A Michigan father shared a difficult narrative in which his child appears to be neglected and abused, and during a custody hearing he said he was belittled, harassed, and silenced by a parenting time coordinator and referee

Here is my reply to him, in the hopes that it will help other parents who are seeking justice, and it may help similarly situated to protect their abused children:

I am not a lawyer and this is not legal advice.

You wrote a difficult narrative.

Possible failure to "protection of civil rights". Failure to "use of the reasonable and prudent parenting standard"

42 U.S. Code § 671 https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/42/671

Possible failure to respect:

"There is a fundamental right under the Fourteenth Amendment for a parent to oversee the care, custody, and control of a child."

Troxel v. Granville, 530 U.S. 57 (2000)

https://supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/530/57/

This would include the right to an impartial hearing.

Possible honest services fraud:

For the purposes of this chapter, the term “scheme or artifice to defraud” includes a scheme or artifice to deprive another of the intangible right of honest services.

18 U.S. Code § 1346.Definition of “scheme or artifice to defraud”

https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/18/1346

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Honest_services_fraud

The parenting time coordinator has specific duties. If the PTC is utilizing their position instead to demean, harass, and belittle parents, such actions may be honest services fraud.

722.27c Parenting coordinator.

Before a divorce court will even entertain any evidence as to whether a change of custody is in the best interests of a child, the party seeking the change must first establish proper cause or a change of circumstances. The party seeking the change needs to show one or the other, not both.

http://www.legislature.mi.gov/(S(bet5qvg4wqly0bi2nxo5wypu))/mileg.aspx?page=getObject&objectName=mcl-722-27c

If anyone is making false claims they are a psychologist may be committing fraud:

Fraud

Fraud is both a civil tort and criminal wrong.

In civil litigation, allegations of fraud might be based on a misrepresentation of fact that was either intentional or negligent. For a statement to be an intentional misrepresentation, the person who made it must either have known the statement was false or been reckless as to its truth. The speaker must have also intended that the person to whom the statement was made would rely on it. The hearer must then have reasonably relied on the promise and also been harmed because of that reliance.

https://www.law.cornell.edu/wex/fraud

The referee working together to deny you an opportunity to speak while attacking you and belittling you at what is supposed to be an impartial hearing may be:

18 U.S. Code § 242 - Deprivation of rights under color of law

https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/18/242

It sounds like you think they may be working together to force you to abandon your legal dispute. This may be:

Extortion

Forcing action or obtaining something by illegal means. Anyone may commit extortion through force or coercion. A public or private official may also commit extortion under the color of office.

https://www.law.cornell.edu/wex/extortion

Referees to my understanding fall under the same rules as judges.

Judges are expected to abide by the judicial code of conduct for your state. Most states are similar to the model.

Model Code of Judicial Conduct

https://www.americanbar.org/groups/professional_responsibility/publications/model_code_of_judicial_conduct/

Every state has a method to file a grievance against a judge who violates their ethical duties. Here it is for Michigan. Other states are similar.

How to File a Grievance http://jtc.courts.mi.gov/file_a_grievance/index.php

I would consider a motion to recuse the referee and the judge if the judge is aware that this is how the referee regularly behaves:

I would consider a motion to recuse the judge.

Liteky v. United States, 510 U.S. 540 (1994)

28 U.S.C. §455(a) requires recusal of a judge in any proceeding in which his impartiality may be questioned.

https://casetext.com/analysis/judges-motion-to-recuse-removal-on-remand

If the parenting time coordinator is a licensed social worker:

Possible misconduct by a social worker:

Social Workers:

How To File a Complaint

Steps for filing a request for professional review

NASW is very interested in reviewing situations that affect the integrity of our profession.

https://www.socialworkers.org/About/Ethics/Professional-Review/How-To-File-a-Complaint

You described a situation which sounds like emotional child abuse and neglect by mom towards kids.

If these professionals are aware of this abuse and have not reported it, then it may be:

A person who, while engaged in a professional capacity or activity described in subsection (b) of section 226 of the Victims of Child Abuse Act of 1990 on Federal land or in a federally operated (or contracted) facility, or a covered individual as described in subsection (a)(2) of such section 226 who, learns of facts that give reason to suspect that a child has suffered an incident of child abuse, as defined in subsection (c) of that section, and fails to make a timely report as required by subsection (a) of that section, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than 1 year or both.

18 U.S. Code § 2258.Failure to report child abuse

https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/18/2258

Indeed, it's possible that some individuals, not wanting to allow a witness parent to testify about the abuse of their child may belittle and harass that parent in order to prevent them from speaking. That could be "misleading conduct" as part of witness tampering:

(2)Whoever uses physical force or the threat of physical force against any person, or attempts to do so, with intent to— (A)influence, delay, or prevent the testimony of any person in an official proceeding; (B)cause or induce any person to— (i)withhold testimony, or withhold a record, document, or other object, from an official proceeding; ....

(b)Whoever knowingly uses intimidation, threatens, or corruptly persuades another person, or attempts to do so, or engages in misleading conduct toward another person, with intent to— (1)influence, delay, or prevent the testimony of any person in an official proceeding;

18 U.S. Code § 1512.Tampering with a witness, victim, or an informant

https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/18/1512

State child support, parenting time, and child protection are all primarily funded under federal law Title IV-D and Title IV-E. Consider filing complaints.

HHS Office of Inspector General Phone. 1-800-HHS-TIPS (1-800-447-8477) https://oig.hhs.gov/fraud/report-fraud/contact.asp

HHS Office of Civil Rights https://www.hhs.gov/civil-rights/filing-a-complaint/index.html

Department of Justice Civil Rights

The Civil Rights Division of the Department of Justice, created in 1957 by the enactment of the Civil Rights Act of 1957, works to uphold the civil and constitutional rights of all Americans, particularly some of the most vulnerable members of our society. The Division enforces federal statutes prohibiting discrimination on the basis of race, color, sex, disability, religion, familial status and national origin.

https://www.justice.gov/crt

Anyone may report federal crimes to the FBI.

(202)324-3000 http://tips.fbi.gov/

I wish you the best of luck in your search for justice.

Tweet and gettr with me to seek justice:

A #Michigan father struggling to protect his abused child described a hostile encounter with a referee and parenting time coordinator. Look @MIAttyGen @GOPHELP @OIGatHHS @HHSOCR @POTUS @GovWhitmer #FathersRights https://www.reddit.com/r/MensRights/comments/zhfopk/a_michigan_father_shared_a_difficult_narrative_in/

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