Friday, October 26, 2007

Texas needs to say "no" to prop. 13

From a Felony to a Phone Call: Texas Prop 13 Will Allow Innocent Men to Be Jailed Without Bail
By Mike McCormick and Glenn Sacks

Texas voters will decide on November 6 whether to approve Proposition 13, a dangerous measure which will harm innocent men by greatly eroding the rights of those accused of domestic violence. The measure grants judges the ability to hold without bail those accused of nonviolent, trivial, or accidental violations of temporary restraining orders.

Under current Texas law, the only defendants ineligible for bail are those accused of capital crimes. In addition, judges are provided discretion to deny bail to those who have been both charged with a felony and convicted or indicted for a previous felony. To deny bail, there must be “evidence substantially showing the guilt of the accused.”

Prop 13 obliterates this, and opens the road for many innocent men to be held without bail. Under Prop 13, a Texas father can be booted out of his house on an ex parte protective order and then be jailed without bail for violating the order by calling his own children or going to their Little League game.

It is true that protective orders can be a useful tool to help protect battered women. However, as the Family Law News, the official publication of the State Bar of California Family Law Section, recently explained:

"Protective orders are increasingly being used in family law cases to help one side jockey for an advantage in child custody…[the orders are] almost routinely issued by the court in family law proceedings even when there is relatively meager evidence and usually without notice to the restrained person.”

These orders have become so commonplace that the Illinois Bar Journal calls them "part of the gamesmanship of divorce.”

Restraining orders cut men off from their children and forbid them many routine behaviors. Men can and are arrested for violating their orders by such acts as: returning their children’s phone calls; going to their children’s school events; sending their kids birthday cards; or accidentally running into them at the park or the mall.

Under Prop 13, judges will have the power to incarcerate these men without bail. Moreover, the Proposition lowers the evidence standard from Substantial Showing to Preponderance of the Evidence, which can rapidly degenerate into a “he said/she said” contest that men usually lose.

Prop 13 doesn’t even make a distinction between long-term protection orders, where accused men have some (limited) ability to contest the charges, and ex parte temporary orders, which are often issued without even providing the man an opportunity to appear in court to defend himself.

According to the Texas House of Representatives’ House Research Organization, Prop 13’s proponents claim that accused men “would retain all their rights to due process and other protections. For example, the determination to deny bail would have to be made at a hearing in which the defendant could appeal the denial of bond or make a case for another bond.”

This ignores the fact that protective orders often seriously impair men’s ability to obtain legal representation and defend themselves. Protective orders make men homeless and can cut them off from their financial resources. In cases where they work with or near their wives, or operate businesses partly or wholly out of their homes, their incomes can disappear overnight. By contrast, women obtaining protective orders are afforded free legal services by victim advocates at local domestic violence shelters, and remain in the marital home.

The House Research Organization also states:

“The proposed amendment also could have unfair consequences relating to legislation enacted by the 80th Legislature – HB 1988 by Martinez – which allows some protective orders to be in effect for life. This could result in someone being denied bail for one mistake after years of following a protective order.”

Prop 13 is reflective of a dangerous legal trend. Laws and police policies for those accused of domestic violence have been made increasingly draconian, clogging court calendars with weak or evidence-free cases which, were it any other crime, wouldn’t even be acted upon. At the same time, the judicial system hasn’t devoted substantial additional time and resources to investigating and adjudicating domestic violence claims. The result is often assembly-line justice in Kangaroo Courts. Prop 13 will accentuate this trend, and victimize many innocent men and fathers.

This column first appeared in The Ft. Worth Star-Telegram and the Austin-American Statesman (10/22/07).

Mike McCormick is the Executive Director of the American Coalition for Fathers and Children. Their website is www.acfc.org

Glenn Sacks’ columns on men's and fathers' issues have appeared in dozens of the largest newspapers in the United States. He invites readers to visit his website at http://www.glennsacks.com/


Source: here

17 comments:

Anonymous said...

Please see this link Masculist Man http://womanofsteele.blogspot.com/, and whilst you're at it check the post (1 down I think) where a young man was asking for your help.

You'll find a spiteful, nasty feminist blogger has attempted to mock the guy, and I'm letting you know in case you haven't checked it out.

Athena Y said...

Who said I was a feminist? I was just trying to help the gender-confused kid admit the obvious. I'm sure Emasculated Man has his reasons for not telling him.

Who would call themselves Emasculist Male? Surely he can "grasp" the significance of his chosen artwork... an otherwise powerless man grasping the shaft of an erect sword, tilted just so. It doesn't take Freud to figure out the root of your animosity against women. You'll be less angry when you come out of the closet, emasculists.
http://womanofsteele.blogspot.com/2007/10/imbra-was-just-beginning_31.html

Anonymous said...

Robin, if FredX or Duncan were still around then they'd have made examples of you and a ton of other mras would have (rightly) been on your ass. Masculist Man is a newer, but by no means lesser, mra who Im sure will tear you a new asshole when he reads the kind of nastiness you said about him, plus that kid who only wanted some help. Shame on you, you fucking asshole.

Anonymous said...

"Who said I was a feminist?"

It's obvious from your site, dumbass.

Anonymous said...

Did you know we're all gay? it must be true. Robin Steele says so:

http://womanofsteele.blogspot.com/2007/10/many-imbra-foes-in-denial-about-their.html

Anonymous said...

Luke, this feminist bitch is making fun of masculist man, the new kid to the movement and also veteran bloggers fredx and duncan idaho. I dont know about you, but slagging off prominent men in the mrm is a disgrace and im going to the bitches blog in protest. i suggest you do to.

Anonymous said...

Heres what i typed over at her blog, but the word verification didnt work, so if someone else manages to paste it in that would be very welcome, here is what i said:

FredX and Duncan Idaho (who ran the Eternal Bachelor blog) were two of the most well known bloggers in the mens rights movement. and mra,fucktard , means mens rights activist. Masculist Man is also an mra, and came on the scene a few months ago, and hes doing a great job, and opening a lot of eyes, so your attempts at making him, and other heros, look small aint gonna work. now stop causing trouble amongst real men and go back to worshipping a fanny that smells of fishcakes bitch.

Anonymous said...

With all due respect Anon, Masc didn't come on the scene a few months ago.

He came on the scene 14 years ago, when I, Fred, and Duncan were just kids.

Anonymous said...

Luke, I heard that Fred and Duncan were pretty active in their own lives for years, since they were teens. I think Masculist Man started when he was in his thirties, so don't try to discredit Fred and Duncan, because there are loyal readers like myself who remember them, and just because they aren't around at the moment doesnt mean you can bad mouth them. I also read your points about Masculist Man being a leader, yet almost all mra's have dismissed this. He is certainly a good mra, but he is not the leader of the mrm. Not even Zenpriest, Angry Harry or even Glenn Sacks are leaders per se. Remember Luke, the mrm is about a merging of ideas and minds, and to be honest bud, you keep going around claiming Masculist Man as the official leader makes a lot of us readers pissed, and you are harming his rep by repeating this over and over. I respect Masculist Man, like all mras, but there is no leader.

I also read your blog and don't really like it if I'm honest. Theres a reason why guys dont go to yours to comment and participate like they did in the old days of Fred and Duncan, and that's because you tend to babble on and lick up to Masculist Man in almost every post, which makes you come across as immature. Davout and Hawiian Libertarian,plus Masc and Harry, are the only blogs worth reading, especially since the departure of Duncan, Fred, and Rob Fedders.

Anonymous said...

I think luke is a bit unhinged, and in a way comes across as a bit of a following sheep when it comes to masculist man. no disrespect, i like masculist man, and he probably finds luke's affections quite ego boosting. But put that aside for one moment and just look at the facts; there is a feminist who is causing trouble and instead of confronting her, luke instead took fault with the guy who was trying to spread awareness, and brought masculist mans reputation into the thick of it.

luke needs to grow up.

Athena Y said...

Heres what i typed over at her blog, but the word verification didnt work, so if someone else manages to paste it in that would be very welcome, here is what i said

Don't worry, anonymouse. I posted your comment for you. I know copying 7 letters without Duncan Donuts or eJaculated Man to help you is, um, hard.

Anonymous said...

"there is a feminist who is causing trouble and instead of confronting her,"

I did confront her. See comment 4. That was all I had time for at that moment because I had to study for an exam.

"luke instead took fault with the guy who was trying to spread awareness"

No I didn't. I corrected his factual error. I didn't take fault with him at all.

Anyway, we have a fembot to deal with so we need to stop arguing amongst ourselves. I mean it.

Anonymous said...

Oh, and Robin Steele, fuck off.

Athena Y said...

...I had to study for an exam
Rectal, I assume. How'd it go?
luke instead took fault with the guy who was trying to spread awareness
He thought he should be spreading his cheeks.

Gotta go. Luke Skywalker seems a little creepy to me. I'm kind of creeped out at the moment.

Masculist Man said...

Everybody off Luke's case,he's a good MRA.

It seems we have the femicunts attention or else robin wouldn't be here. Emasculated man? Hardly,bitch and soon you will find that out.

Masculist Man said...

I really see robin is obsessed with me and she is trying to get the rest of the feminasties on my case too. Bring it. When I've pissed off the feminists that means I'm doing something right.

Robin,these men that you and your kind spit on they're just trying to make the world a better place for their sons and themselves.

What do you mean we're not kind? Just not to your kind.

Anonymous said...

Robin Steele said...


Rectal, I assume.

No, actually it was Linear Algebra.

How'd it go?

Much better than you would have done.

Gotta go. Luke Skywalker seems a little creepy to me. I'm kind of creeped out at the moment.

Oh shut up. You're the one who's been blabbing on about our rectums and our asses and everything else like that for the last day. You seem obsessed. You're the one who is creepy, not us.