Update on case in Hawaii…

 

From AngelGroup.org:

 

Update on Maria Styke-Marquez’s hearing

Written by AngelGroup | David & Goliath Blog | 23 November 2010

Maria Styke-Marquez, a domestic violence survivor on Maui, lost custody of her two-and-a-half-year-old daughter in September 2010 in contradiction of Hawaii State Statute 571-46(9), to the man who killed her 4-month-old unborn baby, put her in the hospital, and served 40 days in jail for the violence he used against her.

Judge Keith Tanaka gave full physical/legal custody of a 2-1/2-year-old little girl to this convicted DV perpetrator, despite Maria being an appropriate and protective parent to their daughter. The last visitation pick-up/drop-off between Maria and her ex on Friday, 11/19/10, resulted with yet another Criminal Contempt charge against him for his use of intimidation and harassment against her, something that has directly contributed to a decline in Maria’s health.

Maria tried to file a Continuance before court began for medical reasons, but Second Circuit Court Clerk, Wilma, would not allow Maria to file her document with the court.  When Maria went upstairs to the courtroom and presented her Continuance and a hospital doctor’s medical note to Judge Tanaka, he DENIED her request because she didn’t file these before the hearing. He said that he would not look at an Ex Parte motion for Continuance until it had been served on the opposing counsel – HOWEVER – without being noticed, the opposing counsel (Mimi DeJardins) then served Maria with an Ex Parte motion that had already been granted by Judge Tanaka saying that her perpetrator’s parents could testify in today’s hearing by Skype or phone conference!

The Ex Parte motion Judge Tanaka had signed, directly contradicted the previous testimony of the perpetrator’s parents. In the parent’s first testimony, they had money and resources to more than adequately provide for their grand-daughter, but in this Ex Parte, they’re too poor to appear before the court.

Overwrought with stress and anxiety from the prospect of PERMANENTLY losing her daughter – because today’s hearing was about the perpetrator asking permission to permanently leave the state for Minnesota with the little girl – Maria was in the hospital briefly this weekend where she was told she absolutely HAS to steer clear of situations that will cause her any form of stress; Judge Tanaka ruled to go forward regardless. Shortly into the hearing, Maria’s compromised medical state got the best of her and she was taken away BY AMBULANCE from the courthouse after courthouse security called EMTs to respond to Maria’s condition.

When the EMTs arrived to render assistance to Maria, (3) sheriff’s officers were seen talking to the perpetrator’s attorney (Mimi) and another unknown man. The (3) sheriff’s officers were overheard sharing confidential medical information about Maria with Mimi and the unidentified male, itself a violation of law. My DV Survivor Advocate at the scene got the sheriff officers’ names and said the outcome of the hearing is not presently known, but that after Maria was taken away, the hearing resumed and continued for another 20 minutes before Mimi, the unidentified man and the perpetrator quickly left the courthouse; Maria is now at the hospital where medical staff are working to stabilize her condition.

Does ANY of this sound like “justice”, a correct application of laws or even human decency?

 

“It is not enough to be compassionate. You must ACT.”

~ Tenzin Gyatso (1992, the 14th Dalai Lama)