This post segues immediately upon the end of the last one, and I hope you’ll go there before reading this one.

Topic: http://familylawchannel.com/, briefly

Again, a father has apparently shot (murdered) his toddler, and himself, and California Protective Parents Association wants O’Brien (the judge out), Center for Judicial Excellence wants the Nabil Samaan brother of the suicide “victim” of bad family courts disbarred for an outrageous comment he made (and since retracted) (doubt it’s going to happen -but if it does, there are more like him, who might in the future be less outspoken, but based on what I’ve seen in a prominent (probably) SF attorney, “Prometheus,” I doubt it).

In looking for a minor detail (their ages!) of the mother and father, I ran across another article in the Capitol Weekly, noting that the “kneejerk reaction is to blame a family court official” in the “Capitol Weekly.”  They’re right about this, although quite often it IS a family court official — doing business as usual in the family court system — that this time, made the last in a string of bad decisions resulting in a newspaper headline.

I kept looking, and this post contains further information, though I do not pretend it’s “investigative reporting” on the Fay/Samaan situation — but a little family background, as it were, while the same family is loudly complaining about the courts and of course the mother, in the press.

The Capitol in “Capitol Weekly” referring to state capital, Sacramento, of course — where this case was.  The article doesn’t tell me too much, but the comments had a lead:

 

Thursday, September 1, 2011

Re: Capitol Weekly: In family courts, one tactic is to slam the judicial employees

This is so sick and scary. I have 2 step children that I would otherwise adopt but I am so disgusted with and scared of the CA Family Court system that I dont even consider it. How many families have they ruined so far, how many innocent and loving people’s lives ruined?  more…

Thursday, September 1, 2011

Re: Capitol Weekly: In family courts, one tactic is to slam the judicial employees

Ha!  Sheain’t the only bad apple in the greater Sacramento region. Dr. Makram Samaan,grandfather of Madeline Layla Samaan-Fay, who was murdered by her father, Dr. Samaan’sson, is a psychologist employed by the Sacramento Family Court as a mediator.  He along with his son, Nabil, the attorney,…  more…You should check out the good doctor on the Sacramento Superior Court website, it appears that he has been sued by numerous clients for professional malpractice…another bad apple?

That article, some smart commenter said, look up where the grandpa has been doing business (with the courts).  I was going to, thanks for the tip.

(not necessarily all related, I just looked up the last name AFTER writing most of this post and because of what it unearthed).

Barzin Barry Sabahat, Business and Family law attorney in Campbell, CA?

there are also Sabahat Corporations (Revoked) and Samaan (revoked) in NEvada also — see below)

The street address of this partnership appears to be (another) corporation service? and the registered agent, yes, is Mr. Sabahat, Esq.’s address:

(iroozipages.com) I DNK if this is any relationship to the Samaan family that just lost a granddaughter and a son through a murder/suicide around custody issues.

This post has very little about Marcia Fay because I found less about her (apart from negative comments from neighbors or friends of the father’s side).  She is a public official.  I am so sorry for her loss!  Perhaps later she will say  more!

1983 — CAL STATE OUSTS Dr. Makram Samaan; this is the appeal:

I’ll highlight.  This is a speed post.

Samann v. Trustees of Cal. State University & Colleges (1983) 150 Cal.App.3d 646 [197 Cal.Rptr. 856]  {{note:  last name mis-spelled here,….}}

Samann v. Trustees of Cal. State University & Colleges (1983) 150 Cal.App.3d 646 , 197 Cal.Rptr. 856[Civ. No. 22411. Court of Appeals of California, Third Appellate District. December 15, 1983.]

MAKRAM K. SAMAAN, Plaintiff and Appellant, v. TRUSTEES OF THE CALIFORNIA STATE UNIVERSITY AND COLLEGES et al., Defendants and Respondents.

(Opinion by Sparks, J., with Regan, Acting, P. J., and Carr, J., concurring.)

COUNSEL

Turner & Sullivan, Richard K. Turner and Mary A. O’Gara for Plaintiff and Appellant.

John K. Van de Kamp, Attorney General, N. Eugene Hill, Assistant Attorney General, and Talmadge R. Jones, Deputy Attorney General, for Defendants and Respondents.

OPINION

SPARKS, J.

Appellant Makram K. Samaan appeals from a judgment of the Superior Court of Sacramento County which upheld his dismissal as a [150 Cal.App.3d 650] tenured professor at California State University at Sacramento. Appellant contends: (1) the trial court erred in determining that his proper remedy was a petition to set aside an arbitrator’s award under Code of Civil Procedure section 1285 et seq., rather than a petition for a writ of administrative mandate under Code of Civil Procedure section 1094.5; (2) he was denied procedural and substantive due process; (3) the arbitration did not cure the due process violations; and (4) his dismissal from employment was an abuse of discretion. We reject these contentions and shall affirm the judgment.

{{HOWEVER now the shoe is on the other foot; this is routine for participants ordered into mediation from the courts!}}

Facts

Appellant studied psychology and educational psychology at the University of Minnesota and earned a doctorate degree from that institution. He has been employed as a professor at California State University at Sacramento (CSUS) since 1970, and is a tenured employee. He also engages in the private practice of psychology and counseling. He holds licenses as a psychologist and as a marriage and family counselor. Appellant’s wife, Mary Samaan, is licensed as a marriage and family counselor.

Appellant’s difficulties arose out of activities with regard to billing for services under the Medi-Cal program.

(paragraphing from here forwards is mine….)

An investigation into appellant’s practice developed evidence of three questionable activities.

First, appellant had submitted billing to Medi-Cal for 119 services which his wife rather than he had performed. Appellant’s wife does not hold a license which qualifies her to render services compensable under the Medi-Cal program and she is not licensed as a Medi-Cal provider. Appellant signed billing forms for these services in which he attested that he had personally performed the services, although he had not done so.

Medi-Cal Fraud — 119 cases!   Lying.  Farming out to unlicensed provider, probably knew this was illegal so signed the forms himself.

Second, an auditor came to the conclusion that appellant had submitted bills to Medi-Cal for work performed at Serene Homes in excess of the number of hours he had been there.

Again, this is fraud and lying — inflating bills.  An “honorable tradition,” followed also by Maximus, Inc., and others, it seems.

Third, on two different occasions appellant had performed services for Medi-Cal mothers and had submitted billing forms for the mothers and their children, although he had never seen the children.

On these occasions appellant had submitted separate billing forms for each of the children involved. He had attested that he personally performed psychotherapeutic services for them, and listed his diagnosis of their problems, although he had not seen the children.

Again, I would categorizing this as LYING.  This eminently qualifies him for work in family court services in several jurisdictions, which will maximize billings until and unless caught. I wonder what percent % (if any) the state gets from Federal Medi-Cal reimbursements.  I don’t know, but we know when it comes to the child support angle, which is related.  It’s 34% to the state.  If the services never happened, just the billing, that’s a clean sweep on both parts (not counting, of course, the kids who might’ve actually needed those services).

In May 1979 the Attorney General’s office filed a 17-count criminal information against appellant and his wife. Ultimately, pursuant to a plea bargain, appellant entered a plea of guilty to one count of grand theft in violation of Penal Code section 487, subdivision 1, in return for dismissal [150 Cal.App.3d 651] of the charges against his wife and dismissal of all other charges against himself. Appellant was placed on probation for three years with conditions including the reimbursement of the Medi-Cal program of $5,431.50, payment of a fine of $1,000 plus penalty assessment, and that he perform 120 hours of community service. fn. 1

Am I wrong or does that look like a slap in the wrist.  Did anybody audit whether the 120 hours were actually performed by him, farmed out to his wife, or just never occurred?  (Note — only 3 weeks of service).

When CSUS President Lloyd Johns learned of the conviction of appellant he invoked Executive Order 245, the interim disciplinary procedure for academic personnel for California State Universities and Colleges. Pursuant to Executive Order 245, Austin Gerber, Dean of the School of Business and Public Administration, was appointed as administrative officer with the duty of conducting a factfinding investigation and making a recommendation of further action to the president. Appellant responded to the investigation in writing through his attorney. After receiving Gerber’s report, President Johns determined to proceed with a disciplinary action.

Education Code section 89535 provides that immoral conduct, unprofessional conduct, dishonesty, and conviction of a felony or of a misdemeanor involving moral turpitude are grounds for dismissal, demotion or suspension.

Does this go for attorneys also? I’d like to know.  Glad it does for tenured professors, though.  of course it’s not going to be possible to entirely clean house and maintain business as usual in some circles….

Education Code section 89538 provides in relevant part: “Notice of dismissal, demotion, or suspension for cause of an employee shall be in writing, signed by the chancellor or his designee and be served on the employee, setting forth a statement of causes, the events or transactions upon which the causes are based, the nature of the penalty and the effective date, and a statement of the employee’s right to answer within 20 days and request a hearing before the State Personnel Board.” Education Code section 89539 provides that in the event the employee shall request a hearing before the State Personnel Board the hearing shall be conducted in the same manner as state civil service proceedings and the party taking the disciplinary action shall have the burden of proof.

(END QUOTE):

There is text that the faculty committee excused all of the above behavior, but an arbitrator later found no cause to do so, and he was dismissed, which is here being appealed.  You have the link and can follow up…  I personally sometimes have billed in advance, but never bill in advance having said I already performed the work.  And I can’t quite conceive of having claimed to perform work, when it was a relative that did instead, and one not qualified to do so.  Good grief — is that what a doctorate in psychology and a background in educational psychology leads one to do?

Still practicing:

Here’s an Arizona site that, after telling the story (carefully putting “father shot daughter” into third person (im)passive, i.e., “the child is dead and so is her father,”

and “father and daughter suffered gunshot wounds”) simply plugs his own services.  Disgusting!  Of course it was the custody battle that killed the little girl, and the father.

Sorrow and Frustration from Moni’s Father and Brother.

When asked about the death of his son and granddaughter, Dr. Makram Samaan — a psychologist and mediator who helps couples through divorce issues and whose thesis was on suicide — lamented that his son Moni had suffered greatly and feared losing his daughter. Furthermore, Makram stated that Moni telephoned him the same day that he drove off one last time in his SUV with Madeline. Makram believed his son and granddaughter died of carbon monoxide poisoning from the vehicle’s exhaust pipe at Grizzly Flat. But a later report from Lt. Brian Golmitz from the El Dorado County Sheriff’s Department stated that the father and daughter had suffered gunshot wounds — Moni’s death was caused by a self-inflicted gun-shot wound. Madeline had been shot twice.

aka Moni shot Madeline twice, (in what part of the body), killing her, and then himself  inside? a car with the exhaust pipe running into it (or whatever the details).  By all means, remove any indicators of intentional murder (active verbs involving lethal weapons, whether gas or bullets) from the narrative and then advertise your services, which I’m not going to dignify with naming here, although because I quoted, I’m linking.

More post-mortem quotes from the father of the father that killed himself and his kid:

Mercury News, 8/16/11, Stephen Magnanini & Peter Hecht, Sacbee.com

Dr. Samaan said his son Moni graduated from American River College and UC Davis and had a long career with Hewlett-Packard.

He loved windsurfing, fishing and kayaking and sailed solo from Hawaii to California, said Samaan, himself an avid sailor. “He saved me from drowning in the Red Sea.”

About four years ago, “he said he met a beautiful woman on the Internet, she’s good, she’s an attorney,” Samaan said. “They got married in March 2006.”

The couple separated before Madeleine was born December 2008. He said Moni learned of his child’s birth from his brother and sister-in-law.

Samaan said perhaps his son died for him to start a movement to take marriage disputes out of the courts. “The mother and father are mother and father forever,” he said. “We need to save America by saving the family.”

And by exploiting Medi-Cal mothers by claiming to have seen their kids when you haven’t, see above…

Obviously, I am blogging the Dr’s name here, and this comment (from the same one?) shows in response to a Dr. Amen article called “Why Didn’t Dr. Hasan seek help?” Again, not everyone commenting under a certain name on-line necessarily owns the name:

Dr.Makram Samaan

Posted November 6, 2009 at 1:19 pm | Permalink

DR Amen
NO, You are mistaken your Identity.
If your ancestors neverr been frpom Arabia, and only planted and grew-up an d Multiplied and breaded in LEBANON since BC hyears, then: Dr Daniel Amen is a PHYNICIAN.. and We the Ancient Egyptian, especially ThotmosesIII, hav e fought and made peace and traded for long time. Thanks to your Cedar of Lebanon helped us in many construction projects
Dr Amen, You are NOT an ARAB, You only speak ARABIC because it was imposed in place of your original local langiuage; Phynician…because a mentally derained Khalif imposed on your ancestors, as on my ancestors a Capital Punishment if we spoke our original s[ponanious Language, whether its your Phynician or our Coptic language.
Speaking Arabic does not make us Arabs. No Negative reflection on Arabs, they have their history and culture, BUT it is asserrtion of our History, the Civilization we create and our culture too. Deniel of our national origins is a Humanity Felonhy

Dr Makram Samaan
Professor Emeritus, CSU
Positive Psycologist / Coach

(especially with this spelling!) interesting, “professor emeritus” given, why…)

Coaching for Optimal Living Consultant:

Company Description

Dr. Samaan is a psychologist with expertise in communication skills, body language, body demeanor, voice inflection, vocal tone, and eye contact. He is also a consultant in negotiations and motivation, and coach with professionals, for healthier, happier and prosperous living. Dr. Samaan, has been a researcher, consultant, and professor at Universities and Professional Centers here and abroad. He was born and grew up in Egypt (Ancient Egypt, as he prefers). He was born in a Christian Family, but became an expert in all Eastern and Western Religions, as each has its own tenant to compliment the others, to produce the human kindness and evolutionary progress. Communications: Speech and body demeanors, Comprehensive indicator signals as authentic presentation of personal strengths, belief and value systems: Excellent for jury selection, sales and customer service. Coaching: discovering, developing and application of Authentic Strengths and virtues in Personal living, Work, Family and Relationships, to action highest satisfaction in work (FLOW), Happy Family, Parenting, Healthy Longevity, and Effective Community and Prosperous Life. Visual Perception and Diamentional Listening. Psychological Treatment, for Liberation from obstacles towards Goal Achievement of a happier life style and PI cases. Mediation/Negotiations; The best approach for a Non Zero Sum gain (every one is a winner): in business, Marriage and Family conflicts, Psychological Evaluations.

(from)

Still listed at PPC.SAS.UPENN.EDU/PPEMAIL.HTM

Makram Samaan, Ph.D.(PPN1/ATM)

Professor Emeritus, CSU, Positive Psychologist

drmsamaan@sbcglobal.com

Integrating PP in Medicine, schools

For some reason, the grandfather made a LizLibrary (california) list of Children need .  . . THIS?

Please note that the inclusion of any individual on the below list does not necessarily indicate the existence of any licensing or other violation, but only that we obtained or have been made aware of information of interest relevant to the subject matter of child custody evaluations or other issues bearing upon mental health practitioners and the functioning of the family court system.California Licensing Information

William Hamilton Ayres (N) * Breffni Barrett, Ph.D. * Sidney Brown, Ph.D.* Janelle L. Burrill, Ph.D., J.D., LCSW(more) * Stephen Doyne, Ph.D. (more) (more) (more) (more) * Michael Dufficy * Warren Farrell, Ph.D. (N) *Judith B. Henderson, Ph.D.* Michael Jones, Ph.D. * Joseph Kenan, M.D. * Larry Leatham, Ph.D. * Elizabeth Loftus, Ph.D. * Jayne A. Major, Ph.D. * Andrew McGarity, Ph.D.* Richard Ofshe, Ph.D. (N) * Randy Rand, Ed.D. * Makram Samaan, Ph.D. (more) * Donald K. Smith, Ph.D (more) * Philip M. Stahl, Ph.D. * John Spencer Stone, Ph.D. * Matthew Sullivan, Ph.D. * Richard J. Swank, Ph.D. *

(I should send in my “Philip M. Stahl” info, most of which can simply be filed under AFCC/PAS….)

If this image doesn’t show, be sure to read the information.  It is a complaint asking to prevent the (2010) renewal of Dr. Samaan’s license, and at first glance, it’s going to talk about business incorporation and financial misdeeds, moreso than psychological misdeeds:

This complaint was not, it appears, brought by an irate mother or father, but from the Board of Psychology.

10. “Respondent is the Manager/President of Innovative Enterprises International, LLC an investment business.   ON October 22, 2004, (IEI) filed with the Nevada Secretary of state listing 3 managers, including REspondent.  Respondent is a self-claimed Positive Psychologist/Consultant/Transformational Success Coach.

11.  Respondent practices psychology but also engages in financail services oncentraining on reverse pension plans.  According to him, it works like a derivative, small amounts of money paid become large amounts and it is sold.  Respondent maintains he will put the initial fees in his patients’ names, $40, and then it becomes $75,000 in a year unless the time is extended.  {{mental note:  Respondent deals with very gullible, or vulnerable, patients!}}  When individuals, including patients, discuss financial dificulties, Respondent will tell them of the reverse pension plans or other investments.

(sounds like he is “farming” the patient contacts  for other business…)  There it is:

GIVE ME A BREAK:

See why I told us to pay attention to Recorded Deeds (which includes trusts, real estate, etc.) in the family law arena?

Frequent registered agent process, and one of the changes (in 2008) is for some reason 222 pages long document:

Also, when I complained (yesterday) about how California lacks a means to sort incorporations by “registered agent” — look what happens in Nevada when I click on who registered INNOVATIVE ENTERPRISES INTERNATIONAL:

1 – 50 of 71 companies

and page 2:

6 out of 71 are still standing.  At a minimum, this certainly reflects on the judgment of this court-connected positive psychologist and his licensed marriage therapist wife.

The incorporation mill is itself, apparently still standing, though, along with QUITE a few others at the same street address:

American Business Development

Well, sort of, according to nevada Secretary of State:

Based on my California search of Samaan — which showed a single LLP shared with Barzin Barry Sabahak (shown above in brown tone chart) — I decided to just look up the same last name — Sabahak — in Nevada. With different first names, it pulls up there corporations, all of which are “revoked” status and some which show a California address:

One address of which was ERAN ENGINEERING in Tustin (not far from Los Angeles)

ANYHOW, back to LizNotes:

Good Grief — the “patrick lane” address for the Samaan Living Trust (see above) shows up under “Web of Deception” with Dionne Warwick as president (of . . . .

DAVID AND DAMON PUBLISHING, INC.

Type: Domestic Corporation

Status: Default

Status Date: 12/1/2007

Filing Date: 11/10/1983

I gather this is talking about looking up IRS tax liens:  Among the many addresses is the same one:

Officers, Directors:

And corporation wiki also lists this (from what my layperson self can tell) as another incorporation mill, i.e., “Corporations at this address” (will take a while to count)

By the way, this may be an appropriate time to mention that, along with sometimes falsifying billings for Medi-Cal and Child Support, some of us have also found fraudulent registration of (family court litigants) names — without their knowledge — on real estate transactions.  Or, for example, continued use of an SS# once it’s in the system, a form of identity theft; and this may be in or out of one’s own jurisdiction (case in point).

By the way, here’s another example of why I want the psychologists OUT of the family law business (psychodiagnostics.com — found at this address also)

BACK TO the LIZ LIBRARY’s posting of a hearing on Dr. Makram Samaan’s APA license renewal.

12.  Respondent provided counseling to C.M., the adult son of (I’ll omit the periods from here on) SF.  In therapy Respondent learned that CM’s father in law PF had received a settlement from the Veteran’s Administration….used this knowledge to provide therapy to CM’s mother (SF) and father (PF).  (I hate almost to transcribe parts for this).

SF (the mother in her 50s) had a workers’ compensation claim from an injury by a heavy shelf.

PF, the father in law of the original contact (patient CM) was a Viet Nam vet, dealing with PTSD, and legally blind…..

“During his counseling sessions (with these two) while ostensibly providing psychotherapy, respondent would talk about himself during most of the session, take phone calls from his broker, and buy and sell homes.  Respondent disclosed a lot of personal information about himself, (e.g. about his life in Egypt, travels, how he saved people, his job at the university, how his students loved him, how he stood up to the administration (see above!), that he knew important people, that he owned two yachts.)”

“Paragraph 16.   SF had a workers’ compensation case, which REspondent took over, had her sign a lien, and referred her to several doctors, including his son who is an attorney.” . . . signing promissory notes, advising them to put their money in offshore bank accounts as US bank accounts are unstable (true, they are, but still . . .. )

(Would that be the famous “Nabil Samaan” whose quote it’s hoped will get him disbarred, but which won’t?)

Do you have a sick feeling in your gut about this yet?    Next, he gets PF off his meds without consulting his medical history, and then involved in the reverse pension plan pay-out schemes.  In other words the man can smell money and knows how to get his hands on it, regardless of which vulnerabilities are in the people who are the gateway to this money.

There are SEVEN causes of complaint, and the executive officer of the Board of Psychology, signing this (per LizLibrary, which image shows the signature) on March 24, 2010, asks that Dr Samaan’s license be revoked.

During the timeframe of the investigation, one of his sons got married and divorced, and into a custody battle.  To tell the truth, I wouldn’t believe anything this grandfather says about his son, either one, the courts, or in fact, anything.  Let’s wait and see what the mother’s side has to say.  Meanwhile, he was taking family law cases in Sacramento still?    Complaints about the improper billing process date back to the 1980s, for pete’s sake!

In the “more” section (on the same Dr. / psychologist / grandfather), Liz Library — and just to note, Liz Kates if a family  law attorney in Florida, that does this site) is going to talk about the Marcia Fay / Moni Samaan case and this murder/suicide.  Thank you Liz Kates, for your work in posting so much of this information (but a strong thank you also to the other Liz Richards, in Virginia, who exposed the financial dealings between certain court-associated nonprofits, and tied them into the HHS fathers’ rights grants system.  Moreover, we are now also beginning to see the involvement (significant) of property transfer, and the importance of checking the county recorder of deeds for names of court professionals and/or litigants.  Who knows yours may be on there…without your knowledge..

Video: California Attorney says murder is okay

(apparently this post is from Bonnie Russell, in San Diego — dated to August 16)

• Add a comment

Bonnie Russell

, San Diego Public Policy Examiner

August 16, 201

Continue reading on Examiner.com The murder of Madeline Samaan-Fay by her father – San Diego Public Policy | Examiner.com http://www.examiner.com/public-policy-in-san-diego/the-murder-of-madeline-samaan-fay-by-her-father#ixzz1XDlvF1rP

Two hours ago Frank Doughtery of Divorcespecialists who represents Marcia Fay in her child custody battle turned murder-suicide, returned our call.  Doughtery informed us media initially got reports of Madeline Samaa-Fay’s murder completely wrong…in part because it was the weekend which prohibited court records from being checked.

However, it was clear media was deliberately misled by California attorney Nabil Samaan.

Brother of the killer.

Doughtery reported on August 6, 2011 the now dead Mourad “Moni” Samaan was served by mail with a Contempt order after earlier taking Madeline to Oregon on her mother’s time.  Sacramento County Family Court Judge James Mize had denied Marcia Fay’s request for supervised visitation. The confusion was due in part because Doughtery filed additional requests when the child was not returned on Friday.  However by that time both Madeline and the father who killed her were both dead.

/////

This was Marcia Fay’s custody attorney:  note the primary interest of psychology:

Frank E. Dougherty, J.D., Ph.D., A.B.P.P. (diplomate in forensic psychology) is a certified family law specialist with a 30+ year background as a psychologist, before switching to a law practice in 1995. He presently practices law in the Sacramento Valley region in the areas of family law, juvenile dependency law, guardianships and writs & appeals. Previously, he has worked as a custody evaluator, clinical researcher, a Chief Psychologist in Upstate New York, a practicing neuropsychologist, a professor of Psychology at several universities, a Local Director of Mental Health in El Dorado County, a CEO of a corporation conducting psychological evaluations for California Department of Mental Health, a law clerk to Justice Levinson in the Hawaii Supreme Court, and a lecturer on law and mental health issues to various legal and professional groups. 

How did Ms. Fay choose this attorney?  Because he was in Sacramento?   

Judge Mize (also track the link above, to LizLibrary and/or Bonnie Russell site) had a major interest in psychology, and social welfare, then later (1974) got his law degree, intending to be of most help to society by social welfare policy change.  Women’s Lawyer Service awarded him, California Judges Association awarded him, and I note involvement in Volunteer Legal Services of Northern California.

Here is Mary Samaan’s blog.  I am sorry to be so harsh in these comments, but I feel it’s time to be a little harsh when it comes to tolerating, for example, continued fraud.  ALSO, I do not know for sure that this is the same, i.d., Dr. Makram’s wife, but it would seem so:

Marriage, Family and Child Therapy

Submitted by msamaan on Fri, 07/31/2009 – 14:00

Some time ago, I wrote an open letter to pastors in the Sacramento area.   I want to share that letter with you because I think it best describes my services and my methods.

Dear Pastor,

I am a Marriage, Family and Child Therapist, licensed by the State of California (MFT License 6381), with a Master of Science degree in Counseling.  I have provided counseling to individuals and families since 1974.  I have been a part-time instructor of Psychology at American River College for 30 years.

I strongly believe in the importance of affirming Christian marriage and family values.  As a wife and mother of three adult children and grandmother of two, I have deep empathy and understanding of the many challenges that families face today.

I believe that a Christian family that shares love, intimacy and positive communication, is an important foundation for both church and community.  As a Christian, family-oriented therapist, I am commited to helping families in crisis.  I have extensive experience and skills in group therapy, stress management, pre-marital and couples therapy.

In addition to working with couples and families, I provide pre-marital counseling to couples utilizingInventories for Premarital Counseling (Couple and Family Map, [Prepare/Enrich], by David Olson of the University of Minnesota).

What is “Christian Counseling”?

Submitted by msamaan on Fri, 05/29/2009 – 14:50

In California, a licensed counseling professional is prohibited by California law to claim to be a Christian counselor.   While there is no question that psychologists ascribe to some form of personal belief system including a belief in a greater being or power or God, that belief system is supposed to remain separate from the professional practice.

There have been volumes of books written on the subject of “Christian counseling”.   The distinction can be made, however, that while a psychologist may be a Christian in their own personal belief, the State doesn’t recognize any religion or theology to be part of the licensing requirement.

It can, therefore, be somewhat of a frustration for the seeker of counseling services to find a family or marriage counselor practicing their faith in their professional practice.  Many times, it becomes a matter of calling several phone numbers and awaiting return phone calls before a determination can be made as to whether or not a pschologist offers counseling from a Christian perspective.

 

This among other reasons is why I am no longer a churchgoer.

About Mary

You are forewarned.

And a good Christian woman will never “out” her husband because it would break up the family?

And her husband’s practice falsely billed, saying he performed services when she did them (unlicensed).  Their Nevada Corporation, “Innovative Enterprises International, LLC” held in three officer’s names:  his, hers, and a living trust, with the registered agent being an incorporation mill, which MOST of its (71 Nevada) corporations had business status revoked, terminated, cancelled, etc. (that’s even a high % for this field of family law, which as we’ve been seeing has lots of nonprofits lose their business status, only to replaced by newer ones with different names).   The address of the incorporation mill shows countless incorporations.

Moreover her husband Dr. Makram (if he’s still one) is apparently a liar, a crook, and exploits vulnerable, injured patients financially, by Psychological Board standards, which aren’t exactly the highest in the neighborhood!

I am wondering if the marriage prep tools being used here are courtesy some 93.086 type grants, i.e. marriage/fatherhood:

Does this sound familiar, if you’ve been around my blog much?

PREPARE/ENRICH began in 1980 as a result of several research projects at the University of Minnesota in which Dr. David Olson developed a set of inventories for couples; known as PREPARE/ENRICH. Because of the demand for inventories David and Karen Olson formed PREPARE/ENRICH (Life Innovations, Inc.) to provide these helpful tools for counselors, clergy members, mentors and other marriage educators.

(obviously layout on their page is going to be in the right sequence; mine isn’t).

Notice — she has 25 years of experience, but doesn’t merit a “vita” on the site:

Mr. Olson is past president of the National Council on Family Relations (NCFR). He is a Fellow in the American Association of Marital and Family Therapy (AAMFT), American Psychological Association (APA) and NCFR.

 

You know I’m going to look it up.  Seems MN has only one search field” entity name” (if there’s another source, let me know, please!) and they show:

Churches / Christians are so eager to get into the counseling and marriage promotion field, where they are already.  Internet organization plus faith-based grants sure must help, here’s a Center for Relationship Education recommending the same Marriage Prep tools it’s too bad if the Samaan’s daughter in law and son didn’t use (having met each other over the internet and decided to marry in their 40s).  Or did they take it?

http://liferelationships.com/about/board.asp

(Dr. Olson is on the board of this “CRE” (Center for Relationship Education) which happens to be located on John Brown University in ARkansas).

Their “Church Initiatives” page says:

The vision of CRE is to help people be conformed to the image of the Lord. In other words, the end in mind is Christ-centered relationships. Romans 8:29 states, “ For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his Son.”

If our vision is Christ-centered relationships, CRE’s mission then is to educate, enrich, and equip “equippers” to live this out and to influence the relationships of others. This is based on the instruction given in 2 Timothy 2:2, “the things which you have heard from me…entrust to faithful men and women who will be able to teach others also.” We call this rippling effect “multiplication.” It is the essence of the great commission: “Go and make disciples of all nations…teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you” (Matt. 18-20).

That’s a misquote of 2 Timothy 2:2 which absolutely does not say “men and women,” in fact quite a point is often made in Christian circles that women should NOT be teaching, certainly not in public and if then, not to men.  They’ll quote Paul up and Timothy back to make this point.   I don’t happen to agree, but the point is that the religious ones here aren’t even quoting their own scripture right.

The other point being that evangelism and multi-level marketing (and marriage promotion with federal grants helping) go hand in hand just fine.

This link  http://liferelationships.com/resources/links.asp includes all time “egalitarian” sites such as:

Focus on the Family

National Center for Fathering

Promise Keepers

Family First (which leads to:

amily First Programs and Projects

All Pro Dad

All Pro Dad is Family First’s innovative program helping men to be better fathers. All Pro Dad’s 50 NFL spokesmen, multiple NFL seminars, 850 All Pro Dad’s Days, and Play of the Day daily emails that reach almost 40,000 fathers each day, all inspire and equip fathers to be actively involved in their children’s lives. And every month, over 100,000 fathers log onto AllProDad.com to benefit from insightful fatherhood resources.

Dr. Olson (who wrote the tools Dr. Mary Samaan recommends in her practice in California) cites NCFR __ National Council on Family Relations in his bio.

Just for a little perspective of “speed of nonprofit duplication” — check out this list from NCCSDataweb.org, including the fact that only TWO show any 990s filed!

Are these all religious, and hence don’t have to file, or what?

Notice the University Proclivity…

As I keep saying, the highest- profit-margin field to be in, EVER, is information dissemination.  You’re in it:

http://dynamodata.fdncenter.org/990_pdf_archive/410/410762436/410762436_200912_990.pdf

/////

A few days ago I was railing on “Supervised Visitation Network” (again) pointing out — I believe correctly — that it was a creation, basically of the Association for Family & Conciliation Courts (basically) personnel. WE also know that the supervised visitation centers (see last post for how often they go under, or lose their business licenses) often get funding in the form of federal grants to states for “Access Visitation.”

Access Visitation is itself a term coined and promoted by the Children’s Rights Council, which they also assert on their pages.

So, I receive an email alert from a well-known California group that has been protesting a certain judge for years, and trying to get him off the bench.

However no judge functions in a vacuum; it is the web of infrastructure enabling bad (or child-endangering/lethal) decisions to be made, year after year in the courts. So am going to take a brief look at this news article and the court the case came from, which was forwarded me yesterday.

The alert, from California Protective Parents, complaining about the judge, reads:

Sacramento Judge Peter McBrien once again refused a mother’s plea for supervised visits with a father who was a danger to his daughter and himself. Tragically, the father then shot the toddler twice, then turned the gun on himself in a murder suicide.

http://www.sacbee.com/2011/08/17/3842824/bitter-custody-fight-foreshadowed.html

This preventable tragedy is just one of the many times Judge McBrien has endangered children. He has placed countless children with their identified sexual molesters and violent, alcoholic fathers.

Bitter custody fight foreshadowed abduction, father-daughter deaths 

By Peter Hecht

phecht@sacbee.com

Published: Wednesday, Aug. 17, 2011 – 12:00 am | Page 1A, Last Modified: Sunday, Aug. 21, 2011 – 2:37 pm

photo:  Madeline Samaan-Fay was found dead with her father late Saturday near Grizzly Flat.

After Mourad “Moni” Samaan failed to bring back their 2-year-old daughter, Madeline, the girl’s mother filed urgent legal pleadings, saying her ex-husband “is out of control and our daughter is in immediate danger.”

Marcia Fay’s declaration demanding the little girl’s return came after Samaan missed the scheduled drop-off Aug. 7, a day after he learned Fay had been awarded full custody.

The toddler, Madeline Layla Samaan-Fay, was found dead along with her father in a sport-utility vehicle on a wooded, desolate property co-owned by Samaan and his brother in El Dorado County.

Authorities say they believe Samaan murdered the little girl and killed himself. Autopsy results are pending and the official cause of death remains under investigation.
Read more: http://www.sacbee.com/2011/08/17/3842824/bitter-custody-fight-foreshadowed.html#ixzz1XBYlMEvQ

A two-year stack of Sacramento County family court documents reveals a bitter custody battle between Fay and her ex-husband, including a 2009 order for Samaan to complete 26 weeks of anger counseling before getting approval for overnight visits with his daughter. The papers allege outbursts by Samaan, including his storming into a hospital post-surgical room after Madeline was born Dec. 22, 2008, six months after the couple’s marriage broke up.

Grandfather of slain girl blames court system

(8/16/2011 by Stephen Magagnini & Peter Hecht, Sacramento Bee)

Fay, who works as a state deputy attorney general, said in the documents that her ex-husband’s “behavior in violating custody orders is becoming more brazen.  “His behavior has escalated out of control,” she said. “He realizes that if he maintains our daughter against court orders, law enforcement will not intercede if he is not at home or if I do not know her location.

On Aug. 2, Fay requested an order from the child abduction unit of the Sacramento County District Attorney’s Office to stop Samaan from taking unauthorized trips with Madeline, including to Egypt where he had family and Mexico where he owned property.

She said her ex-husband had taken the girl to Oregon, “will not disclose his location” and “has blocked his telephone number.” A hearing was pending for Aug. 30 on contempt allegations of repeated violations of child custody orders.

She said Samaan had threatened suicide in 2008 and “his behavior is now more unstable than ever before.”

In 2010, Samaan was granted permission to have the child in his custody on Wednesday evenings through Thursday mornings and on Saturday mornings to Sunday mornings.

Read more: http://www.sacbee.com/2011/08/17/3842824/bitter-custody-fight-foreshadowed.html#ixzz1XBiF4hEX

• 15 Aug 2011 at 4:55 PM
• CALIFORNIA, DEATHS, DIVORCE TRAIN WRECKS, FAMILY LAW, KIDS, QUOTE OF THE DAY,SUICIDE

Quote of the Day: I Don’t Think ‘Right’ Means What You Think It Means

By STACI ZARETSKY

I think he did the right thing. I’m proud of my brother and now he’s in a better place. He’s at peace. His daughter’s at peace. She’ll have one name now, and we can move on. And hopefully the court will learn a little thing about justice.

— Nabil Samaan, a California attorney, commenting on the apparent murder-suicide of niece Madeline Layla Samaan-Fay and brother Mourad “Moni” Samaan. Moni had been in an epic custody battle with ex-wife Marcia Fay, a California deputy attorney general.

— Jerome Fishkin, an ethics attorney, noting that attorney Nabil Samaan’s supportive commentsrelating to the apparent murder-suicide of niece Madeline Layla Samaan-Fay and brother Mourad “Moni” Samaan may be detrimental to Samaan’s law practice.

(The Center for Judicial Excellence has announced it will file a complaint with the State Bar of California demanding Nabil Samaan’s disbarment.)

Since it’s founding in 2006, CJE has filled a critical void, shining a light on a vital branch of government that wields tremendous power over the lives of average people. CJE has empowered citizen leadership, inspired government action, and become a major catalyst in building a national movement for family court reform.

Beginning in 2008, CJE made a special commitment to protecting the rights of children and vulnerable populations in the courts. This year, CJE will continue our successful campaign to promote the safety of children in California’s family courts… and in courts across the nation.

. . .

And to the whitehouse from a mere nonprofit started in 2006, unbelievable:

http://www.centerforjudicialexcellence.org/

 – –

Our ED {Executive Director} Kathleen Russell was a distinguished guest at the first-ever White House event on Domestic Violence where the collective work of assembled advocates was repeatedly lauded by the President and other Administration officials. Vice President Biden spoke specifically about family law and the need for increased resources and better access to justice for DV victims. Administration officials Valerie Jarrett and Lynn Rosenthal were joined by baseball great Joe Torre, who spoke about his experience as child growing up in a violent household. Watch this video from the event, or click here to read a transcript.

Why should policymakers care about responsible fatherhood?

• The federal government spends $100 billion every year to support father-absent homes. In June 2008, National Fatherhood Initiative released The One Hundred Billion Dollar Man, a ground-breaking study that showed that the federal government spends $100 billion each year supporting father-absent homes. And that’s a conservative estimate – the study did not measure impact for related costs such as the criminal justice system, which is overwhelmed by men who grew up in father-absent homes.
• The most challenging social problems of our time are connected to father absence. If you want to address poverty, child abuse, crime/recidivism, drug abuse, teen pregnancy, or education, then restoring fatherhood is an integral part of the solution. Father absence is not a single issue, and its social and economic consequences are felt across society.
• Father absence has a direct impact on the well-being of millions of children. 24 million children, 1 out of 3, grow up in homes in which their biological fathers do not live. In the African-American community, the rate is 2 out of 3. These children are significantly more likely to live in poverty, drop out of school, engage in risky behaviors…all issues the government grapples with every day.

SF “PROMETHEUS” law firm Point of View (one of the attorneys):

(“sanfranciscobayarealaw”)

Mr. Aly Ebrahimzadeh, Esq.

Mr. Aly Ebrahimzadeh, Esq., a Distinguished Attorney with Prometheus: A Social Justice Law Firm, speaks fluent Spanish, French, Italian, Farsi, as well as basic German. Mr. Ebrahimzadeh is licensed to practice law in the various state and federal courts of California, including the Federal District Court for the Northern District of California, the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, the California Supreme Court, all the California Appellate Courts, and all the California Superior Courts, including in Redwood City, Palo Alto, San Francisco, San Rafael, Martinez, Oakland, Hayward, San Jose, Monterey, and Santa Cruz. A former successful Governor’s Teaching Fellow public school teacher, college teacher and organic farm-worker, Mr. Aly Ebrahimzadeh, Esq. is a dynamic and cutting-edge public interest attorney possessing very successful years of experience working with Plaintiff-side and Non-Profit law firms in the San Francisco Bay Area, including Communities for a Better Environment, Earthjustice, and Education Not Incarceration. In both state and federal courts, Mr. Ebrahimzadeh has worked successfully with colleagues on multi-million dollar cases representing both Plaintiffs and Defendants, high stakes criminal actions, class action lawsuits, complex multiparty actions, very high-conflict divorces, and social impact litigation.

(a) Every person who takes, entices away, keeps, withholds, or conceals a child and maliciously deprives a lawful custodian of a right to custody, or a person of a right to visitation, shall be punished by imprisonment in a county jail not exceeding one year, a fine not exceeding one thousand dollars ($1,000), or both that fine and imprisonment, or by imprisonment in the state prison for 16 months, or two or three years, a fine not exceeding ten thousand dollars ($10,000), or both that fine and imprisonment.
   (b) Nothing contained in this section limits the court's contempt
power.
   (c) A custody order obtained after the taking, enticing away,
keeping, withholding, or concealing of a child does not constitute a
defense to a crime charged under this section.

279.1

(a) Section 278.5 does not apply to a person with a right to custody of a child who, with a good faith and reasonable belief that the child, if left with the other person, will suffer immediate bodily injury or emotional harm, takes, entices away, keeps, withholds, or conceals that child.

Marcia Fay would've had such good faith and reasonable belief, but probably was smart enough 
to know this wouldn't be taken into consideration in her case, and/or she was not willing or able -- or didn't wish
to relocate, which is a huge, traumatic, and risky step for any parent to take.

   (b) Section 278.5 does not apply to a person with a right to custody of a child who has been a victim of domestic violence who, with a good faith and reasonable belief that the child, if left with the other person, will suffer immediate bodily injury or emotional harm, takes, entices away, keeps, withholds, or conceals that child. "Emotional harm" includes having a parent who has committed domestic violence against the parent who is taking, enticing away, keeping, withholding, or concealing the child.
   (c) The person who takes, entices away, keeps, withholds, or
conceals a child shall do all of the following:
   (1) Within a reasonable time from the taking, enticing away,
keeping, withholding, or concealing, make a report to the office of
the district attorney of the county where the child resided before
the action. The report shall include the name of the person, the
current address and telephone number of the child and the person, and
the reasons the child was taken, enticed away, kept, withheld, or
concealed.
   (2) Within a reasonable time from the taking, enticing away,
keeping, withholding, or concealing, commence a custody proceeding in
a court of competent jurisdiction consistent with the federal
Parental Kidnapping Prevention Act

Where the kidnapping parent provides allegations, be they evidenced or not, of domestic violence by the other parent, the child custody court will often allow the abducting parent to preserve the majority or the entirety of custody over the children

Form	Date Revised	Description
DV-100*	Jul 1, 2009	Request for Order
DV-101	Jul 1, 2010	Description of Abuse (Domestic Violence Prevention)
DV-105*	Jan 1, 2004	Child Custody, Visitation, and Support Request (Domestic Violence Prevention)
DV-108*	Jul 1, 2003	Request for Order: No Travel with Children (Domestic Violence Prevention)
DV-109*	Jan 1, 2010	Notice of Court Hearing (Domestic Violence)
DV-110*	Jan 1, 2010	Temporary Restraining Order (CLETS-TRO) (Domestic Violence)
DV-112	Jan 1, 2010	Waiver of Hearing on Denied Request for Temporary Restraining Order
DV-120	Jul 1, 2009	Answer to Temporary Restraining Order
DV-125*	Jan 1, 2010	Reissue Notice of Court Hearing and Temporary Restraining Order (Domestic Violence Prevention)
DV-126-INFO	Jan 1, 2010	How to Reissue a Temporary Restraining Order (Domestic Violence Prevention)
DV-130*	Jan 1, 2010	Restraining Order After Hearing (CLETS-OAH) (Order of Protection)
DV-140*	Jul 1, 2003	Child Custody and Visitation Order (Domestic Violence Prevention)
DV-145*	Jul 1, 2003	Order: No Travel with Children (Domestic Violence Prevention)
DV-150*	Jul 1, 2003	Supervised Visitation Order (Domestic Violence Prevention)

TO:  JUDICIAL COUNCIL OF CALIFORNIA

ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICE OF THE COURTS [“AOC”]  455 Golden Gate Avenue San Francisco, California 94102-3688

Members of the Judicial Council

FROM:  Family and Juvenile Law Advisory Committee,  Hon. Jerilyn L. Borack and Hon. Susan D. Huguenor, Cochairs’ Tamara Abrams, Senior Attorney, 415-865-7712, tamara.abrams@jud.ca.gov

October 23, 2009

SUBJECT:   Family Law: Denial of Request for Temporary Restraining Order (revise Judicial Council forms DV-110, DV-125, DV-126-INFO, DV-130, DV- 200, DV-210-INFO, DV-250, DV-510-INFO, and DV-540-INFO; adopt form DV-109; and approve form DV-112) (Action Required)

Issue Statement

Effective January 1, 2009, Assembly Bill 2553 (Solorio; Stats. 2008, ch. 263) added section 6320.5 to the Family Code to require a court to state its reasons when denying a petition for an ex parte restraining order. In addition, under section 6320.5, if a court denies a jurisdictionally adequate petition for an ex parte order, the petitioner has a right to a noticed hearing within a specified number of days. The petitioner, however, has the option of waiving his or her right to the noticed hearing while retaining his or her right to file a new petition, without prejudice, at a later time. Family Code section 6320.5 requires the Judicial Council to develop a form to implement the statute by January 1, 2010.

Recommendation

The Family and Juvenile Law Advisory Committee recommends that the Judicial Council, effective January 1, 2010:

1. Revise Judicial Council forms DV-110, DV-125, DV-126-INFO, DV-130, DV-200, DV-210-INFO, DV-250, DV-510-INFO, and DV-540-INFO;

2. Adopt form DV-109; and

3. Approve form DV-112.

Attorney Ebrahimzadeh, cont’d:

The California Family Law System is deeply dysfunctional, and it is need of some serious positive changes.

Though the problem of child abductions is connected to various international issues which shall be discussed later in this article, on the local level alone, it is often inextricably linked to the discussion of California Child Custody and Divorce laws regarding domestic violence. Thus, the problem of child abductions cannot be resolved in California unless the Family Law Court system increases its demands for evidence when faced with one parent’s allegations of abuse and negligence,

and nurtures a professional environment that is truly committed in deed, and not just in word, to the welfare of children and the right of a child to have equal time with both parents, rather than jaded by slanted political and gender debates and financial interests.

As a California Family Law Attorney practicing in San Jose, Redwood City, San Francisco, Oakland, Santa Cruz, and the surrounding areas, and having a Divorce Law practice that focuses on Child Custody, [[i.e. representing one parent or another in a child custody proceeding]] Equal Parenting Rights, [[in practice this means fathers’ rights]] and Collaborative Divorce, I join many of my progressive colleagues in urging California legislators to adopt some serious changes to our Family Law Courts, such as:

1. Allow jury trials in Child Custody cases to help avoid the judicial cynicism and fatigue that may creep into judge-controlled Family Law cases in California;

2. Take seriously citizen complaints about child therapists and social workers, and set up a third-party independent review process meant to weed out from the Court’s list of recommended professionals the psychological evaluators, Special Masters, and other therapeutic practitioners who are repeatedly alleged by various clients to act in a biased or unprofessional manner;

4. Understand that the current model of extended court-based mediation and post-mediation hearings often subjects parents and their children to kangaroo court injustices where the laws of evidence are held in abeyance and therapists’ and mediators’ knee-jerk evaluations hold ultimate sway for months if not years, at which point then the parties may proceed to the litigation process of discovery and trial, which can take months and years itself.

Read Mr. Ebrahimzadeh on California Prison system (nov. 2010)

I notice that he is covering some of the same material I have been — for example, I also blogged this on “Cutting down on Immigration, Locking up Profits” post (reporting on an investigation under similar name) and on Corrections Corporation of America.  (search on my blog).  How then, and why, is it so emotionally and intellectually hard to conceive of the same types of influence at the family court level?  Good grief — when the word “family” comes in there, suddenly politics evaporates and no money changes hands to prevent reform?

Why not clean up the financial misbehaviors FIRST and then see what’s left — if anything indeed would be left of the family court structures once those are removed!

(kind of like taking the junk out of junk food — would defeat the purpose?).

ANyhow, he writes coherently:

California prison reform movements seeking to overcome serious problems, such as prison overcrowding, prison violence, and insufficient health and education services for prisoners, are particularly challenged by the State’s litigation efforts against prison reform class action lawsuits, the State’s unwillingness to abide by court orders mandating positive changes in the prison system, and questionable political decisions by California’s Governor and underlings that may be influenced by campaign contributions and economic influence by major corporations that build and maintain private prisons for burdened states like California.

The California prison system is the largest in the nation, and it suffers from serious problems of overpopulation, violence, and insufficient health and education services for its juvenile and adult inmates, especially for those with special needs. It is unconstitutional for a State prison system to operate at such dilapidated levels, because “cruel and unusual punishment” is illegal under the State and FederalConstitution.

At best, it is ironic that the California prison system is itself illegal. At worst, the terrible state of affairs in the prison system is the result of very questionable political choices who only seemingly benefit private companies who build and manage new mega-prisons meant to deal with overpopulation, violence, and prison services for states buckling under such problems. The three largest private prison companies in the USA are Wackenhut (newly renamed as G4S Secure Solutions USA), Corrections Corporation of America, and Bechtel.

Their lobby efforts and influence in national and state politics is infamous. In April of 2006, the National Institute of Money in State Politics published a major research paper entitled “Policy Lock Down: Prison Interests Court Political Players,” which noted that between the years of 2001 and 2004, major private prison corporations donated over $150,000 to California politicians’ campaign efforts. In turn, these companies were awarded multi-million dollar governmental contracts by the State of California. This raises the question: Is California’s crumbling prison system merely a pawn in quid-pro-quo (“this for that”) politics, i.e., “you scratch my back, and I’ll scratch yours”? More broadly, the National Institute of Money in State Politics summarized their April 2006 report as follows:

“Companies involved in building, financing and operating private prisons gave $3.3 million over two election cycles, channeling nearly two-thirds of the money to candidates and party committees in states with some of the toughest sentencing laws. This report looks at overall giving, as well as contributions by the companies and their lobbyists in 10 states: Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Indiana, Mississippi, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Tennessee and Texas.”

The problem in California is shockingly clear to any person who has personally spent any time in the walls of a state prison here, or had a family member who has. There are presently about 160,000 adults in the California prison system, which is about twice as many as are supposed to be kept in such facilities. Such prison overcrowding has caused extremely high levels of violence, emotional difficulties, and psychological disorders among the strained prisoners. Also, there are insufficient resources for providing medical attention and education to the ever expanding number of prisoners, again in direct violation of Federal and State Constitutional laws.

(emphases mine).

But then here we go, when it comes to family law:

Sexism in Divorce Court: A Comparative Understanding of the Case of Sakineh Ashtiani in Iran and Child Custody Statistics in California and the USA

By sexism — against fathers is meant, naturally.  First, a case in Iran is given, and then the USA shown to have gone entirely off the deep end, I guess, in allowing women TOO many rights in court.

November 9, 2010 By Mr. Aly Ebrahimzadeh, Esq.

Discrimination and sexism is rampant in divorce courts and child custody matters in the San Francisco Bay Area, including in San Jose, Oakland, Hayward, and Santa Cruz, California. A comparison with the discrimination and sexism found in Iran’s divorce and family law courts allows us to understand the flip side of the anti-father Californian child custody court system.

In Iran’s sexist and corrupt legal system, when a person is convicted of adultery, the punishment is stoning until death.  To convict a woman of adultery in Iran, a man must make the allegation and bear witness against her.  To convict a man of adultery in Iran, two women must testify against him, because in Iran’s sexist legal system, a woman’s testimony is considered half as trustworthy as a man’s. A man’s word is all that is required, therefore, to charge and convict a woman of adultery – and essentially, to kill her by the legal punishment of stoning.

This is the exact fate of Sakineh Ashtiani, who was charged with adultery and sentenced to death by stoning. She awaits execution in a torturous Iranian prison today. To ensure that she receives no support in her battle for her life, the oppressive Iranian government has deported her criminal defense attorney, and has imprisioned the German journalist and civil rights activists who were covering her case. Several civil rights and humanitarian non-profit organizations, including Avaaz.org, are heading grassroots efforts to stop the stoning of Sakineh. You can sign the petition at their website, and you can call the Iranian embassy in Washington D.C. to voice your opinions on this human rights matter. To call the embassy of Iran in Washington D.C., dial 212-687-2020 and hit “0″. Tell the operator why you’re calling, and he’ll transfer you to a voicemail where you can leave a message. It is likely more safe to not leave your name on the voicemail, but it’d be useful to identify the state from which you are calling.

Beyond the life and policy at stake here, this divorce law matter holds a certain relevance to our American legal system. In Iran, when a couple divorces, the father is automatically awarded sole legal custody of the children. 

What about physical custody?  Does the father then end up raising and potty training youngsters?  I don’t think so ….

In a culture where women are stoned for adultery on the testimony of one man, it would make sense not to have a woman that could be the next moment stoned to death on hearsay raising children!  But notice the contrast and protest here:

(this is the rest, the entirety of that post)….

 In the USA, in contested custody cases, according to statistics published by the federal government and the State of California, mothers are awarded primary custody of the children 80% of the time, fathers get primary custody 5% of the time, and parents split custody 15% of the time in a time-share structure that strongly weighs in favor of mothers. A true 50-50 split in child custody occurs less than 2% of the time in US divorce courts. California, for all its sensitivity to gender issues and progressive politics, matches these same child custody statistics.

FACT:  not all fathers sue for custody, or want to.  Some have already moved on to another women.

FACT:  Some fathers do not get custody — initially — because separation is occasioned by their being in prison for assaulting the mothers, or other causes.

In saying “mothers are awarded” this implies no difference in who is seeking custody; it’s not logically or evidentially honest.  Rather, say, “in CONTESTED” custody cases xx% get custody.

Moreover, to fail to mention a $4 billion child support industry and multi-million (perhaps billion, I”ve lost track) fatherhood industry, entrenched throughout the federal government by executive order from a democratic president dating back to 1995 is simply dishonest.  This attorney needs to acknowledge this.

The problem of sexism in our understanding of parenthood is beyond a simple legal problem. In our culture, to “mother” a child has the connotation of “coddling” or “nurturing” a child; whereas to “father” a child means to “procreate”, “spawn” or “sire” a child. The mainstream cultural vision of the typical breadwinner is male in our culture, and the mainstream cultural vision of a homemaker is female in our culture. We too suffer from a sexist family law system here in the United States – in fact, here in California as well.

Part of our work at Prometheus: is to challenge and subvert these sexist stereotypes, to ensure that gender equity and justice is very much a part of the legal system in divorce court. But what we cannot control at all is people’s perceptions. We maintain this law blog to urge you to do that kind of work – the very real work of analyzing your own way of thinking and acting, especially in times of great conflict.

Prometheus: offers aggressive divorce lawyer and child custody attorney representation in family law matters in the San Francisco Bay Area, including in Berkeley, Oakland, Napa, San Rafael, Palo Alto, Redwood City, San Jose, Hayward, Pleasanton, Santa Cruz, and Monterey, California. We work with fathers and mothers seeking collaborative divorce representation in child custody mediation cases, as well as fair child custody arrangements that are in the child’s best interests in divorce lawsuits.

 

There is sexism inherent in our culture.  When we have a Congress that is 51% women (as we are about 51% of the population) and when secretaries, domestic workers, elementary school teachers, nurses, and the hotel maids, restaurant wait staff nationwide (for starters) are 49% then we can talk about sexism in the family courts.  I didn’t yet mention topless bars, prostitution, and a whole lot more I could’ve in this matter.  Probably one of the more egalitarian areas of our culture, though I can’t say for sure, is trafficking of minor children through the courts, child protection, and foster care systems, which didn’t seem to get a mention in the blog, either.

I apologize for this being such a quick-search item, but I am looking for at what age the fathers take possession of their children (after divorce) in Iran.  It may not be the most current, but my understanding is that some Iranian mothers come here in order to NOT lose their children automatically during divorce:

http://www.law.emory.edu/ifl/legal/iran.htm

Ruled by series of dynasties for 2,500 years. Shi�ism declared official religion of Iran under Safavid rule (1501-1722). Increasing influence of European powers, beginning with capitulations to Russians, in 19^th century. 1906 first Constitution promulgated. Series of laws enacted thereafter, relating to criminal, civil, commercial, and family law.

No Constitution until 1906!

By 1936, legislation made secular education requisite for serving judges. Major changes introduced in area of family law under Reza Shah with passage of Family Protection Law 1967 (significantly amended 1975) abolishing extra-judicial divorce and requiring judicial permission for polygamy and only for limited circumstances.

Family protection, 1967; and a swift response back to the religious standard:

1979 Revolution brought end to Pahlavi dynasty (1925-1979). Supreme Judicial Council issued proclamation directing courts that all un-Islamic legislation was suspended. Council given remit to revise all existing laws to Islamise legal system, with Ayatollah Khomeini�s fatawa serving as �transitional laws�. Vilayat al-faqih.

In America, the process of revising the Constitution back closer to the western equivalent of “sharia” has been slower, because it’s been fought, and because it’s contrary to the constitution.   We are not primarily a religious country, however, the financial element has a significant influence, as does electing a President from Texas, and later, his Son.

Current Constitution adopted 2^nd-3^rd December 1979; significant revisions expanding presidential powers and eliminating prime ministership in 1989. Article 4 provides that all civil, penal, financial, economic, administrative, cultural, military, political, and any other laws must be based on Islamic criteria; Article 12 provides that official religion is Islam and the twelver Ja�fari school; other schools of law to be accorded full respect and freedom of religious practice, including matters of personal status.

Constitution provides that chief of Supreme Court and Prosecutor-General must be mujtahids; Special Civil Courts established in 1979 to adjudicate over matters relating to family law, succession andawqaf.

 

In the U.S., the Conciliation Code, Family Law System, etc. was designed to defeat divorce and bring in counselors.  That’s established and not hard to defend by simply the history of who passed which laws when.  These laws began 1939; within one generation of women getting the vote, if not in response to this tremendous sea-change in the political landscape.    There was a state (I forget which one) that didn’t ratify women voting even til 1948, although it was by then an Amendment to the Constitution.

In the U.S. we are seeing the creation of multiple problem-solving courts around specific issues; however the original “problem-solving court” appears to have been FAMILY court; the problem was divorce.  There are now fathering courts, child support courts, drug-courts and more….

Marriage Age: Civil Code provides that marriage contracted before puberty is invalid unless authorized by natural guardian with ward�s best interests in mind.� When authorized before puberty, minimum age is nine.

Marriage Guardianship: marriage of virgin girl (even after puberty) requires permission of father or paternal grandfather; Special Civil Court may grant permission if guardian refuses without valid reason.

Marriage Registration: Identity Office must be notified of all temporary or permanent marriages and their dissolution.�Marriages between Muslim women and non-Muslim men are not recognized.� Baha�i marriages are not recognized.

Temporary Marriage: permitted; must be for fixed time period.

Polygamy: wife may obtain divorce if husband marries without her permission or does not treat co-wives equitably in court�s assessment.

Obedience/Maintenance: subject to classical conditions; wife who is not nashiza may take matter to court if husband refuses to pay maintenance and court will fix sum and issue maintenance order � arrears of maintenance to wife have precedence over all other liabilities against husband; in temporary marriage, wife only entitled to maintenance if contract stipulates such; husband may deny his wife right to work in any profession “incompatible with the family interests or with the dignity of himself or of the wife”; wife�s refusing conjugal relations where husband has contracted venereal disease not deemed disobedience.

Talaq: governed by classical Shi�i law requiring specific formula and two male witnesses; conditional divorce is invalid; 1992 reforms make registration of divorce without court certificate illegal; wife may obtain khol� divorce in return for consideration of more or less than nuptial gift (mahr);

. . . .

A reform introduced in 1992 extended the divorced wife�s financial rights from maintenance during �idda and her deferred dower to the right to sue for payment for household services rendered to their husbands during marriage, although the measure is difficult to apply in practice partly because of the difficulty in assessing wages for housework.

The mother�s custody ends at 2 years for boys and 7 for girls; custody reverts to the father if the mother remarries. Mother may be granted custody in certain cases if the father is proven unfit to care for the child.

THIS is the part I was looking for.  In Iran — this father would not have had access to run away with the little girl and kill her.  She would’ve been with her mother til she is seven.  Boys, I guess being more valuable and lest they get too attached to a female role model, like their mother, went with their fathers at age 2, so if it’d been a little boy, then he could’ve.   I’m reminded of the writings (although not from Iran) of Ayaan Hirsi Ali, or the Egyptian-born (as I recall) Nonie Darwish on some of these matters.  Search “Infidel” for the former and “They Call Me Infidel” for the latter.  These women have both fled to America (one from the Netherlands?) and are speaking about their home cultures.

For a San Francisco based attorney to compare Iranian law and say United States has gone overboard against fathers tells me it’s time to better analyze his own point of view and perspective.

Remainder of the page I was quoting, which (to be fair) reads: “THis is a draft:” from Emory Law.edu:

Iran, Islamic Republic of

*Please note this is just a draft and all contents are still under revision.*

Succession is governed by classical law; descendants (how low soever) of predeceased children of the propositus inherit in place of their parents. �Children of Baha�i marriages are not recognized as legitimate and, therefore, are denied inheritance rights.

 

! ! ! !

Law/Case Reporting System:

International Conventions (with Relevant Reservations): Iran signed the ICCPR and ICESCR in 1968 and ratified both Covenants in 1975 without reservations.

Iran signed the CRC in 1991 and ratified it in 1994 with a general declaration and reservation to the effect that the Islamic Republic makes reservation to the articles and provisions which might be contradictory to the Islamic shari�a, reserving the right not to apply any provisions incompatible with Islamic Laws and the international legislation in effect.�’

One major feature of the CRC (the international, not Children’s Rights COuncil “CRC,” which is a U.S. nonprofit with international chapters –including in FRANCE) — is equal access to both parents.

Background and Sources: Amin, Middle East Legal Systems, Glasgow, 1985; Haeri, “Divorce in Contemporary Iran: A Male Prerogative in Self-Will,” in Islamic Family Law, Mallat & Connors, eds., London 1990; Lawyers Committee for Human Rights, Report of, The Justice System of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Washington DC, May 1993; Mahmood, �Iran� in Statutes of Personal Law in Islamic Countries, 2^nd ed., New Delhi, 1995; Mir-Hosseini, “Mariage et Divorce: Une Marge de Negociation pour les Femmes,” Les femmes en Iran: Pressions Sociales et Strat�gies Identitaires, Yavari-d’Hellencourt. Paris, 1998; Mir-Hosseini, Marriage on Trial: A Study of Islamic Family Law, Iran and Morocco Compared, London, 1993; Pakzad, “The Legal Status of Women in the Family in Iran,” in In the Eye of the Storm: Women in Post-Revolutionary Iran, Afkhami & Friedl, eds., London, 1994; Ramaz, “”Women in Iran: The Revolutionary Ebb and Flow,” Middle East Journal, vol. 47, no. 3 (1993): 409-428; Redden, �Iran� in Modern Legal Systems Cyclopedia, vol. 5, Buffalo, NY, 1990; Taleghani, ed. & trans. Civil Code of Iran, Littleton, Colorado, 1995.

In 2003

It also seems appropriate here to quote (also, just found by quick internet search, I admit) part of a transcript from a Muslim woman and Iranian attorney who in 2003 won the Nobel Peace Prize.  Obviously I was looking up the custody ages; here’s a little of the immediate context:

Ebadi: Children Rights Are the Same As Human Rights Yaas-e Nou (Persian Morning Daily) Thursday, Oct 9, 2003 Vol. 1, No 176 Page: 15 By: Mahvash Kian-Ersi Summary: Renowned Iranian lawyer Shirin Ebadi was announced on Oct 9 to have won the 2003 Nobel Peace Prize for her efforts in favor of democracy and freedom in Iran.   Ebadi was the first Muslim woman and also the first Iranian to become the Nobel peace laureate.   One day before this astonishing announcement, she talked to reformist Yaas-e Nou on the occasion of World Children Day (Oct 8).   Here we offer the full text of our interview with this university professor of law. Text: The children should grow coordinately from physical, spiritual, cultural and economic points of view.   The families and the governments are obliged to provide the facilities to the children to grow.   The significance of children’s growth prompted the world nations to draw out an international convention for children’s rights.   In the face of social, cultural and economic abnormalities, the children need healthy atmosphere.   Now we read a short interview with Shirin Ebadi.

Q:What discipline is adopted to deal with child abuse either by parents or the relatives?

A:The latest version of law dealing with child abuse was adopted in 2002.   According to this law, any physical blow or mental trauma against children and under-18s amount to a crime and no individual plaintiff is required in this case.   The public prosecutor can cope with the offenders.   The important point in this law is that the judiciary and not the parents are entitled to lodge a lawsuit.

Q:How can we support the children subject to abnormal conditions at home?

A:If it is proven to the court that abnormal conditions at the family would damage the physical and mental health of the children, the court authorizes anyone who is ready to accept the child.   Or the court can order the children be looked after at the State Welfare Organization.

Q:What problems do we have in Iran regarding children’s rights?

A:The Iranian law looks at the children as properties of the parents.   For instance, if a neighbor kills a child he would face `qisas’ (the eye-for-an-eye law of retribution) — required by the Islamic Penal Code.   The same man will not face such punishment if he kills his own child and he will at most get ten years in jail if the mother files complaint.   We have similar laws.   When a couple decides to get divorced, the custody of over-2 boys and over-7 girls rests with the father while the future of such children is forgotten.   The law should take into account the independence of children.

Q:How will a mother who kills her own child be punished?

A:Such mothers face eye-for-an-eye law of retribution and they do not enjoy any acquittal.

AND  from Nov. 2003, and obviously I was not current as to the status of custody in Iran, above….

Iranian women win improved child custody rights

Khaleej Times, (Reuters)

30 November 2003

TEHRAN – Iranian women won the right to have custody of boys up to the age of seven on on Saturday, giving divorced mothers the same rights over their sons as they do over their daughters, a reformist parliamentarian said.

Under Iran’s strict law, divorced women already had automatic custody of girls until they are seven, but were previously only able to keep boys until they were two.

“The Expediency Council granted divorced mothers custody of both girls and boys until the age of seven,” Elaheh Kulai, a reformist woman deputy, said after it was broadcast on state television.

Iran’s conservative-controlled legislative body, the Guardian Council, had twice rejected the change on the grounds that it was against Islamic law, despite its approval by the reformist-led parliament last year.

But parliament’s decision was backed by the powerful Expediency Council, the top arbitration body headed by influential former President Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani.

“It is a positive step forward for defending women’s rights,” said Ms Kulai.

The reform is one of several bids by parliament to overcome the conservatives’ resistance and improve the lot of Iranian women, who cannot become president or a judge and are entitled to half of the inheritance due to a man.

Judges also often give fathers the custody of their children, regardless of their qualifications as parents.

 

 We are available to work with you even if you are in the midst of aggressive litigation, and either you, your spouse, your child’s attorney, or the judge determines that a Parenting Coordinator is required to reduce the scope of litigation. Any party or the court on its own motion can request a Parenting Coordinator, often called a Special Master in court, be assigned to a case. A Parenting Coordinator, or “Special Master”, may be afforded certain powers by the court or by agreement of the parties to make non-binding recommendations or binding decisions about a host of important issues about Child Custody, Child Support, Child Visitation, and other issues concerning the education, health, and welfare of the children.   

   

American Tea Party Helps Republicans Win the House

November 3, 2010 By Mr. Aly Ebrahimzadeh, Esq.

(Paragraph 2ff): Basically, the American Tea Party takes the entire retinue of ultra-conservative Republican Party values and attempts to justify them by a perspective on American jurisprudence that disregards the two centuries of legal precedent and evolution** that has occurred since the drafting of the US Constitution, and rather focuses on that original document much like a text as sacred as the Bible is to Christians.

This begs the question:  What exactly is so sacred about the US Constitution?  Much of it has been redlined as racist, elitist, or purely impractical.Every time an Amendment is added, significant parts of the Constitution are essentially deleted.  Perhaps rather than continuing to revise a document that is over 200 years old and has been editorialized by over 30 major Amendments and interpreted out of its skin by scores of major legal precedents, it is time for the American people to accept the fact that we may need to go back to the drawing board and draft a new Constitution that reflects current ideologies and legal principles.

 

Several European, African, and Asian nations have done exactly this, having drafted entirely new Constitutions within the last fifty years.  Surely a new Constitution, one that is more detailed, modern and practicable as a guide for the American Legal System, may serve to minimize the argumentation about what the law truly is.

But then again, in the obscurity of our antiquated rule book, the US Constitution

But then again, in the obscurity of our antiquated rule book, the US Constitution, there lies the opportunity to shoehorn all sorts of interpretations and theories into what our nation was meant to look like and what course it should take.  Yet, the political process may benefit from more clarity and less theory, for we find ourselves in the stormy seas of unwieldy military conflicts, devastating economic whirlpools, and questionable political leadership on all sides.  What we may benefit most from in such times is a working compass, rather than an assortment of bickering navigators trying to outdo each other with interesting theories about the reasons why the compass broke.

Or rather, perhaps we can take a more simple example as our guide.  If you were drafting an essay for a class, and you had to make over 30 revisions of that essay, redlining huge swaths of text, completely contradicting main premises and themes, would you consider handing such a work in as your final product?  Or would you simply take what you had learned and draft a new clean copy, no attached revisions and deletions, but a singular essay that incorporates the lessons learned?  Or is the US Constitution truly a Sacred Tome for this Indivisible Nation Under God?

 

Nabil said Mourad disappeared after receiving a court order from his wife. Nabil said it was one of dozens he received in the past few months at the behest of Madeline’s mother, Marcia Fay, a deputy attorney general for the state Department of Justice.

“She was trying to prevent him from having any visitation,” said Nabil. “It has to be court-supervised.”

Samaan’s neighbors knew he was going through a custody battle.

“The hardest thing is that the public has no idea what he went through with his ex-wife,” said his neighbor Stephanie Brinkman. “It’s just heart-wrenching.”

 

“There’s not one document that would show that Moni is not the best father in the world,” said Nabil Samaan while being interviewed by News10 reporter Natalie Sentz.>

Sentz said, “He’s the best dad in the world until he takes the life of his child.”

Nabil responded, “He’s still the best dad in the world.”

Sentz said, “Madeline is dead.

“Yeah, but he’s not the one who killed her,” Nabil said.