Good point!
Doan

On 16 Aug 2003, Chris C. wrote:

Fern,

dr. laVonne of "cohort" fame using extreme examples again to lecture
you on attachment theory.--Did the father deserve 5 years+ in state
prison for the act of one swat? I think this case supports what the
non-cohort posters have been saying for some time. This isn't the
solution to the issue. Adversarial approaches and the funding
mechanism for CPS must be changed--forcing these cases to court to
justify their funding/existence is not the structure/model needed to
support happy healthy families.--But don't tell the "cohort" as the
march blindly down their well beaten path.

Non-spanker by choice,
Chris C.
TX

LaVonne Carlson wrote in message news:3F3ADAFC.582016=
...
Fern5827 wrote:

Teen daughter agrees that Dad was just in his punishment. States tha=
t her
family was harmed far more by the intrusive legal system and DCF, tha=
n her
father's aversive.

Sometimes I read your posts and get angry. Sometimes I read your posts=
and am
amazed by your ignorance. Other times, I read your posts and cry.

A teen daughter, hit by her father, supports her father in family court=
=2E This
isn't surprising, Fern, and it certainly doesn't mean that CPS was wron=
g to
intervene. Children attach, even to abusive parents. What do you know=
about
attachment theory? Even children who are severely abused will choose =
the abusive
parent, because this is what the child knows. Don't you get it, Fern? =
Young
girls who have been raped and cut by biological fathers will choose the=
father
over out-of-family placement. This doesn't mean that children should n=
ot be
removed or that CPS should not be involved. Only ignorant people with =
an
anti-child and anti-CPS agenda would suggest such solutions.

LaVonne



------
Jury acquits dad
in 'felony' spanking
Teen believes father should not have been charged

---------------------------------------------------------------------=
-----
------
Posted: August 7, 2003
5:00 p.m. Eastern

=A9 2003 WorldNetDaily.com

A South Florida jury has ruled spanking a disobedient teen-ager with =
a belt
does not amount to felony child abuse.

The decision wasn't a hard one for jurors, who deliberated for less t=
han an
hour before acquitting Naples, Fla., resident William O'Brien.

"I'm happy with the outcome," O'Brien told the Fort Myers News-Press =
after the
verdict was handed down. His wife and the 14-year-old daughter he spa=
nked
offered congratulatory hugs.

O'Brien, 43, faced a maximum five-year prison sentence and a $5,000 f=
ine over
the May 27, 2002, incident, in which he says he "swatted" his then-13=
-year-old
daughter once after she cursed her mother and then defied his order t=
o stay in
her bedroom, according to the local paper.

The swat spiraled into a six-month legal battle after the girl's clas=
smates
convinced her to report the spanking to the school nurse, who then pa=
ssed word
of the purported crime onto case workers with the state Department of=
Children
and Families.

"The state did more harm to this child than the spanking ever did," r=
emarked
defense attorney Donald Day.

Although prosecutors offered to reduce the charge to a misdemeanor, O=
'Brien
determined his was a necessary battle to send a message.

"To not fight this would have set a bad precedent for parents trying =
to raise
children in today's times," he said.

The prosecutors, who had insisted on a jury trial, remained resolute =
despite
the ruling.

"Should you be able to leave a mark on a child that lasts a week?" th=
e News
Press quotes Assistant State Attorney Steve Maresca as saying.

O'Brien counters the mark went away and didn't cause permanent harm.

The teen-ager, who was not named to protect her privacy, says she lea=
rned her
lesson and now obeys her parents.

She learned another lesson about the legal system and says her father=
should
never have been charged.

---------------------------------------------------------------------=
-----
------

If you'd like to sound off on this issue, please take part in the Wor=
ldNetDaily
poll.

http://www.worldnetdaily.com

http://www.CPSWatch.com/fl/ Send a message to DCF and Family Court=
=2E Certain
prerogratives should remain within the family. Note case probably se=
ts a
precedent for case law within FL and for DCF continual unhelpful intr=
usions and
illegalities extending their reach far beyond reasonable authority in=
to the
FAMILY.