathers were rightly concerned about the potential for abuse of power, which is why they provided for a separation of powers. It is time for present-day members of our General Assembly to show due respect for those who created the oldest legislative body in the United States.

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ADVISORY ... FAIRFAX COURTHOUSE SLAUGHTERHOUSE For Fit Mothers: Virginia judges say a father may hurt the mother of his child, by abusing her, without hurting his chances of gaining custody (mgbb). Judges surveyed for Influences on Judges' Decisions in Child Custody Disputes in the Commonwealth of Virginia further reveal that children over five go to fathers more than they go to mothers when cases go to court (pdf). Pages 4, 6, 7, 20, 21, 23, 24, 29, 30, 38, 39, 40, 41, 53, 55, and 57 in House Document No. 24, A 2001 Report of The Supreme Court of Virginia Office of The Executive Secretary to The Governor and The General Assembly of Virginia, are especially relevant to the current trend of awarding custody of children to fathers who are abusive, controlling, manipulative, violent men, narcissists, and sociopaths (oes). {According to a 1996 report by the Am. Psychological Assoc., fathers who batter mothers are twice as likely as non-violent men to seek sole custody of children (apa).}
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WARNING ... VIRGINIA COURTHOUSES SLAUGHTERHOUSES For Fit Mothers: In Virginia, rulings by custody judges may result in destitution (even bankruptcy) and childlessness for women who are fit mothers leaving an abusive man and escaping a violent relationship. “Custody transfers to abusive men are rare” and other myths as reported by the American Bar Association Commission on Domestic Violence (ABA Ten Myths, 2006), the Leadership Council on Child Abuse and Interpersonal Violence (LC Six Myths, 2006), and the National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges Family Violence Department (NCJFCJ Seven Myths, 2003) -- though still rumored by the public -- contribute to the butchering of fit mothers everyday by our state bench. All fit mothers hoping to preserve their resources and their parenthoods should understand those misconceptions now officially recognized -- though still rejected by the public -- about the well-studied connection between “intimate partner violence” and “child custody litigation” before entering any courtroom of our Commonwealth of Virginia. If you are a fit mother who was slaughtered by a state judge in a disputed case involving custody of a child you produced with an abusive and violent man, please join your sisters each fall in Richmond for JUDICIAL INTERVIEWS. {I will post 2010 event date, time, place and relevant vitals here by mid November, or parents may contact Mary Kate Felch directly. -Veronique W. on 10.5.10} ALL MAULED MOMS FROM ALL ACROSS VIRGINIA SHOULD PLAN TO BE IN HOUSE ROOM C OF THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY BUILDING IN DOWNTOWN RICHMOND FOR 'JUDICIAL INTERVIEWS OF INCUMBENTS 2010' ON DECEMBER 10 ALL DAY LONG (Starts at 8:30AM). {I will post here the link for the Felch Agenda & Interview Schedule. -V. Wyvell on 10.22.10} SCHEDULE FOR DEC. 2010 'JUDICIAL INTERVIEWS' NOW VIEWABLE BY CLICKING HERE. Your offending judge just might be up for re-appointment this year! Look for that judge's name in this list. If you have something to say about the performances of Judges Bonnie Davis, Gerald Daltan and Esther Wiggins-Lyles, please join your sisters in saying it. Sign up with Mary Kate Felch today! Several aggrieved moms are booked to speak already! MEETING INFO BY CLICKING HERE (Scroll Down to "12/10/10 8:30 a.m.").