Thursday

Language and the Law - Simple Doesn't Mean Stupid



Excerpt from article:


Researching Reform: ~




Whether you take the view that legal jargon is an integral part of the culture inside the justice system, or offers an efficient labelling tool for the speedy processing of information, law is no longer a selective world but a communal one; and everyone wants to speak the language.

Blame the internet and a growing social conscience online, but simplifying language in law has been one of the defining phenomena for the UK justice system in the twenty-first century. For Family Courts at least, coming into contact with parents, children and extended family members who are not trained to deal in family law jargon, pressure to change the way we use language has contributed to wide-scale reform. The most notable to date, Mr Justice Ryder's recommendations for modernising the family justice system, included looking at the way terms and phrases were being used and seeing how we could break those down and make them easier to understand. Despite this, much of the language still used in court and by lawyers and other professionals inside the justice system remains unnecessarily complex.


Litigants in Person (LIP) continue to struggle with terminology inside the courts, with judges reportingdelays inside their courtrooms as a result, and more time spent explaining phrases and processes. Sadly, the current guidelines seem to have done very little to address this problem, perhaps in large part due to the fact that legal jargon exists before and after the court process, with very little help for LIPs during those in-between moments when they are effectively without support.


Related Articles



Photos  -  May 13, 2013
 
Fighting the disease, not treating the symptoms...

Hello Male Parents,  I wish you well and hope you know that your not at all alone.  Life can give us skills whether we want them or not.  In time, every father facing custody and court cases involving family law will develop a 'thicker skin' as we all know that nothing is more personal then an attack against your human rights, your rights as a parent and your ability to parent a child.

I would like to express a very important concept today.  This is extremely bold and progressive.  I believe their is no 'movements' in the world today to change the opinion of culture in the way that will actually build up momentum.

I would like to give you an example. (the example is not aimed to defame or harm homosexual couples in any way, simply a random example.)

     Equality for homosexual relationships in the USA have become popular.

     Single Male parents seeking Equality in Custody and Family law is NOT.


Who do you believe will be the first to win Public approval in the equality of raising children?

A large portion of Society will back gay rights to have two males or two females raise a child...  Will Society recognize the human rights of a Male parent to have ABSOLUTE EQUALITY in custody decisions or family court?   

The reason behind this is because Gay rights do not threaten the power of women as much as the concept ' MAN VS WOMAN '

When I started to think about this in depth, I realized that all the titles 'Fathers rights'  are actually a way of setting your self apart from the majority of people who are actually in favor in society and doing more work to make and change laws.  You can go out in your yard and wave a giant flag 'TEAM MEN!'  then go into society against 'team women' and see how big the teams are...

The real team we should all be one is ' TEAM EQUALITY FOR PARENTS ' using Human rights and a 'gender-less' approach to rights as a parent.  This way you are not allowing society to put you on the small team.  You are a parent...  the same way you are a Human (EQUAL).  Many arguments are made based on age and gender.  'for the best interests of the child' should NEVER be used as a justification to disregard the rights of a parent.  The best interests of a child is just a term that was created by a person, made popular in litigation and put into law as a strong tactic to redirect focus and manipulate the overall outcome of a case.  A 4 year old is NOT going to remember being taken away from his/her mother in the same respects as a parent that loses his/her child.  Day to day memories, complex thought process, life and all that we as adults have to do to live is drastically effected and sometimes destroyed by the term 'in the best interests of the child'.  A childs best interest is Equality & Human rights.  Infact.. you.. yes you.. reading this.. were you a child?  Are you suffering loss right now? are you hurting?  do you see a broken legal system that effects you because your gender?  Are you best interest still important to the court?  NO...

In the BEST interest of Human Rights and Equality, as a parent, I advocate on the equal rights of a child and parents to eliminate any gender bias or popular cultural opinions about any parent.  In law and to the world I am a Human and parent first...  Do not judge me by my gender.

Human rights are LAW,  public policy guides local and federal laws through a general cultural opinion that develops in popular media and different 'movements' in society.  People (yes.. just people...) will lobby and push concepts on our government to enact laws that limit our human rights, this is not legal, but worded so ambiguously it is not correlated to its violation of our basic human rights until intense litigation and logical arguments are made and no one seems to argue it when its enacted.

There is NO special exceptions to Equality.  Human rights are the same for all Human beings with NO SPECIAL CONSIDERATION for gender, age or race.

You must treat the disease, not the symptoms.

This overall message is critical, but I have still seen people waving the wrong flag.  Yes it is glorious but your on the small weak team that is going to get stomped out, you have seen it... its not helping.  The overall picture is human rights, parental rights.  When you go into court, try making a point to keep yourself from defining yourself on the team that is not popular or favored in society.  Proudly claim yourself as a parent without defining yourself as a man.  This needs to be common practice in family law.  All references to gender in ALL forms of law need to be ELIMINATED.

This is going to be a movement eventually...  lets start one.
My name is Ryan Sellars and I am a Human being... a Parent.  Do not define me by my gender or race or popular opinion, but by my basic human rights as a parent.
13
9
David Inguanzo's profile photoSarawr Queen of Kings's profile photoHoward Taft's profile photoScott Adams's profile photo
5 comments
Ryan Sellars
May 14, 2013
+
3
2
3
 
 
+Leonard Suskin
If you were not interested, you would not read it or respond.  "dressing it up" is another way to try to devalue something very important.  You can 'dress up' the president, but in reality he is....   <-- a="" br="" its="" make="" nbsp="" out="" poorly="" something="" sound="" thought="" to="" try="" way="" wrong.="">
Equality is pretty much the fundamental core of Human rights.  There is no 'dressing that up',  it is either valid or invalid in terms of Equality.  People should have to earn the punishment that takes away their rights to Equality, not be put in a system of oppression that limits their equality from the start.

next please...
Ryan Sellars
May 15, 2013
+
4
3
4
 
 
+Scott Adams +Howard Taft  Thanks for letting me share my thoughts with you.


Words are so powerful and ideas are powerful, together they can be used to change the way these concepts are presented and received.

On ancient battlefields,  people would wear colors or symbols to recognize friend or foe.

When you run out onto the battlefield fighting for your cause,... which battlefield are you going to fight on?

The battlefield for:

[Battle 1 {the common approach so far}]
  Male Parent  Vs. Female Parent  (Gender based equality battle)

Or

Battle 2 {the progressive new approach I am promoting}]
  Parent Vs. Parent?  (Equal rights based on Human Rights battle)

Will more women and mothers understand the and support Battle 1 or 2?   Which battle is more appealing to the public eye?

A thought :
Right now there is wide spread battles going on for homosexuals having the right to be married.  Do you see Women fighting in these battles?  YES!  Women and Mothers are fighting to make sure two men or two women can be married.  These couples will have the right to adopt children and Women and Mothers will fight for that as well.  Gay couples just might achieve Equality before Single male parents do in regards to the rights to have and raise children.

Why are so many gay rights movements going on?... is it popular? what made it popular?

Is fighting for Male parental Equality popular? How many moments are going on for Equality for Fathers?  How often is that on the news or are Fathers getting together and marching on the streets or on capitals?

We train children in Culture and Values...  Men are suppose to act strong and not be bothered by things. Men are suppose to not admit when they are wrong and control what is going on for the day and always be the ones to drive the car and blah blah blah... stereotypes...

Stereotypes create Public opinion which effect Law such in the case of Homosexual rights.  How many men are writing their state representatives?  Is that enough?  What about changing public opinion?  How can we do that??

I have thought about all of this and it simply starts with us saying we all have the same rights.  Parents (Men and Women) need protection because the child you might be fighting for may grow up to be a woman.  Children need the right to have totally Equal access and custody for parenting by both parents.

[ on the spot example ]

This can happen after a period of time post birth and either parent could file to have a court custody advisory address a concern as to the other parents ability to parent a child without gender being a factor.  1 year after the child is born, if no complaint or request is filed with a court, the custody of that child is Equal until a request for review or criminal complaint is made.  Request for review could be handled every 18 months if initial custody was established as equal within the first year.  Each parent irregardless of the initial findings could have the right to have custody re-evaluated in civil court at any time, or through a petition every 36 months until that child is 18 years of age.

Parents who fail to meet basic requirements would not be granted custody, but custody would be a RIGHT of both parents EQUALLY until the point in which through neglect or purposeful acts the custody is diminished.

[end of on the spot example (many adjustments obviously needed but a basic step towards defining legal rights by gender)]

laws could be created to ensure the protection of HUMAN RIGHTS before gender or any other status.  Being born a male is not a crime, but it sure feels like it when all the sudden you become a parent and your rights are reduced or taken away by default.  The current laws are not appropriate for today's society and we must change these laws by becoming progressive as Parents.. .Not as Man vs. Woman or Male Parent vs Female Parent.

This all goes for any Female readers too.. for the little boy you are raising will grow up to be a man who just might be writing this very sort of blog right now.

Wish Equality for access to parenting and for parents to their children.  Wish Equality... Wish Human Rights...  This is progressive.. good.. strong..  it speaks to the people.

That is the future...  and although I do not have the future totally planned out or the details set in stone, it sure looks a lot more fair and acceptable of a stance then the way things currently are.

Maybe I need to start writing about this more often and in more forums and to other public,government  and private agencies.

This movement could change the world... by creating a new generation of children who were raised by parents who had Equality and children that believe and saw and grew up with Equality.  That is a future I want to see.

~Ryan Sellars

No comments:

Post a Comment

Take Action Now!

Children's Rights Florida

Florida Family Law Reform

Family Law Community

Search This Blog

American Coalition for Fathers and Children

Means we use must be as pure as the ends we seek.

Abuse (7) Abuse of power (1) Abuse of process (5) Admission to practice law (3) Adversarial system (79) Advocacy group (3) African American (1) Alienator (1) Alimony (7) All Pro Dad (1) All rights reserved (1) Allegation (2) Alliance for Justice (2) American Civil Liberties Union (3) American Psychological Association (1) Americans (2) Anecdotal evidence (2) Anti-discrimination law (1) Arrest (1) Bar association (1) Best interests (41) Bill (law) (1) British Psychological Society (1) Broward County (1) Broward County Public Schools (2) Brown University (1) Catholic Church (1) Center for Public Integrity (2) Chief judge (25) Child Abuse (48) Child custody (76) Child development (6) Child neglect (2) Child protection (15) Child Protective Services (18) Child Support (61) Children (3) Children's Rights (83) Christine Lagarde (1) Christmas (3) Circuit court (3) Civil and political rights (14) Civil law (common law) (1) Civil liberties (9) Civil Rights (143) Civil rights movement (1) Class action (1) Communist Party of Cuba (1) Confidentiality (1) Constitutional law (1) Constitutional right (5) Contact (law) (10) Contempt of court (2) Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (1) Coparenting (27) Copyright (1) Copyright infringement (1) Corruption (1) Court Enabled PAS (90) Court order (2) Cuba (1) Cuban Missile Crisis (1) Cuban Revolution (1) Custodial Parent (1) Declaratory judgment (3) Denial of Reasonable Parent-Child Contact (109) Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (2) Divorce (121) Divorce Corp (3) Divorce Court (1) Documentary (22) Domestic Violence (51) Dr. Stephen Baskerville (5) Dred Scott v. Sandford (1) DSM-5 (1) DSM-IV Codes (1) Due Process (44) Due Process Clause (1) Dwyane Wade (1) Easter (1) Equal-time rule (2) Ethics (1) Events (9) Exposé (group) (1) Facebook (19) Fair use (1) False accusation (4) False Accusations (56) Family (1) Family (biology) (2) Family Court (192) Family Law (107) Family Law Reform (115) Family Rights (86) Family therapy (10) Father (12) Father figure (2) Father's Day (1) Father's Rights (12) Fatherhood (105) Fatherlessness Epidemic (4) Fathers 4 Justice (3) Fathers' rights movement (44) Fidel Castro (1) Florida (209) Florida Attorney General (6) Florida Circuit Courts (18) florida lawyers (29) Florida Legislature (6) Florida Senate (10) Foster care (1) Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution (1) Fraud (1) Free Speech (1) Freedom of speech (1) Frivolous litigation (1) Fundamental rights (12) Gender equality (1) Government Accountability Project (2) Government interest (2) Grandparent (3) Havana (1) Healthy Children (14) Human Rights (117) Human rights commission (1) I Love My Daughter (55) I Love My Son (8) Injunction (1) Innocence Project (1) Investigative journalism (1) Jason Patric (2) JavaScript (1) Joint custody (8) Joint custody (United States) (16) Judge (4) Judge Judy (7) Judge Manno-Schurr (53) Judicial Accountability (100) Judicial Immunity (6) Judicial misconduct (8) Judicial Reform (3) Judicial Watch (2) Judiciary (3) Jury trial (1) Kids for cash scandal (1) Law (1) Lawsuit (8) Lawyer (8) Legal Abuse (147) Liar Joel Greenberg (15) Linda Gottlieb (1) Litigant in person (1) Little Havana (1) Marriage (6) Matt O'Connor (1) Men's rights movement (1) Mental disorder (1) Mental health (2) Meyer v. Nebraska (1) Miami (43) Miami-Dade County (8) Miami-Dade County Public Schools (1) Miscarriage of justice (40) Mother (4) Motion of no confidence (1) Movie (4) Music (8) Nancy Schaefer (1) National Fatherhood Initiative (1) Natural and legal rights (1) News (86) Nixa Maria Rose (15) Non-governmental organization (1) Noncustodial parent (4) Organizations (56) Palm Beach County (1) Parent (35) Parental Alienation (115) Parental alienation syndrome (15) Parental Rights (36) Parenting (12) Parenting plan (5) Parenting time (7) Parents' rights movement (38) Paternity (law) (1) Personal Story (22) Pierce v. Society of Sisters (1) Pope (1) Posttraumatic stress disorder (27) President of Cuba (1) Pro Se (29) Pro se legal representation in the United States (3) Prosecutor (1) Protest (1) Psychological manipulation (1) Psychologist (1) Public accommodations (1) Public Awareness (105) Raúl Castro (1) Re-Post/Re-Blog (12) Research (1) Restraining order (4) Rick Scott (12) Second-class citizen (1) Self Representation-Pro Se (31) Sexism (1) Sexual abuse (2) Sexual assault (1) Shared Parenting (90) Single parent (6) Skinner v. Oklahoma (1) Social Issues (57) Social Media (1) Spanish (8) Stand Up For Zoraya (46) State school (1) Student (1) Supreme Court of Florida (7) Supreme Court of the United States (5) Testimony (23) Thanksgiving (1) The Florida Bar (9) The Good Men Project (1) Trauma (4) Troxel v. Granville (1) True Story (21) Turner v. Rogers (1) United States (24) United States Congress (1) United States Constitution (1) United States Department of Justice (4) Videos (50) Violence Against Women Act (1) Whistle-blower (3)