FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

PARENTS GATHER TO PROTEST ENTRENCHED CORRUPTION IN THE FAMILY COURTS AND CHILD PROTECTIVE SERVICES. THEY SAY THE GOVERNMENT IS KIDNAPPING THEIR CHILDREN. STARVING FOR JUSTICE – A MARCH TO REFORM

NEW ORLEANS, LA – October 20, 2015 – On October 21, aggrieved parents from across Louisiana are gathering in New Orleans, at the corner of Chatres and St. Peter in the French Quarter, to express their frustration and anger at a justice system they say, is unjust, largely because of the failure of judges and other court professionals to afford due process or respect fundamental rights of parents in cases involving custody and the safety of children. The group will begin gathering at noon at the northwest corner of Jackson Square. At 1:00 PM, they will walk with signs 3.5 blocks to the steps of the Louisiana Supreme Court, where the group will briefly gather to hear speakers and personal accounts from some brave parents of what many often refer to as “family court abuse.”

“The family court is the gatekeeper of [children’s] safety,” says Richard Ducote, Esq., a nationally renowned attorney who has dedicated his 34 plus career to representing victims of domestic violence and abused children in contested custody cases. “[We must have] accountability and scrutiny for those judges, custody evaluators, guardians ad litem, and lawyers whose misguided and often misogynistic nonsense jeopardizes generations of children and compounds their misery.”

Richard Ducote will briefly address the group at the event. There will also be an open microphone for other parents who, among other abuses, claim that they were bullied and coerced by their own attorneys and judges into “agreements’ that were unfair and did not reflect the facts or evidence in the case, upon threat of being jailed, fined, or worst of all, losing all custody and contact with their children, simply because they were trying to protect them.

Many of those parents point to the popular theory sometimes referred to as “Parental Alienation Syndrome” or simply “Parental Alienation” as the excuse judges and psychologists rely upon to discount a parent’s claims that the child is being abused by the other parent or step-parent. The theory, they say, is “junk science” and reflects the teachings of discredited Richard Gardner, M.D., who wrote in support of pedophilia, which he characterized as “a natural phenomenon that likely enhanced the survival of the species.” To diagnose a parent with “parental alienation” or “parental alienation syndrome” requires that first the possibility that the child is actually being abused be ruled out. Once that is done, all of the evidence that would otherwise support a finding of abuse is used as evidence that the protective parent – usually the mother – is lying about the abuse in order to gain an advantage in custody proceedings.

Parents and other experts point to the fact that the first step in the diagnostic process is flawed – and many parents say – rigged. According to many experts there is no definitive way to “rule out” sexual or physical abuse without a confession, something that is unlikely to occur in a custody proceeding. At best, trained professionals can look for different behavioral and emotional clues that may or may not support a finding of abuse, but there is no way to say for certain. However, once alienation is diagnosed in a custody proceeding, all the evidence a parent has that the child is being abused becomes evidence that the parent is “alienating” the child.

The march is being sponsored by Bridge to Justice Foundation, a not-for-profit organization formed in 2014 by recently disbarred Nanine McCool. The LA Supreme Court disbarred Ms. McCool on June 30, 2015, finding that she had engaged in ex parte communications and made false misleading statements about two judges. Ms. McCool says that she exercised her 1st Amendment Rights to expose corruption and abuse of power in the judiciary and merely publicly charged the judges to “look at the evidence and apply the law before they made a decision.” She says her disbarment was retaliation for being critical of the judiciary and refusing to apologize for it. “I naively thought when I first spoke out that my fellow attorneys and other judges would be horrified by the abuse of power and denial of due process that these two judges were engaging in. But instead of being concerned about the judges’ transgressions, the Judiciary and the State Bar came after my license.”

Ms. McCool has been on a hunger strike during the month of October, Domestic Violence Awareness month, to raise awareness about the trap domestic violence coalitions are setting for mothers who are victims of abuse. “The set up this big expensive campaigns and assure battered moms that there is help out there, but the reality is, that’s a lie. The courts might let the mom get away, but she isn’t going to get away with her kids. “

End DV

For more information, contact Nanine McCool at Bridge to Justice Foundation, 985-231-0036, or email her at bridge2justice@gmail.com