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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Madisonville, Texas - She's been told that she was hated, not wanted, she was slapped --all before her sixth birthday. Then, she was saved, taken into a loving home, nurtured and cared for. Now an uncaring "system" is taking "shortcuts", forcing her (after almost a year) to return to the abusive home - is this another disaster in the making? Such are the allegations recently made by a parent concerned about their child.
On May 10, 1999, in the Madison County District Courtroom, in front of the Honorable Judge Ernst, David R. May, of Madisonville, was ordered to turn his five-year-old daughter, Melanie (Laney) May over to her birth mother no later than May 29, 1999. Laney, who has lived her whole life in Texas, is a Kindergartner at Madisonville Elementary School and a member of the Marlins T-ball team. Laney came to live with her father, just outside of Madisonville, in July of 1998, at the request of Laney's mother. Now, David is faced with the dilemma of turning his five-year-old daughter, who is terrified of her mother, over, or take the chance of going to jail if he keeps her.
After nearly seven months of fighting for his daughter in the Oklahoma Court system, David has had to face his worst fear. The fear of making his daughter return to the abusive and detrimental care of her mother.
In an off the record meeting with David's attorney, the Judge in Oklahoma, Honorable Judge Carl Robinson, stated that he feels that wherever the mother is, that is were the child belongs.
Angela May, Laney's mother, was granted temporary custody pending the final hearing, in January in the District Court of Muskogee County, in Oklahoma. The case that Angela, and her attorney, Mr. Terry Landrum, presented was entangled with lies and half-truths that David was not prepared to respond to. At a Motion to Reconsider hearing, held later that month, David was denied the opportunity to present the court with evidence that disproved Angela's entire case. From the District Court, David took his case to the Oklahoma Supreme Court, where he was once again, denied.
David's problems started from the very beginning of this case. David retained an attorney in November, and was under the impression that the custody papers had been filed. In early December, David was served with papers from Angela filing for custody. It was then that David learned that his papers had not been filed. The next hurdle that the distraught father faced was the point of jurisdiction of the child. Although Laney had lived in Texas for the preceding four and a half months of her mother filing for papers in Oklahoma, and had only been in Oklahoma for three and half months, Oklahoma claimed jurisdiction.
The problem: According to the Uniform Child Custody Act, for Oklahoma to have custody, the child would have had to have been in her mothers custody for the preceding six months (continuously) of her filing for custody. Seeing as this was not so, Texas would be the proper state of jurisdiction, since Laney had lived in Texas since she was approximately ten months old. But, the Oklahoma judged claimed that since he felt that no one had jurisdiction, he would take it. David had been granted a "stay" by a Texas Judge, but in "back channel" communication between the Courts - the Judge in Oklahoma convinced him to lift the stay and force the child to return.
David has spent thousands of dollars on attorneys, doctors and therapist to help his daughter. He is the one that has been there for her when she started school, when she got her shots, when she laughed, and when she cried. Her mother made no attempt to come and visit Laney while she was living with her father, and phone calls were far and few between. To top it all off, Angela wanted Laney returned to her on May 10, 1999, just twelve school days short of finishing her first year in school. Now, to further complicate matters, Angela is suing David for contempt of court since he had not paid her child support while Laney was in his custody. Where is the justice?
David has contacted the Child Protective Services to help save his daughter, but has run into the same red tape as everywhere else. The C.P.S. took a report but informed David that since the child was not in harms way at the moment, no investigation would be done, but that as soon as Laney returned to her mothers care, they would investigate her. Why does this child have to be hurt more before the system will protect her? David has written to Senator Kay Bailey Hutchinson and Representative Steve Ogden, both of Texas and the Texas Attorney General's office. All have wished him well, but no action has been taken. If the government agencies are indeed in place to protect our most valuable asset, our children, why are they reactive in their philosophy instead of proactive? Why should our children have to pay the price?
You are urged to write your Congressmen and women and your representatives. Urge them
to take a stand against an overloaded an uncaring system of family justice David is a
member of Kids-Right(http://www.kids-right.org),
a non-profit organization that helps fight for children's rights.
Contact: David May, work: (409) 291-4200, home: (409) 348-2521,
email: hotshots@tca.net
Contact: John Murtari, (315) 635-1968, x-211 - Coordinator for Kids-Right
jmurtari@kids-right.org