hat tip illustration IOTW
In covering the gross violation of Rifqa Bary's civil rights and human rights, I asked John Jay to assist in tracking down leads and navigating through the legal maze. John Jay is infinitely qualified to weigh in on Rifqa, as he for practiced law for ten years in the juvenile courts of Washington, prosecuting, defending, and also actively working in the dependency courts, representing the interests of dependent juveniles in all kinds of proceedings.
I think it's criminal that Rifqa does not pick her own attorney. I think it's criminal that the same statists who are enforcing sharia, the same statists who will send Christian convert Rifqa Bary back to the fundamentalist Islamic home, the same statists who are putting her life in jeopardy, are the same statists who are picking her lawyer. This is like a friggin third world country. The kid is getting railroaded.
And John thinks it is absolutely criminal for Rifqa's attorney (who is unfamiliar with sharia law and apostasy, the very crux of the case) to be forced to go to trial without adequate time to prepare.
What follows are John's observations and an eye opening email exchange with Eric
Fenner, executive director of Franklin County Children Services, who told the Columbus Dispatch, that he has no reason to believe Rifqa wouldn't be safe with her parents, and then did not recall those same remarks not one day later.
John Jay wrote me the following,
"Ohio’s courts appear to jeopardize Rifqa Bary’s safety and well being, indeed, her life, by engaging in a rush to judgment in here dependency case, not at all in keeping with the factual and legal complexity of the case, and not at all consonant with her rights to due process and a fair hearing. she is simply being denied the time she needs to mount a case showing why her life is in danger: this seems a burden unduly and unfairly imposed upon her by a court system which has made up its mind, and which rushes to judgment. the fairness of any hearing in ohio is compromised by the undue haste with which the matter has apparently been brought to trial, less than a week from the time the case was transferred from Florida on jurisdictional grounds.
The court in Florida made no rulings on the merits of her dependency, ruling only that because no case was being heard in her home state of ohio that the Florida courts could entertain the matter on the basis of an emergency jurisdiction, and while the issue of ultimate jurisdiction was being decided that she be held in the custody and protection of Florida child services.
When her parents filed a dependency action in ohio, the Florida court ceded jurisdiction to the Ohio courts and she was transferred there for hearing on the merits of her case, stemming from her flight from her parent’s home, upon what she has related were threats of physical harm and death.
She has been back in Ohio less than two weeks, and trial on the merits of the case has apparently been convened, and is scheduled to begin again on November 16, 2009 after a continuance. my friends, I practiced law for 25 years, and this procedural hiatus until the 16th does not give her lawyer time in which to adequately review the voluminous materials, including police reports, the report from the florida child protective authorities (the fdle), and the various other matters to be considered, such as reports from the Ohio authorities, let alone time to prepare for trial and subpoena those witnesses and authorities necessary to present rifqa’s case.
Rifqa Bary has asserted that her life is in mortal danger because she is an apostate from islam, i.e., a muslim who has renounced her faith and who has chosen Christianity as her spiritual path.
This is a necessary part of her presentation before the court, to show why she is in danger if returned home, and to show the motivation behind her father’s threat of death to her, for being apostate. these threats, are part and parcel of the pathology behind and leading to the “honor killings,” the likes of which you have read about in this blog.
Yet, she has not been given the time necessary to educate her lawyer in the reality of this, let along given time for her lawyer to get up to speed on what honor killings are all about, let along given time for her lawyer to get a hold of the witnesses and authorities who can explain this phenomena to the courts.
The following is an exchange of letters between Jihn Jay and Eric Fenner, who is administrator of the Franklin county [Ohio] children's services, and it highlights the cavalier and superficial approach being given to the Bary case in Ohio. Need it be said, but this is a matter of life and death to Rifqa Bary, and, apparently, “just business” to the Ohio authorities, who give the protection of this girl very, very short shrift.
re: the rifqa bary caseþ
From:
John Jay _________
Sent:
Wed 10/28/09 11:19 AM
To:
edfenner@fccs.co.franklin.oh.us
re: rifqa bary
my very dear sir:
i practiced law in the state of washington, in yakima county for the most part, nearly 25 years, recently taking inactive status due to health reasons. my bar number in the state of washington was #12689, i have no idea whether it has been "recycled" or not.
for nearly ten years i practiced in our juvenile courts of yakima county, prosecuting, defending, and also actively working in the dependency courts, representing the interests of dependent juveniles in all kinds of proceedings.
i have, therefore, very extensive experience in dependency work ranging from routine shelter care hearings to full blown trials on termination of parental right, and with all the things that go on in between, such as custodial and protective placement of juveniles, and parental visitation and the like. i will not bore you with the details of procedures and practices with which i trust you are very familiar.
in the news accounts that i have read of this case, and after reading the florida fdle investigative interview with rifqa bary, it would seem to me that she has raised a very colorable accusation of threats to do harm by her father, which incident these threats she alleges to have occurred have been at least partially corroborated by the confirmation of the parents. and, it may interest you to know, that a brother, disseminated information of her whereabouts in florida while under the protective custody of the florida juvenile services people, onto websites frequented by muslims who threatened her harm.
i have also read news accounts in which you are attributed the statement/sentiment that you find no credible evidence that she is under any risk of harm from her parents, or from muslims who attend the noor mosque.
sir, in my 25 y ears in court, the statement of a juvenile that a parent has threatened her with harm or death, is very much indeed, "credible" evidence. and, i would find it incredible were you not aware of that fact.
there is error and mistake in this world. plenty of it.
in my entire history as a lawyer, when courts are faced with a quandary, they choose to side on prudent conduct, even if they know it might be mistake. i cannot tell you how often i have heard a judge, or a guardian ad litem, or a lawyer advocate in court that if we are to make error, as least let us make error on the side of prudence.
this child has alleged that her father threatened to kill her, and brandished a lap top computer at her when he uttered the threat, and threatened to destroy the computer to keep her from contacting persons outside her family, and outside her religion. he also threatened to take her back to sri lanka. the father has confirmed the incident with the computer, though he denies the death threat. the mother confirms that the family threatened to return to sri lanka, to continue her schooling. (i will remind you, that she receives straight "a's" in your fine ohio schools, hardly consistent with a "delinquent child" in my experience in dependency and truancy courts. is it yours?)
so, we have an incident in which a child relates being recipient of a death threat.
we have confirmation that the incident/encounter took place, from the accounts of her parents.
sir, this hardly seems to me a situation/case/matter in which "no credible evidence" of a risk to harm exists to a child.
your courts and your juvenile service, sir, are charged with protecting the welfare of that child. that is also your personal charge. i would expect you to exercise that charge with prudence, and a diligent search for the truth of the matter, as well as with the utmost effort to provide care and protectio n to a juvenile under your charge. anything less from you would be dereliction of your duty, would it not? would you not tend to agree with me on that last pronouncement? as i conceive the matter, it is your duty to exercise your legal charge in such a manner as to not compromise the safety of this child, rifqa bary, who has been placed in your care.
i understand that the statutory charge governing dependency proceedings is the re-unification of the family. but, within that charge, lie greater duties of care to provide care and protection to the subject juvenile while the dependency proceedings go along.
i cannot conceive, in my wildest dreams, that a juvenile would be peremptorily returned to a family in which the encounter described by rifqa bary has been confirmed by the parents, and in which she alleges that she has been faced with death threats, and has been subject to continual physical and psychological abuse.
i must admit, of course, that i never practiced dependency law in the state of ohio, nor before your courts in franklin county. perhaps the standards in your court, and in your protective service, as somewhat less than those standards administered in the courts before which i practiced, and very much less than the standards followed by the child protective services personnel with whom i worked. they [under]took the protection of juveniles, and their lives, which is, after all, dear sir, just exactly what we have at stake here.
and, of course, i never worked with a juvenile services administrator who was of a habit on issuing statements on the merits of cases pending in the courts, and who would say that no credible evidence of abuse exists in a case where a child has related being the recipient of a death threat.
usually, in my experience at least, cases are tried in court upon the admission of material and relevant evidence, (which sworn testimony most assuredly is), and not upon the newspaper prono uncement of service administrators who may or may not have the full command of the evidence to be presented in court. have you, sir, that you can make the statement attributed to you?
in good conscience, can you answer that in the affirmative?
i expect you to do your job. to your fullest extent, and with your best efforts. i expect you to carry out your charge of protecting this child. you have an ethical, moral and legal obligation to do so. nothing less.
john jospeh jay
136 s.e. 8th avenue
milton freewater, oregon 97862
phone: ___.___.____.
more, along the same line, inquiring of mr. fenner whether or not he had bothered to notice that rifqa has suffered serious injury to her eye:
p.s. mr. fenner. have you noticed rifqa bary's right eye? have you any idea in the world, how it was injured? or, is that the sort of thing that interests the child protective services in the state of ohio.
she will be appointed counsel, and a guardian ad litem, and evidence will be taken and considered, will it not? or, does your opinion as expressed in the papers simply carry the day?
shortly after, i sent mr. fenner another inquiry:
re: rifqa baryþ
From:
John Jay
Sent:
Wed 10/28/09 12:09 PM
To:
ed fenner (edfenner@fccs.co.franklin.oh.us)
dear mr. fenner:
it slipped my attention, but in previous emails i forgot to ask if you might have any bureaucratic supervisors with whom you have conversation about the duties of your position, and your purview to make public comment on cases which have yet to be decided upon their merits by a court of competent jurisdiction.
in my state[s], for instance, counties are political sub-divisions of the state, and i thought that situation might obtain as well in ohio. i would be curious, therefore, which department in the state of ohio, or perhaps the governor's office in ohio, might have direct supervision over your conduct.
would you be so kind as to respond to me with this information.
john joseph jay
milton freewater, oregon usa
this last inquiry finally prompted a response from mr. fenner, and i print it here in its entirety:
RE: rifqa baryþ
From:
Fenner, Eric D (edfenner@fccs.co.franklin.oh.us)
Sent:
Wed 10/28/09 12:29 PM
RE: rifqa baryþ
To:
John Jay
I report to a Board of Trustees that are appointed by a Board of County Commissioners, but just for clarification, exactly what public comments are you referring?
Eric
i have underlined a portion of mr. fenner’s response, which though not totally unresponsive to the concerns addressed in my emails, did respond by saying who his supervisors are. but, as evidenced by the underlined portion of his email, his concerns seem rather to focus more on just what has been attributed to him as a speaking agent for franklin county, ohio’s juvenile court. keep in mind, as will be very evident in just a bit, that mr. fenner is not just fellow pulled in off the street, but he is in fact, the executive director of franklin county [ohio] children’s services, and as such, he is in charge of those who would be investigating the circumstances of this case, and in charge of those submitting reports to the court on the facts of the home life, and, based on this, making recommendations to the court upon the merits of the court’s decision.
and, as you will see below, he did not wait to “hear the rest of the story.”
i sent additional inquiries to mr. fenner along this line:
RE: rifqa baryþ
From:
John Jay
Sent:
Wed 10/28/09 12:51 PM
To:
ed fenner (edfenner@fccs.co.franklin.oh.us)
eric:
excuse me for not having the native wit to inquire in my last post, but did you or did you not make such remarks, or similar remarks, to the media regarding rifqa bary being at no apparent risk in being sent back to her parents?
i am curious about this.
john jay
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
From: john jay
Subject: RE: rifqa bary
Date: Wed, 28 Oct 2009 12:44:23 -0700
finally, having received no further response from mr. fenner, i sent him the following email, which also has not been responded to.
mr. fenner, i am assuming, knows full well what he has said to the columbus dispatch, but he does not seem to want to own up to it now, because it is indicative that the ohio authorities have very grossly pre-decided this case, and that rifqa bary is being subject to a kangaroo court in the state of ohio. “let’s give him a fair trial for murder, and then hang the son of a bitch on thursday,” as the old joke goes. said mr. fenner:
From:
John Jay
Sent:
Wed 10/28/09 1:45 PM
To:ed fenner (edfenner@fccs.co.franklin.oh.us)
eric:
these are the remarks attributed to you in the columbus dispatch. Runaway teen to return to Ohio -- but when? Runaway
teen to return to Ohio -- but when?
Columbus Dispatch
Eric
Fenner, executive director of Franklin County Children Services, would not
comment because of a gag order. He has said he has no reason to believe Rifqa
wouldn't be safe with her parents
do you wish to confirm or deny them?
john jay
p.s. i am given to understand that trial on the merits has begun on this matter, and is to re-convene on november 16, 2009. this seems to me, in my experience, an extraordinarily fast setting for trial in a matter of this complexity. the florida fdle report alone comprises many pages of discovery, and these allegations are complex. is counsel able to digest all of this in such a short time, ... , is counsel experienced enough to recognize all of the issues raised in this matter, including the issue of the danger raised to rifqa bary by the fact that she is apostate?
seems to me that the state of ohio, you as adminstrator and the magistrate as a judge, are under just as much under scrutiny here as the merits of this case. this seems to me an awful rush to judgment, and it does not reflect very well upon you or the court, in my humble opinion.
the people i worked with in juvenile court services, and in the child protective services, department of social and health services, state of washington, took very seriously their charge of protecting children. ohio, it seems, may not.
one might not be able to build an airtight case based upon mr. fenner’s pre-judgment of what is, as a matter of fact and law, to be the ultimate judgment of the dependency court in the dependency case has been derelict in the performance of his duties, but one sure as hell could build an air tight case that mr. fenner has been precipitous in issuing such a pre-judgment prior to the reports and investigations to be done by his department, and submitted to the court for its decision.
it is not mr. fenner’s job to be issuing and making such decisions upon the merits of a case pending before the juvenile court. it is not, simply put, within his purview to be shooting off his mouth in public on such matters, and it clouds the judgment of any jurist expecting a report and analysis upon such matters from mr. fenner’s department.
and, if this is the general attitude of the ohio authorities, then what we have is a cowardly sheriff ready to turn over the prisoner to the lynch mob, so that they can get on with the job of “… hanging the guilty bastard right now!!”
it is not, in my judgment, the franklin county [ohio] children’s services department’s finest hour.
i was concerned by this exchange, with a man who should have the interests of rifqa bary before all, who should be worried about protecting her, who, in fact, seems more interested in protecting his own butt about injudicious public comments he has made on a matter which indicates pre-judgment of the ultimate facts in the case, and not a desire to investigate them, … , so, I called the clerk of the franklin country juvenile court, and confirmed the following facts:
case name: fatima rifqa bary
case/docket number: 09-JU12299 (dependency court)
trial continuance setting: november 16, 2009
trial before: magistrate goodrich
counsel for bary: angela lloyd , phone: 614.292.9176
juvenile clerk's office: phone: 614.462.4411
the above is called a case or docket setting, and this information would indicate that rifqa bary’s trial has already been started, and that it is to reconvene 11.16.2009, barely 12 business days for the court from now.
i asked the clerk of the court whether a shelter care hearing would be heard, usually a preliminary hearing held in dependency cases to determine a child’s residency pending the hearing of the case on its merits: in most such situations, though not all, a child is to be placed in custodial protection separate from the parents, often after having been removed from a home by the child protective services personnel without recourse to hearing. at a shelter care hearing parents may, but do not always, request a child be sent home, and, usually, though not always a placing outside the home is ordered, often with relatives but more often with social agencies.
the clerk told me no such hearing had been heard.
i thought the setting she referred to might be a continued shelter care hearing, so that the court might benefit from the hearing of all sides of the issue, sometimes to include reports from social workers or the department of social and health services as to whether previous interventions have been made in the home on behalf of neglected or abused children.
no, said the clerk, it is a trial setting.
i said, isn’t that a rather quick setting on a case such as this, it is pretty complicated.
she said, well, it is high profile. she also said that she has been getting a lot of phone calls on this case. and, that is was odd, because it wasn’t coming up under rifqa bary, the name that i had given her. oh, that’s right, she said, i remember, it is fatima bary.
this is absolutely extraordinary, that a matter of this complexity, factually and legally, would be set for trial this quickly. it is incredible, in my experience. it calls into question to me whether rifqa has a lawyer who may not be experienced enough to know how to prepare a case like this for trial, as no experienced lawyer would want to take a matter to trial of such complexity, so quickly.
and, what it suggests most strongly, is that a central issue of the case, the fear that rifqa has because she is apostate from islam, simply will not get heard in a complete and competent exposition by rifqa’s lawyer. the fact is, it is going to take rifaq some time to explain the facts of the case, and the family background, leading up to her leaving home. it is going to take some time for any lawyer to absorb the rather complicated issue of apostasy, and to understand the dire threat that apostasy poses to rifqa bary, and that the threat of harm to her comes most immediately from her own family, and from those persons who know her best at her own mosque. it is going to take some time for the lawyer to absorb the fact that rifqa’s own brother poses a grave danger to her, and would be a likely accomplice in her death, were she to be killed in an honor killing. and, finally, were rifqa’s lawyer to comprehend all of that, she will need to contact witnesses who can support rifqa’s version of the events, and she will need to contact expert witnesses competent to explain apostasy and honor killings to what is likely to prove an incredulous judge.
this cannot be done in 12 days.
rifqa finds herself apparently in a kangaroo court wishing to dispose of a bothersome case in the very least amount of time possible, with the very least amount of bother.
“take him out and hang the son of a bitch. oh, yes, first we have a trial, and then we hang the son of a bitch!!”
only this time, it is not a joke.
it is a tragedy. because an ohio court & judge, and an ohio bureaucrat (that would be mr. fenner) who are charged with the protection of a child, are going to sell that child down the river in their ignorance, and in their sloth, for not having the interest or the wherewithal to do their jobs, to investigate the truth of this, and to take a little girl’s word that she was threatened with death.
well, hell, you can hear mr. fenner say, we catholics don’t do stuff like that.
the fact is, mr. fenner and his ilk are simply do lazy to do the home work, and protect this little girl in the ways in which they are statutorily charged. i guess i misspoke myself earlier. on consideration, ohio and mr. fenner look entirely derelict.
john jay @ 10.28.2009
Thanks, JJ.
Remember, we must call. Every day. Show Ohio Rifqa is not alone no matter how they isolate her in solitary confinement.
Please
contact Franklin County Children Services and the Ohio governor’s
office at the following addresses and let them know that you want Rifqa
to be able to have the basic freedoms to communicate to the outside
world, and that she needs to be protected from her parents & the
radical Islamic community:
Franklin County children services can be reached here.
Eric Fenner's fax number is 614-275-2755 and his e-mail address is edfenner@FCCS.co.franklin.oh.us/
The Ohio governor’s office can be reached here.
Also, Governor Strickland is up for re-election. Here is John Kasich's contact information.
Tell Kasich the election is his to win ...or lose.
CALL OR WRITE EVERY DAY
UPDATE: Choi gave me a heads up on the referendum coming before Columbus voters in November. I'd send them a message:
The 2009
Children Services Levy
A 3.10 mill replacement with reduction levy to benefit Franklin County Children Services for the purpose of protecting abused and neglected children and providing services to abused and neglected children and their families will appear as Issue 4 on the Franklin County November 3 General Election ballot.
This levy replaces a 3.15 mill levy which expires at the end of 2009 and which provides more than one-third of the agency’s operating budget. Without passage of the levy, FCCS would lose $65 million in funding.
to machine gun people in shopping malls and kill American officials.Two, Daniel
Maldonado and Tareq Mehanna, are in custody. The third, however, Ahmad
Abousamra, escaped to Syria after being questioned by the FBI in 2006.
