The last of the public meetings was held in Topeka. However, Kansans can always submit comments via electronically to the Commission at:
KSCourtStudyBRC@kscourts.org
The Commission will put together its investigative report from the public meetings which is scheduled to be submitted in July 2011. You can follow along the process of the Blue Ribbon Commission through their
website.
The Monday June 6, 2011 evening panel was held at Washburn University, Robinson Courtroom. The three Commission Panel Consisted of: Chair: Reggie Robinson, Mike Padilla and Senator John Vratil. Lisa Wilson of the Office of judicial Administration took the meeting minutes.
One important and positive topic of discussion of the use of technology was very easily made by a Court reporter- video/audio specialist. It is inexpensive to implement at every level of the judiciary, it is cost effective, secure, factual, ensures transparency of court proceedings, pro se litigants having access to their court files and documents electronically would be an incredible asset – again at all levels. As we all know- technology rules the world. it is time for that technology to be used to ‘access justice’ at every level in our Kansas Judiciary.
I sincerely thank the commission for their appeared genuine sincerity in changing the current system, to one that works. The panel, was receptive, respectful, patient and very kind. Further comments were just as sincere. In all the years I have done public speaking or testimonies, I have never felt so ‘at ease’ as I did with the audience and the panel. For myself, this gives me hope that lady Justice can and will rise out of the ashes of the broken unjust system. it will entail a complete overhaul – but it can be done.
Testimony of Claudine Dombrowski
Listen to Claudine Dombrowski
Kansas Blue Ribbon Commission Panel
June 6th, 2011 Washburn University, Robinson Courtroom
Testimony by Claudine Dombrowski
Summary: Introduction, Personal and Professional Experiences and Solutions
Dear Panel Members, my name is Claudine Dombrowski,
I am a Survivor /Advocate and Activist for Domestic Violence Victims and their Children. I am on the Kansas Secretary of State’s, Address Confidentiality Program - Safe At Home for Victims of Domestic Violence. I bring to this panel both Criminal and Family Court Failures.
I have been beaten with crowbars, thrown out of moving vehicles, have had both wrists and several ribs broken, thrown through plate glass windows, tied up, raped and sodomized then left in a crawl space for several days. Just to name a few of the Criminal Assaults-by an already 8 (Eight) time criminally convicted perpetrator to include but not limited to:
(Battery, Attempted Battery, Battery of a Law Enforcement Officer, Obstruction of Legal Process, Possession of Marijuana, Violation of Open Container law, Violation of Restraining Orders, Domestic Violence and Terroristic Death threats)
I am on 100% physical Disability related to the injuries.
See: http://www.thelizlibrary.org/outrage/
CLAUDINE DOMBROWSKI CASE, Shawnee County, Kansas.
Claudine lost custody of her baby daughter Rikki to Hal Richardson, the man who did this, thanks to Judge James P. Buchele, who refused to permit
adequate testimony at trial, shortening it to benefit his docket, and also ordered Claudine to move back to Topeka to live near Richardson, for the sake of their "co-parenting." WHAT?! Richardson is a man with multiple criminal convictions for violent behavior (Battery, Attempted Battery, Battery of a Law Enforcement Officer, Obstruction of Legal Process, Possession of Marijuana and violation of Open Container law), a man who has beaten and raped Claudine multiple times before and after her divorce from him, a man who has threatened to kill her and her child.
Worse, Judge Buchele also ordered Claudine not to call the police any more without the permission of her case manager. When Judge James Buchele retired, Judge Richard D. Anderson affirmed Buchele's previous orders, including the illegal prohibition on Claudine's being able to call the police.
But don't blame the judges alone. Stupidity rarely works its evil in a vacuum. A truly egregious outrage requires that could-be good men do nothing. Guardian ad litem Scott McKenzie deserves a substantial portion of the credit for this travesty. I ask, how in hell can this happen in the United States of America? For more information, also see : www.kansas.net/~freepress/7-12-01-8.html
I want to share a few key points of information that caused the complete
‘Failure of Justice’ for myself and for my daughter, that can assist you to enable ‘
Access to Justice’ for other’s who enter the Judiciary, not being the current state of the Courts, the lawyers and Mental Health so called experts known as
Therapeutic Jurisprudence- a lucrative business that denies
access to justice to society’s most vulnerable victims, battered mothers and their children and only for profit.
It’s monetary, it’s all about the money and it can be prevented.
I have provided extensive links for further information than my short statement could possibly provide today.
http://www.thelizlibrary.org/liz/child-custody-evaluations.html
In the few handouts that I have given out as well- I have already emailed the long version with links intact to the Blue Ribbon Commission KSCourtStudyBRC@kscourts.org
Briefly:
I am the lead Plaintiff at the Inter American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) Known as “Dombrowski et el v US” which was filed on behalf of all battered mothers and their children Nationally for the Policy and Procedure’s of Family Courts routinely placing battered mothers children with the abusers and pedophiles. Abuse Continued via Judicial Abuse and Coercive Control that entraps women and their children and denying them their basic ‘human rights’ to be free from torture and abuse. www.stopfamilyviolence.org/pages/308
The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights was created in 1959 and is expressly authorized to examine allegations of human rights violations by members of the Organization of American States, which include the United States. Its charge is to promote the observance and the defense of human rights in the Americas.
The State of Kansas Law Enforcement and the Kansas Coalition Against Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault (KCSDV Press Statement here: (http://www.kcsdv.org/psmothers.html) are hard copy signors to the petition (http://www.scribd.com/doc/39685724/kcsdvhardcopy-iachr).
The petition can be viewed in its entirety on the Stop Family Violence web site. www.stopfamilyviolence.org/pages/308 Court’s Order and Sanction Abuse, for perpetrators of family violence, by the Courts, through the courts while corruption, collusion and cronyism run rampant in “the best kept dirty little secrets of our family courts.”
I have been an outspoken advocate for victims of domestic violence since 1995. I have worked with experts and victims nationally and internationally, I have been an honored speaker for the past 6 years at the battered mother’s conference (
www.BatteredMothersCustodyConfrence.org) in Albany New York. An annual Conference that brings advocates and professionals from around the Nation, including attorneys, Judges, Coalitions, Advocates and mother victims to address the issues of
battered mothers loosing custody of their children to convicted batterers and pedophiles, KCSDV has attended the conference yearly since its inception.
I was ‘appointed’ by Attorney General Carla Stovall to serve on the ‘Violence Against Women and Children Committee’ in 1998 after I founded
“Rikki’s Rights” – The Childs Best Interest in Domestic Violence Homes. (
http://www.scribd.com/doc/38276495/1-20-1998-KS-AG-Letters-and-Appointment-to-Comittee-Claudine-Dom-Brow-Ski)
My case has been referenced in several scholarly articles, journals and research for up to date practices on access to justice for battered mothers and their children. I have done several media and news interviews (
http://www.scribd.com/collections/2725388/Media) and participate in events by promoting the awareness of Domestic Violence and Child Custody in Kansas and Nationally since 1996 .
http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=claudine+dombrowski&aq=f
I have been to the Kansas Appellate Court twice 1997 and 1998 and the Kansas State Supreme Court twice 1999 and 2000
http://www.scribd.com/my_document_collections/2728794
The Family Court and Criminal Court Overlap
While the Perpetrator of my assault and battery was still on probation for his Domestic Violence conviction against myself—he filed for full custody of my daughter—and he got it.
The last time I held my daughter she was 6 years old – July 31, 2000. I told her she had to go be with her dad, and she cried “Noooo mommy…. please,” In her broken small voice, as she courageously fought back the huge tears that had welled up in her eyes. Rikki my baby girl was taken from her mother and given to her admitted and criminally convicted father, she was never again to have any meaningful contact with her mother.
Although we held hope and believed that one day justice would prevail, it did not. Justice has been denied. My daughter, now age 16 ½ - I have no idea where she is, I have not been allowed any access or contact with her, I have been denied information to her school, her medical records (contrary to FERPA Law) nor have I been allowed to have a single photo of her in this past 11+ years. I have never been alleged to be a threat or harm nor have I been charged or convicted of any crime-contrary to that of the well documented history of violence of her father to which the Courts have placed her in.
I have testified several times at the Kansas State Legislature, most recently the Kansas legislature’s Joint Committee on Children’s Issue’s an excellent article of these testimonies are published at Kansas Watch Dog.org
http://kansas.watchdog.org/2010/compelling-stories-about-problems-with-placement-and-removal-of-children/
As well as lobbying and passing into law a mandate that judges must follow the law- a result of Judge Dowd departing from sentencing guidelines.)
http://blip.tv/wwwkansansforjudicialaccountabilitycom/august-2007-convicted-child-rapist-seeks-custody-of-his-children-776865 More by
Kansans For Judicial Accountability Judge Dowd KFJA Video Media:
http://blip.tv/wwwkansansforjudicialaccountabilitycom
Only to have the same judge break that law two days after the Governor signed it into law. Instead of being charged with a crime of ‘breaking a law’ like any other non ‘just-us’ person would be—Judge Dowd was rewarded for his unethical and illegal actions, by being appointed to Washburn Law school to ‘teach’ law. Criminal Rewards start with the Judiciary and follow into the pandemic failure of all who enter the Judiciary seeking ‘Justice’. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P_BZmOX_YN8&feature=player_embedded
As you know, and have heard by many, all Judicial Complaints of Judges come back ‘rubber stamped’ no ethics violations, Judge Dowd was no exception to the rule. The Kansas Attorney Disciplinary Board is no better. Clear legal and ethical violations of an attorney GAL- Guardian ad Litem violating confidentiality rules, assaulting parties in the Courthouse halls, Police Reports and audio recordings- all come back rubber stamped ‘No Violations’,
http://www.scribd.com/doc/56251013/2011-May-6-M-Jill-Dykes-Gets-Again-Rubber-Stampped-No-Violations whilst they still get paid monthly from county tax dollars for being on a case that that they never work.
Originally, this case was presented at the
1997 and 1998 Kansas Judicial Initiatives Commission Hearings by three different organizations. The Kansas Justice Commission in 1997. news articles published the case as a “judicial outrage” when presented at the Commission Hearings. The Judiciary has only gotten worst since those late 90’s ‘hearings’ not unlike what the current Blue Ribbon Commission is charged with now.
1997 Judicial Initiative Commission hearings by
- NOW 12-10-1997 Judicial Initiative Commission Hearing http://www.scribd.com/doc/38276515/12-10-1997-Judicial-Initative-Commission-Hearing
- And by Johnson County Citizens For Good Judges 12-3-1997 http://www.scribd.com/doc/38276511/12-3-1997-CitzensForGoodJudges-Judicial-Initative-Commission-Hearing
- Related News articles: 12-4-1997 KC Star Tony Rizzo-KS Justice Commission –Dombrowski And http://www.scribd.com/doc/38276500/11-20-1997-KC-Star-Tony-Rizzo-Judicial-Hearings
- Claudine Dombrowski Photos of Abuse As you view these photos keep in mind that the court awarded FULL CUSTODY of their daughter to the “man” who did this to Claudine.
- Courts Have Continued Abuse of Manhattan Women, Manhattan Free Press, July 12, 2001.
- Manhattan resident fights custody battle for daughter, Kansas State Collegian, July 26, 2001.
- Kansas Senate Joint Committee on Children’s Issue Written Testimony here: http://www.docstoc.com/docs/document-preview.aspx?doc_id=18449340
- MANHATTAN, KS - To some this could be considered beautiful. Solid mahogany is beautiful when given a high finish and it does have a high finish. It is about four to four and a half feet long, a foot and a half high; with shinny brass handles at the foot and head. A child's coffin, in this home has been turned into a coffee table.
To Claudine Dombrowski it is not beautiful, that is her daughter, six-year-old Rikki on the couch behind the threatening coffee table. If a coffin coffee table is not enough, a hunting rifle hangs on the wall above the couch.
SOLUTIONS:
I strongly urge that if you do nothing else that you watch these three documentaries that detail the family court corruption and the genocide of battered mothers and their children when they dare to leave a violent relationship with her children and enter Family courts thinking mistakenly that the courts would protect. That they had the human ‘right’ to be free of violence, when they do not.
- 2005 PBS Documentary: Breaking The Silence; Children’s StorieView in its entirety here: http://vodpod.com/watch/3314727-8-2008-bts-wmv?u=ampp&c=ampp
- 2008 Family law Documentary by the www.CenterForJudicialExcellence.org Crisis in the Family Courts; Our Children at Risk - View in its entirety here: http://vodpod.com/watch/3586260-family-court-crisis-our-children-at-risk-silent-no-more?u=ampp&c=ampp
- 2010 Domestic Violence Continued: High Conflict Child Custody Litigation View in its entirety here: http://vodpod.com/watch/4904503-dr-sharon-k-araji-talks-about-domestic-violence-in-contested-child-custody?u=ampp&c=ampp
- 2011 No Way Out But One is a documentary currently in post-production http://nowayoutbutone.com/index.html
By eliminating the “Therapeutic Jurisprudence” you will have cut the high cost of family Court and help to ensure ‘equal access to justice’ under the constitution. Technology is ‘key’ to all realms of the Judiciary. Publicizing and e filing is the best way to cut costs and ensure pro se litigants have equal access to their own court documents. It as well opens up the closed doors and shines a light giving less opportunity for corruption to grow.
There MUST be Transparency and accountability and
consequences for derelict Judges and renegade Attorneys, Mental Health side kicks and other ‘friends of the courts’- known as (3
rd party profiteers) They are why the system is so corrupt and they alone are causing the increased costs of running courts because after all is “Just-Us” and they line their pockets well.
REMOVE all ‘therapeutic jurisprudence’ which denies access to justice. Remove the mental health so called professionals , mediators, case managers, co-parenting, shared parenting and high conflict - shared parenting programs, who make a fortune by doing custody evaluations and taking a high conflict case’s translates into DOMESTIC VIOLENCE and ABUSE—‘therapeutic jurisprudence’ workers who by keeping high conflict -as such--- so that they can guarantee a continued payout from that case for the entire life of a childhood whom they claim to be working for the ‘best interest’ for many years, until age 18 when the children finally age out or die. Whichever comes first.
Judicial enforcement of Criminal laws into Family Court. Criminals should not be allowed to be sole custodian of small children period.
As Americans For Prosperity recently posted article--about this case and other outrageous cases by Kansas Judges:
http://www.patrioticthunder.com/localissues.html
“Common sense says if you rape a little girl or beat the hell out of your wife you shall get punished for that in a severe matter. However, the list of outrage goes on. We believe at Patriotic Thunder that a Judge should have the ability to "depart" from the traditional sentencing, but dammit, use some common sense in ALL your cases and throw out the absurd ones, don't entertain this crap.
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