The Thrill Ride That Is The Thurston County Family Court System

There was nothing I loved more than taking my son to the amusement park. He didn’t have a Mom, or rather a Mom that wasn’t chronically being arrested for violence.

The thrill rides were always the best rides, the terror and temporary less of control.

Then I discovered Washington State.
I really liked this place, until the ride began.

My ex-wife, a violent stalker, moved one house away after fleeing two warrants for Domestic Violence in the State of Arizona.
I can hear you, the reader, saying to yourself “Oh, another one of these stories!”
First take a listen to actual court testimony here, by watching the Schaller video (Click Here)
(Yes, it is edited for listening and viewing "palatability" but I assure you that it retains all the flavor of the actual hearing)

You see, it’s not just my opinion, or that of the police department, or even the police officers she had attacked in the past, but it’s also the opinion of your own Thurston County Family Court system.

The court system placed an order of protection for me, the victim. All well and good you say, and I would wholeheartedly agree. Except that with one hand an order of protection was drafted, and with the other hand my son was placed in her custody. Same court, same judge.

If she was a good mom, simply a non-violent mom, I would “suck it up” and accept the ruling. It is indeed in the best interest of any child to have both parents help with the upbringing, but a violent parent? And not just a claimed violent parent, but a violent parent that is acknowledged by the court itself as being violent.
(You did listen to the two clips above?)

And so began the unending thrill ride that is the Thurston County Family Court system where justice is tendered in a schizophrenic manner.

In an amusement park I suppose you could ask the carny to get someone else to run the ride, maybe go to their supervisor if they refused. It seems that on this Thurston County thrill ride, there is no legal method to remove the carny from the ride if the carny is a commissioner acting as a judge, and, as unbelievable as this sounds, there is no supervisor that can order the carny to stop the ride no matter how incompetent the carny is, or for that matter, how unsafe the entire carnival is.
 
But wait, there’s more!
 
The Judge can order a case sealed so that nobody outside of the court can see the inner workings of the court. As Otto von Bismarck said “To retain respect for sausages and laws, one must not watch them in the making.”

Oh you can wait until the ride ends, but when the ride goes on for a year or more, and each day you endure the ride makes you consider throwing yourself off a building, I suppose that is Washington State’s idea of a great ride, more thrill for your money. Isn’t that right Governor Gregoire, whose office suggested getting a good attorney rather than fixing the system?

This is a wonderful idea Governor Gregoire, except that this ride can begin again at any time the other party wants to file an appeal, and every time they move to another state for over 6 months. It’s much easier to tell someone to hire a $20,000 attorney rather than fix the system. Is money really needed for fair due process in this state?

The women, who testified to her violent actions in the audio clip link above, fled two active warrants in the State of Arizona after grabbing her son, breaking an order of protection. Washington State’s response to these warrants? Give her a safe haven free from those “troubling” warrants. Nice going Governor, nice going Commissioner Schaller! I hope that the next state this woman runs to in order to evade the authorities is not quite so “progressive”

Then there is the unending battle to have an order of protection enforced. I am sick and tired of having the buck passed around, whether it is the incompetent actions of the Thurston Family Court, or Commissioners Christine Schaller and Indu Thomas who refuse to simply modify an impotent order of protection telling….no…shouting, orders to the victim to go back and tell the Olympia Police Department that the order is “just fine” and to tell the police department to enforce it as written. Yes commissioners, it is far better to order the victim to do this nearly a dozen times rather than simply picking up a telephone to see what issues the police have. Meanwhile the protection order has been violated at least half a dozen times, the police and prosecutor unable to make any charges stick. Good job Thurston Family Court! Good job Governor! When is the next gubernatorial election?

So if….no….when you see me somewhere in Olympia protesting this issue, I hope that you will understand my motivation. I want off of this ride, for both me and my son. I also want some oversight, some real-time oversight on the inner workings of the Thurston Family Court so that the next poor schlub who happens upon Washington State’s judicial system’s never-ending thrill ride doesn’t have to go through the hell my son and I have been through. 

Remember it is “not just any state, we are the Great State of Washington” where “There is nothing more important than protecting our children” isn’t that what you say on your website Governor Gregoire?

If you are offended by the way this custody case has gone, call Attorney Paul Battan at (360) 754-3901 (505 Security Building, 203 East Fourth Avenue, Olympia, Washington 98501 e-mail: paul@paulbattan.com ) and ask why he has chosen to represent an admitted Domestic violence abuser and fight for their “right” to have full unrestricted access to their child without some sort of long term treatment? In the meantime, boycott him until he can provide a very good answer.

Call SafePlace , the advocacy agency and confidential shelter for survivors of domestic violence and sexual assault in Olympia, at (360) 786 8754 (314 Legion Way SE, Olympia, WA 98501 e-mail: safeplace@safeplaceolympia.org) and demand that they equally represent and support abused men to the same degree, no better and no worse, as women.

Call Judy Murray,. Family Court Investigator, at (360) 709-3204 (2801 32nd Ave SW Tumwater, WA 98512 e-mail: murrayj@co.thurston.wa.us) and ask her why she has recommended placing a small child back in the hands of an untreated and chronic abuser.

This is truly not an issue of politics, religion, or feminism, but rather about affording each and every person the basic rights they deserve irrespective of gender, age, or belief system.