Good Shots of the Utah State Supreme Court Appeal for Warren Jeffs

Check out these photos from Trent Nelson's website. He is the Salt Lake Tribune photographer.

Legal Analysis: Texas Polygamy and Child Welfare

This is a REALLY GOOD paper, available at the Social Science Research Network:

Texas Polygamy and Child Welfare

Martin Guggenheim
New York University School of Law


September 17, 2009

Houston Law Review, Vol. 46, No. 3, 2009

Abstract:
This article explains why the child welfare process was used in the 2008 San Angelo, Texas raid on the FLDS community which resulted in the removal of more than 400 children from their families. It argues that the criminal justice system, not the child welfare system, should be the preferred means by which state officials attempt to prevent the practice of polygamy. The criminal justice system contains many more time honored protections of civil liberties than the child welfare system. In addition, using the child welfare system contains one additional danger: the contamination and expansion of child welfare law to permit coercive intervention, authorizing state officials to remove children from families based on notions of morality. The article suggests that the ultimate danger of the San Angelo raid is that child welfare interventions will become too much about the (mis)behavior of parents, with a particular emphasis on conduct that is criminal or "immoral," and too little about what should always remain the central inquiry: whether children are in danger.

Keywords: polygamy, child welfare, children's rights, criminal law

Working Paper Series
Date posted: October 12, 2009 ; Last revised: October 12, 2009

Polygamy Conference News

Here is the video for the Fox 13 Now news coverage of the Family or Felony? Polygamy and the Law Conference

 

and here is where the article is.

The Salt Lake Tribune reported about the conference here.

I would just like to clarify some things that may not be clear from the news pieces above:

The legal conference brought together a variety of viewpoints, prosecutorial, defense, family law, historical, etc. The intention of the conference was to generate a dialogue and open discussion of opposing perspectives regarding polygamy and the law, and based on the feedback forms and the feedback we received in person and by email, I feel we achieved that. One speaker specifically presented on the topic of decriminalization, but some speakers presented the opposing view to that.

Thank you to everyone who participated and attended. :o)

UPDATE: Charges DROPPED against Canadian Polygamists

Read the RULING posted on Brooke Adams' Salt Lake Tribune Plural Life blog, and here's the article about it at the Salt Lake Tribune.

Robert Matas is reporting for the Globe and Mail that the polygamy charges against Winston Blackmore and Jimmy Oler have been dropped. The decision came down today:

"B.C. Supreme Court Judge Sunni Stromberg-Stein decided that former attorney-general Wally Oppal did not have the authority to have lawyer Terry Robertson appointed as a special prosecutor after a previous special prosecutor had refused to prosecute the two men.

Mr. Robertson's appointment was contrary to the law and Mr. Robertson's decision to proceed with the prosecution “was therefore unlawful,” the judge wrote in a 34-page decision released today."

Amen and Amen!!!

My love and best wishes go the families of these men.

I have met both Winston and Jimmy, but have not had the pleasure of meeting any of Jimmy's family. Several years ago, my colleagues and I visited B.C. and spent time with some of Winston's wives personally; they opened their homes to us and showed us around Bountiful (very beautiful and alight with color). I know them to be genuinely warm, kind, intelligent, compassionate women.

What is a Real Man?

I've been taking a 40-hour rape crisis training, and it has had a powerful impact on me. I'm going to be blogging a little about some of the things I've learned.

One of the most shocking things I learned was that "rape" is largely a crime committed by acquaintances rather than strangers. As a woman, I am always attentive to where I am, who is around me, checking the back-seat of my car before I get in, locking doors, etc. I am not going to stop doing those things that make me feel emotionally and physically safer, but I fully understand that crime is arbitrary, and victims of crime are deprived of their free will, safety and personal control when they are violated. That means that there is only so much a person can do to protect him or herself from a perpetrator. Ultimately, the perpetrator is the ONLY ONE WHO CAN STOP A RAPE (crime). The perpetrator is choosing the violence; the victim is deprived of choice.

I've had some people say to me that they thought the movie, Taken, was a great film because they really related with the father taking action to protect his daughter. I agree it was entertaining and ultimately satisfying because it feels good to see an expression of strength and power acted out against a heinous injustice. However, my issue with the movie is that the theme is that violence is justified (and indeed, the only remedy) to fight violence. At the same time, so many movies display violence as the only means of resolving challenges that we do not realize what we are teaching people about power and how to exhibit it in our relationships in healthy and not destructive ways.

Every relationship, EVERY ONE, has power balances/imbalances. Some people respond aggressively when their personal power becomes threatened; some people respond with violence when they feel threatened. Some people only feel comfortable when they dominate other people. Opposing opinions challenging their point of view or their belief system will provoke a mighty reaction designed to shut down that threat.

On the other hand, some people know how to share power and create relationships where power balances are more even. When I speak as a feminist, or an advocate of equality, this is what I refer to. Violence in response to violence is in my opinion a continuation and perpetuation of efforts to dominate others through force, threat, fear, etc.

Rape is an act of power and control, and sex is the tool that is used to subjugate, humiliate and dominate the victim. It is unfortunately glamorized, and sexualized, in the media, in movies and in advertising, with imagery that promotes male dominance and objectifies women. However, women are not the only victims of rape; men are also victims of rape. (98% of male perpetrators are heterosexual males, btw, which further affirms rape as a crime of power and dominance rather than sex.)

There are two very powerful videos I would like to share with everyone. I watched them during my training in an environment where I was able to share my feelings with others in the training, in a way that helped me work through any feelings of anger, upset, etc.

After watching Tough Guise, I realized that I haven't done a good job of validating the sweet, kind, respectful, nurturing, compassionate qualities of the men in my life. I came home, hugged my man, and let him know in no uncertain terms how much I value his sensitivity, his generosity, his thoughtfulness and kindness. I LOVE that he allows himself to be soft and tender, and I have the deepest respect for the fact that he is vulnerable to me.

So, with that in mind, I have a few questions for you all to think about:

How do we define manhood & masculinity? Are we allowing media constructs to define masculinity as violent?

Do we nurture the sensitive, compassionate, gentle qualities of the men in our lives? Do we respect our men when they show vulnerability? How are we raising our sons to honor themselves and the women in their lives? Was does it mean to be a "man", to be "masculine"?

Here's the video: Tough Guise


This next video is Killing Us Softly 3, by Jean Kilbourne. This video was more disturbing and unsettling for me because of the offensiveness of some of the images she included as examples of how violence against women are glamorized and propagated in modern advertising. How can a constant bombardment of these images NOT in some way influence how we view ourselves (regardless of gender), or how we subconsciously or consciously feel we are expected to behave by those around us?

Warning, not for the easily offended. This video is more graphic, and there is some brief nudity, disturbing images and blunt language. I have to admit, after I saw this video, I definitely felt, "Men Suck," but now I'm feeling better. Just the sucky men suck.

Killing Us Softly 3, Jean Kilbourne:

Mormon Stories - Women in the LDS Church - A Gift Given, A Gift Taken: Washing, Anointing, and Blessing the Sick Among Mormon Women

You can listen to this podcast at this link: 067: Women in the LDS Church Part 11 – A Gift Given, A Gift Taken: Washing, Anointing, and Blessing the Sick Among Mormon Women

I haven't listened all the way through, but I am familiar with the topic, as addressed in Sunstone articles, etc., and it has always been very interesting.

Utah Virtual Academy - to Homeschool, Public School or Some Variation Thereof

Hi everyone,

I have had my children in public school for several years and prior to that, I homeschooled my oldest four children through preschool through the 3rd grade, and some of the older grades depending upon the needs of my children.

This year, my son Tristan and I decided to try the K12 program, which is available through the Utah Virtual Academy. It is offered through the public school system, so you get public school credit. You also get all of your books and materials provided to you, and some students qualify for a computer, printer and other items if they need one (on loan from the school system for the school year).

My son has struggled in public school, and found homeschooling boring and lonely, but he is LOVING the UTVA online program. There are social gatherings, clubs and field trips for kids to become socially involved with other UTVA students and their families. Because I work, it is challenging for me to participate in many social interactions during the daytime hours, but I have scheduled in the field trips and look forward to the school year.

The biggest change I have experienced with my son is he is taking responsibility for his school work. I don't have to chase him down. I do have to supervise and keep him focused on work, because the distractions of home (and of the gaming opportunities on the computer and internet) are so appealing, but he is doing very well. He likes that a lot of his school work is ON the computer, which is where he wants to be. He doesn't want to be sitting at a desk working out of work books. Also, we are going to start morning walks and hopefully move them into jogs as part of his physical fitness. I love having a buddy to walk with.

When we homeschooled, the financial obligation was high. We always looked for inexpensive ways to obtain materials, through the library, through creative exploration such as nature journals, etc, but the UTVA program is FREE. I was wary at first because I was concerned that the books would be awful, but so far I really like what I see.

We are only finishing our second week. It's been a little overwhelming adjusting, but frankly, it is a lot easier than what I have done in the past. The UTVA program sets up your schedule for you, breaks up the lessons and materials for each lesson and charts your course. I was really resistant to that part of the program. I like my autonomy and setting up my own schedule, etc., but I must say that this has become the most appealing aspect of the program. You can do your lessons any time of the day you want, and if you skip a lesson, it moves back to the next day that particular class is scheduled (such as science is only scheduled for two days each week). You can make it up anytime you want, though it is not recommended to allow too many lessons to fall behind.

My son says that he loves the UTVA, and it is 100 x's better than homeschool BECAUSE of the structure. We had structure before, but he particularly likes the structure provided to him by having his schedule on the computer, where he is accountable to me and a third party (his teacher). He signs on to his own account (I have a separate account), and reviews his daily schedule, and every time he completes a lesson, it is marked complete. He has regular assessments, all on the computer, and an occasional hand-written assignment he needs to submit by scanning and faxing to his teacher, and those assignments will be saved in a portfolio for the end of the year. I mark his attendance at the completion of his lessons.

He has a really cool Spanish language program, too, which is entirely online and somewhat interactive, plus he does "Study Island", which is a series of tests that are intended to be math review quizzes for regular practice and speed.

I highly recommend UTVA. I will send another review of the program later in the school year. So far, Tristan and I both give two thumbs up and I really wish I'd done this program with my older boys who struggled all through their middle school and high school years, and for whom we paid a lot of $ to put into a correspondence course for high school curriculum and a diploma.

I just wanted to share my experience with the other parents, and would love to hear from others about these same things, positive or negative.

S.J. Quinney College of Law Paper - "Kidnapped from that Land II: A Comparison of Two Raids to Save the Children from the Polygamists"

You can download this paper here.

Here is the abstract:

Kidnapped from that Land II: A Comparison of Two Raids to Save the Children from the Polygamists

Linda F. Smith
University of Utah - S.J. Quinney College of Law


August, 27 2009


Abstract:

In the spring on 2008 America watched as over 400 children were removed from their polygamist parents on the Yearning for Zion Ranch in rural west Texas. That raid was eerily reminiscent of the Short Creek Raid of 1953, meant to rescue the children from the same polygamist group in Arizona and Utah. This article compares and contrasts the two raids in light of changes to child protection law in the intervening years. Despite advances in our understanding of child development and in our respect for constitutional rights, the Texas raid repeated and compounded the mistakes of the Short Creek raid. Ultimately the article explores why child protection laws are inappropriately used to attempt the rescue of children from authoritarian religions.

Keywords: child protection, child welfare, polygamy, religion
Working Paper Series
Date posted: August 28, 2009 ; Last revised: August 28, 2009
Suggested Citation

Smith, Linda F.,Kidnapped from that Land II: A Comparison of Two Raids to Save the Children from the Polygamists(August, 27 2009). Available at SSRN: http://ssrn.com/abstract=1463013