[I sent the following e-mail to all Michigan House Representatives who did not

cosponsor HJR-NN on 2 Feb 2008. Note that during Spring 2008, many local Friend
of the Court offices posted Makeup Parenting Time policies on their web sites]

House Resolution NN will make children's lives better by allowing Michigan's

appellate courts to get control of family law officials in local courts who are
ignoring Michigan laws, and who, evidence indicates, are sometimes making
decisions for their own benefit rather than for the benefit of children and
families.

Today, there is substantial evidence that Michigan family court decisions are
being driven in in whole or in part by the financial implications of the court
[1], rather than the application of the law and the best interests of children.
Former FOC Officer Carol Rhodes described her experiences, saying "It was all
about money.... We stumbled over ourselves trying to get more Title IV-D cases
.... I witnessed regular deception to clients that was mandated by office policy
... policies change from week to week for the profit of the agency" [2] She even
talks about how her coworkers colluded with judges to intentionally and completely
sever the parent child relationship for those who made trouble for what she called
a "racket". This is little more than kidnapping and racketeering [3] We also see
in the CSPER report that the SCAO is mishandling state dollars intended for
parenting time enforcement, and state, federal, and local dollars intended to
handle child support modification requests. [4] Such is their disdain for the law
that most local FOC offices do not appear to even have state mandated parenting
time policies [5], or state mandated makeup parenting time policies [6], and most
parents who have parenting time problems find the FOC unhelpful.

When a child custody decision is appealed, the Michigan Appeals court often points
to MCL 722.28 [7] and says "MCL 722.28 provides that child custody orders and
judgments shall be affirmed on appeal unless the trial court made “findings of
fact against the great weight of evidence or committed a palpable abuse of
discretion or a clear legal error on a major issue.”" [8] It is under this legal
cover that all manner of questionable activities continue, including violations of
law in Oakland County [9], Ingham and Jackson Counties [10], and elsewhere. Those
who would thwart the interests of justice, violate the law, and harm children
within Michigan's courts do so knowing that the Michigan Appeals Court will not
step in to stop them, because their actions are protected under MCL 722.28.

If the Constitutional Amendment proposed by House Joint Resolution NN is passed,

the Michigan Court of Appeals will have jurisdiction to stop all local court
actions, and all actions by any other part of the government of the State of
Michigan whose procedures violate the law or otherwise harm kids. This will
ensure that children and their parents are accorded the due process that the
legislature of Michigan has deemed appropriate for them, and will guarantee that
no law, no matter how cleverly worded, can harm children and parents by allowing
local officials to ignore the laws of this state. It is for this reason that
house resolution NN would take care of these specific problems, and improve the
lives of children.

[1] http://www.scribd.com/doc/630611/A-Quick-Summary-of-Title-IVD-Funding-and-
Incentives
[2] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8M7cEi61W24
[3] http://www.scribd.com/doc/454566/Racketeering-in-Michigans-Friend-of-the-Court
[4] http://www.scribd.com/doc/477791/A-Review-of-the-CSPER-Report
[5]
http://www.legislature.mi.gov/(S(qo5quk45xtknti450u4bya55))/mileg.aspx?page=getObj
ect&objectName=mcl-552-519
[6]
http://www.legislature.mi.gov/(S(gjkkug55alvutf55woprxgaj))/mileg.aspx?page=getObj
ect&objectName=mcl-552-642
[7]
http://legislature.mi.gov/(S(obn4fvjcym21p1fwvxpfll55))/mileg.aspx?page=getObject&
objectName=mcl-722-28
[8]
http://courtofappeals.mijud.net/DOCUMENTS/OPINIONS/FINAL/COA/20070322_C274016_42_2
74016.OPN.PDF
[9] http://www.scribd.com/doc/362206/Oakland-County-Friend-of-the-Court-Ignores-
the-Law-and-Hurts-Kids
[10] http://www.scribd.com/doc/362198/Ingham-County-and-Jackon-County-Michigan-
FOC-Are-Ignoring-The-Law-and-Hurting-Kids