Friday, November 13, 2015

Controversial judge orders baby removed from same-sex parents and placed with heterosexual family


http://www.dailykos.com/story/2015/11/11/1448691/-Controversial-judge-orders-baby-removed-from-same-sex-parents-and-placed-with-heterosexual-family?detail=email

Judge Scott Johansen

April Hoagland and Beckie Peirce have been fostering a Utah infant for three months. With the approval of the infant’s biological mother and a recommendation of the foster care caseworker, they were seeking to permanently adopt the child. Instead, a Utah judge ordered the baby removed from their home and placed in a home with heterosexual parents:
The women, who are legally married and were approved as foster parents in Utah earlier this year after passing home inspections, background checks and interviews from DCFS, said the judge told them there was a lot of research that indicated children who are raised in same-sex parent homes do not do as well as children who are raised by heterosexual parents.
"It hurts me really badly because I haven't done anything wrong," said April.
Worse yet, when Judge Scott Johansen was asked in court to share the studies he was referencing, he refused:
Attorney Mandie Torgerson, who represents the baby's biological mother, said Johansen did not cite the research he referenced in court saying only that there are "a myriad" of studies that support his order.
But that wasn't the first time the judge had inflicted serious punishment on a child for a minor offense. In 1997 he was reprimanded by the Utah Judicial Conduct Commission for "demeaning the judicial office" by slapping a 16-year-old boy during a meeting at the Price courthouse.
And just last month, Johansen made national headlines when he ordered a Carbon County mother to cut off her 13-year-old daughter's ponytail in public court. The girl was being punished for cutting the hair of a 3-year-old.
He ordered another juvenile into detention over a bad report card, rather than identifying whether the boy had learning disabilities. His parents say that decision sent their son into a spiral and changed their son forever:
With more than two decades of judicial experience, Judge Scott Johansen has a
bold, no-nonsense style that prompted mixed reviews from survey respondents.
While respondents most frequently described Judge Johansen as knowledgeable,
confident, and intelligent, a minority perceived him as arrogant and impatient.
Judge Johansen received lower than average survey scores for procedural fairness, separation of his personal beliefs from his legal rulings, and fair and respectful treatment of courtroom participants. 
why has there not been petitions to remove this guy he appears to have no problem disrupting and destroying lives primarily because he can.  also people that abuse power over others generally have some baggage weighing them down this is more of a revenge driven guy slapping kids and extreme judgement's that hurt more than help angry is a good description but he needs to be removed and evaluated before ever again judging another let alone kids.

republican states with power returned and the republican gov. what does he have to say about this guy and his actions, 

 SALT LAKE CITY -- Utah Governor Gary Herbert said he believes a Price judge who ordered a foster child removed from the home of a same-sex couple because he believed the girl would be better in a heterosexual household ought to "follow the law."
"I'm a little puzzled by the action down there personally," Herbert told reporters at his monthly news conference on KUED.
little puzzled is tantamount to mic drop and exit stage right.