[AKidsRight.Org] Judge recused himself -- follow up note and your support.

jmurtari@AKidsRight.org

Good People  & People of Faith,

Sorry for this late, extra note.  But it has been a long day.  There
have been some questions about the Judge's conduct and why he recused
himself from my case.  I felt I should give you the following
additional info so you can better judge for yourselves what happened
today:

Back in 2000, before my first Trial, Judge Klim was a newly elected
Judge and had received support from some parent's groups eager for
reform.  I knew some of those folks.

He had seen me walking around in the Courthouse carrying my "I LUV
DOM" sign, for full history see
http://www.AKIdsRight.Org/protest_dm.htm

During my first trial there was a brief break and I had remained on
the witness stand (near the Judge).  He leaned over and told me,
"Mr. Murtari, you see how bad the clocks are around here.  If you want
to fix the system, you should start with the clocks."

All I said was, "Yes, your honor."  But I didn't have a good feeling
about how the results were going to go.  He did sentence me to jail
from June 28 - Dec 28 2000.  As the site details,
http://www.AKIdsRight.Org/support_jm.htm, I was due to start summer
vacation (six weeks) with Dom only two weeks after the trial date (I
had plane tickets).  I had hoped for a delay in the jail sentence so
we could complete that vacation first - no. I submitted letters from
Jail trying to get some type of change in the sentence.  They were all
denied.  But I was always respectful.

Some of the people that knew me and had supported the Judge were quite
surprised by his demeanor and how I had been treated.  Some opinions
changed.

A few years later he ran for Supreme Court Judge (here in NY State,
those Judges have more responsibility, they handle large civil suits).
He lost; although some people say he would like to run again when
there is an opening.

Now, what motivated the Judge this time?  It is hard to tell.  Perhaps
he saw the website, and what was planned, and what could have happened
in his Courtroom, and didn't want any part of it?  I would like to
believe he was concerned about fairness, but am troubled that he
basically lied about what was on our web site and the tone.  He made
it sound like he was being brutally slandered.  That is not true.

Again, it was a disappointing day.  Like many of you, I hoped to see
something happen and to see if we could move things forward.
Obviously, the real focus of our effort is Senator Clinton, and trying
to get her to meet with parents.
http://www.AKidsRight.Org/actionc_syr

Your thoughts are welcome -- and especially folks who may be willing
to participate in NonViolent Action at the Federal Building to help
win a meeting with the Senator.

ONE MORE NOTE --  I felt uncomfortable asking for the financial
help with my attorney.  We ALL have legal battles we have fought,
we ALL could use more money -- what the heck makes this special?
My attorney told me today that we need to order a transcript of 
the hearing held about two months ago with the support magistrate,
a few hundred bucks!  He's real nice about it, but I haven't even
begun to pay him what he is worth -- and you know what?

I've got two credit cards just about topped out, but I had about $350
left on one of them.  I just booked planes ticket out West to see my
Son in May (if I am not in jail!) -- to exercise my allocated
once/month 'visitiation'.  So, you can see where my priorities are.  I
certainly wouldn't want to see any of you miss time with your kids!
If you really have 'extra' and think these efforts are worthwhile,
I'd welcome any help with the legal bills you can give.

Best regards and thanks again for all the kind messages in support!

-- 
                                       John Murtari
____________________________________________________________________
Coordinator                            AKidsRight.Org
jmurtari@AKidsRight.Org                "A Kid's Right to BOTH parents"
Toll Free (877) 635-1968(x-211)        http://www.AKidsRight.Org/

=======================================
Newsletter mailing list
Newsletter@kids-right.org  subscribe/unsubscribe info below:
http://kids-right.org/mailman/listinfo/newsletter