Ronnie Polaneczky | Here's a court order that makes me gag: IT'SOUTRAGEOUS ENOUGH that Mildred and Morris Brasovankin have lost the privilegeof contact with their 5-year-old grandson last week, they lost the rightto comment on the legal proceedings

Ronnie Polaneczky | Here's a court order that makes me gag

http://www.philly.com/dailynews/loca...es_me_gag.html

IT'S OUTRAGEOUS ENOUGH that Mildred and Morris Brasovankin have lost the
privilege of close, frequent contact with their 5-year-old grandson,
Steven, with whom they've had a loving relationship since his birth.

But, as of last week, they also have lost the right to comment on the
legal proceedings that have caused their heartache, thanks to a gag
order imposed by Family Court Judge Ann Butchart.

Gee, what's the court going to take from this wonderful old couple next
- their right to cry over what's happened to them?

Butchart didn't return a call for comment, but Family Court
Administrative Judge Kevin Dougherty told me that the gag order in the
case is meant to protect the privacy of Steven and of his biological
parents.

But we already know an awful lot about this case.

We know that Steven was born prematurely to a drug-addicted mother and a
father who couldn't care for him.

That he lived for two years with a loving foster family, who maintained
a warm relationship with the Brasovankins, his paternal grandparents,
and who dearly wanted to adopt Steven.

That the family's hearts were broken when the boy's dad regained custody
of his son.

That last spring, young Steven was taken from his mentally unstable
father's custody, temporarily placed with Mildred and Morris - who are
85 and 89 - then taken from them before his placement period with them
expired.

That Steven was placed with yet another foster family, that the
Brasovankins are allowed just one hour of supervised time with their
grandson per week and that they have been working frantically ever since
for Steven to be returned to their care.

Since we already know all of this, what's really going on with the gag
order?




Given the now-zipped lips in this case, I was left to speculate about
the gag order with family-law attorney Lynne Gold-Bikin, whom I called
for her 2 cents.

She gave me a dollar's worth.

"I'm always suspicious when a judge issues a gag order, especially when
the case involves something as outrageous as keeping grandparents from
seeing their grandchild," said Gold-Bikin, herself a doting grandmother
of 10 who'd "go crazy if someone told me I could have only one hour of
supervised time per week with my grandchildren."

In this case, "The gag order prevents anyone from second-guessing the
judge's decisions. But if she believes in her decisions, what does she
care what anyone says? It just looks odd, unfortunate and embarrassing."

Dougherty said that, in general, gag orders are rare; in fact, he
doesn't recall issuing one in his judicial career.

Temple law professor Edward Ohlbaum says gag orders most often are
issued in criminal cases to keep jurors from hearing information that,
in a courtroom, would be considered inadmissible, unfairly prejudicial
or inflammatory.

"This seems unusual, given that there's no jury in the case," said
Ohlbaum about the Brasovankin situation, hastening to add that there may
be "various considerations, about which we know nothing, that motivated
the judge to issue the gag ruling."

Complicating matters is that, in Philly, outsiders are banned from
Family Court proceedings (which is not the case in family courts
elsewhere, by the way).

The ban's noble intent? To preserve family privacy.

Its convenient fallout? Judicial decisions rarely are scrutinized publicly.

Unless, of course, people like the Brasovankins and their lawyers bring
them to the media's attention. Once you've told your story on "Good
Morning America," the way the Brasovankins did before the gag order, the
public scrutiny comes in spades.




As well it should in this instance. The outcome of the Brasovankin case
could have huge implications for the 21,400 grandparents in Philadelphia
who are caring for their grandchildren - not to mention the 2.4 million
grandparents nationally who step in to care for their children's
children when drug addiction, mental illness, incarceration, military
service and myriad other factors bring chaos to a child's life.

Given their age and frailties, I'm not saying the Brasovankins deserve
to care for their grandson without guidance from the court.

But given that their love for him has been the only constant in his
short life, they deserve, at the very least, to speak their minds
publicly about what is going on in his life right now. *

E-mail or call 215-854-2217. For recent columns:

http://go.philly.com/polaneczky





CURRENTLY CHILD PROTECTIVE SERVICES VIOLATES MORE CIVIL RIGHTS ON A
DAILY BASIS THEN ALL OTHER AGENCIES COMBINED INCLUDING THE NSA / CIA
WIRETAPPING PROGRAM....

CPS Does not protect children...
It is sickening how many children are subject to abuse, neglect and even
killed at the hands of Child Protective Services.

every parent should read this .pdf from
connecticut dcf watch...

http://www.connecticutdcfwatch.com/8x11.pdf

http://www.connecticutdcfwatch.com

Number of Cases per 100,000 children in the US
These numbers come from The National Center on
Child Abuse and Neglect in Washington. (NCCAN)
Recent numbers have increased significantly for CPS

*Perpetrators of Maltreatment*

Physical Abuse CPS 160, Parents 59
Sexual Abuse CPS 112, Parents 13
Neglect CPS 410, Parents 241
Medical Neglect CPS 14 Parents 12
Fatalities CPS 6.4, Parents 1.5

Imagine that, 6.4 children die at the hands of the very agencies that
are supposed to protect them and only 1.5 at the hands of parents per
100,000 children. CPS perpetrates more abuse, neglect, and sexual abuse
and kills more children then parents in the United States. If the
citizens of this country hold CPS to the same standards that they hold
parents too. No judge should ever put another child in the hands of ANY
government agency because CPS nationwide is guilty of more harm and
death than any human being combined. CPS nationwide is guilty of more
human rights violations and deaths of children then the homes from which
they were removed. When are the judges going to wake up and see that
they are sending children to their death and a life of abuse when
children are removed from safe homes based on the mere opinion of a
bunch of social workers.


CHILD PROTECTIVE SERVICES, HAPPILY DESTROYING THOUSANDS OF INNOCENT
FAMILIES YEARLY NATIONWIDE AND COMING TO YOU'RE HOME SOON...


BE SURE TO FIND OUT WHERE YOUR CANDIDATES STANDS ON THE ISSUE OF
REFORMING OR ABOLISHING CHILD PROTECTIVE SERVICES ("MAKE YOUR CANDIDATES
TAKE A STAND ON THIS ISSUE.") THEN REMEMBER TO VOTE ACCORDINGLY IF THEY
ARE "FAMILY UNFRIENDLY" IN THE NEXT ELECTION...