PARENT'S RIGHTS NOW!

QUESTIONS SURROUND CREDENTIALS, METHODS OF DRUG SCREENER

An alrming article in the Post and Courier begins thusly: "His words can run reputations, wrest children from their parents and cost perople their jobs." If you thought the article was referring to either a Family Court Judge or a Guardian ad Litem--think again. Rather, the article is on the subject of Robert Bennet who has persuaded "Lowcountry judges, lawyers and business people that he is the pre-eminent local authority on drug testing--despite the fact that he "is not licensed or certified in any discipline for which he claims expertise. Yet he bills himself as a forensic toxicologist, a medical review officer, a criminal forensics expert and an addictionologist with multiple medical degrees." He can do this because because the State of South Carolina does not regulate these specialties, has no requirements that drug screeners have minimum skills, and has no standards to ensure the reliability of screeners' results.

“ROE V. WADE FOR MEN" DISMISSED

The so-called “Roe v. Wade for Men” case has been dismissed by a Michigan Federal Court Judge. We agree with Roger Sinasohn at http://www.bloggingbaby.com/., who wrote "What Mr. Dubay fails to realize is that he has--and, more importantly, had--the right to avoid procreation. He failed, unfortunately, to exercise that right when he had sex without wearing a condom. Because he did not take steps to prevent the pregnancy, he is fully responsible for it....Luckily, U.S. District Judge David M. Lawson agreed and dismissed the case in federal court. Dubay won't even get a chance to waste taxpayers' money on a trial, a good thing in my opinion." However, for an opposing view click on http://www.nationalcenterformen.org/page9.shtml.

The Associated Press has filed a story about a teenage girl in California who is suing Los Angeles County for taking ten years to locate her father while she was in foster care. "County supervisors had said in September that the reunion of Melinda Smith, now 17, and father Thomas Marion Smith was the result of a 'groundbreaking effort,' and congratulated county agencies for locating the father." However, the lawsuit alleges that the Department of Children and Family Services failed to use “due diligence” to locate Thomas Smith. The teenager also alleges that the agency never notified Smith, who had continued making child support payments, that his daughter was in foster care and never gave him a chance to claim her.

DOCTOR SUSPECTED IN NEW YORK BOMBING DIES

The doctor suspected of blowing up his townhouse rather than allowing his ex-wfe to force a fire sale has died as a result of injuries received in the blast.

This case appears to be a perfect example of "cutting off one's nose to spite one's face." On the other hand, this case also appears to illustrate a growing epidemic of extreme domestic violence cases. One has to wonder whether the judge's ruling may have contributed to the man's behavior and whether there may have been some middle ground between forcing a man out of his home or leaving his ex-wife destitute. Our guess is that the lawyers were owed so much money that the house had to be sold in order to for the litigants pay their legal bills.

TEXAS INMATES NOT ENTITLED TO MINIMUM WAGE

The New York Times reports that the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled that Texas inmates working prison jobs are not entitled to the federal minimum wage. The case involves an immate who works at a state prison laundry. The Court held that that prisoners are not "employees" and, therefore, not entitled to minimum wages. The court panel further noted in its decision that it had ruled in similar cases where inmates working outside jails for private firms technically were employees, but inmates working inside prisons for private firms were not.

Dorchester School District 2 may owe some backwages to prisoners who "volunteered" to work on the James Academy of Excellence.