Posted by
JayPeriod on Thursday, December 20, 2007 3:27:49 PM
Worries over the Patriot Act and Bush's wiretap program have nothing on the stripping of rights being taken on by courts. Every week, usually without our knowledge, courts across this nation are trampling on and steeling our rights. This all happens mostly by judges that have no accountability to the people. Unlike our elected officials, who must face the electorate and justify their decisions, judges use their own personal beliefs and foreign laws to force their will on us, and we generally have no way to repeal their decisions.
A recent case has gotten no media attention, has to do with a homeschooling mother in Utah, Denise Mafi. She has been homeschooling her children for many years. She has abided by the state rules of registering her children with the local school board. For the 2006-07 year, her paperwork was lost at the board office. She was unaware of any problem, especially when she received approval after submitting her 2007-08 paperwork.
She was unaware, this is, until she received a notice from the court that there was a problem. Enter Judge Scott Johansen. Upon her appearance in his court, he informed her she must enroll her children in public school or face prison and have her children removed from her custody. Even after she enrolled her two youngest children in public school and her two oldest in a curriculum approved by the local school board, Judge Johansen told her she would still have to appear in court to determine if she would spend time in jail and have her children taken from her.
During the court proceedings, Judge Johansen made several comments which should certainly tarnish his decision. These comments were based solely on his opinion, not on law. He told her she was in court, "because you homeschool." He also stated that homeschooling fails 100 percent of the time and that he wasn't going to allow it. Apparently, Judge Johansen, is the sole judge of what works in education and what parents rights should be concerning their children's education.
Now, the case has taken another twist of trampling of rights. Judge Johansen also told Mafi that she was not allowed to leave the jurisdiction of the court. In otherwords, even after she compromised her beliefs and forfeited her rights by enrolling them in school, Judge Johansen could decide if she could move or not. Mafi has since abandoned her home, moved to another state and is in hiding. She is also a fugitive from the court. If found, she will be extradited to Utah to face Judge Johansen. Judge Johansen has now become the sole arbiter in whether a parent can move to better their children's education.
This is wrong on so many levels, I don't even know where to begin. When one man can steal the rights of one family so blatantly, it is time for action. The Utah legislature is now talking about the issue and the Utah Home Education Association is taking the case. If the Utah legislature won't do something, it will fall to the federal government. Of all the "rights" the Supreme Court has "discovered" in the Constitution, a parent's right to raise their children must be protected. Truthfully, we the American people, should not be satisfied with anything less than this judge, Scott Johansen, being jailed for subverting the Constitution, something his oath of office proclaimed he would never do.
This case brings to mind problems homeschooling families have been having in Germany of late. German judges are using Nazi-era laws to jail parents who choose to homeschool their children. They simply claim that homeschooling subverts society and is not in the interest of German society. Hitler passed these laws to prevent parents from opposing his rule. German judges are using them to indoctrinate children to current worldviews. It seems now, at least Judge Johansen, feels the same responsibility in Utah.
I respectfully request that readers contact both the Utah legislature and their US Senator and Representative. Let them know this cannot happen in America. It is time to stop judicial fiat while we have time, before judges make it illegal.
News on this story can be found
here and
here on
WorldNetDaily.