Behind The Black Robes

With special guests:

• Barbara C. Johnson and    

• Paul Stolz.

We commence this weeks’ program speaking with American lawyer and author Barbara C. Johnson who’s latest book “Behind the Black Robes: Failed Justice” which has just become available. This book addresses a serious problem, the need for court reform and the abolishment of judicial and quasi-judicial immunity. Marinated with the makings of sizzle, the book is filled with the courts’ tricks and traps for the unwary. It sets out to alert the readers both why their law cases failed and what must be done to effect court reform.

Barbara C. Johnson is an unconventional 74 year-old, who has long been a fierce advocate for fathers’ rights in family courts. She is an outspoken critic of the Massachusetts court system, which she says is rife with corruption.

Secondly we speak with Paul Stolz, who is the CEO of Victorian support group “Evolve” which provides a supportive environment for disadvantaged young people to evolve into strong, caring and purposeful individuals.

Young men in today’s society face many challenges – they are struggling educationally, emotionally and socially. Without early intervention and on-going support, many are at risk of tragic futures involving broken relationships, crime, substance abuse and even suicide.

Evolve’s Young Men’s Program is an early-intervention option for young blokes who want to work through their challenges and build a more positive future for themselves.

At Barbara C. Johnson’s website you will find a wealth of information that may help you come to grips with your legal situation and how to deal with it, such as the following extract from her website.

“True or not, allegations of sexual abuse and/or rape of child ignite a chain reaction of events in administrative agencies, a police detective bureau, a district attorney’s office, lawyers’ offices, one or more criminal courts, possibly one or more civil courts, appeals courts, and, of course, likely a hospital, jail, and/or prison.

If you have had the misfortune to have been vacuumed into this maelstrom, what you need is a local lawyer pronto.  If, for whatever reason, you have not hired an attorney, what you need until you do is a guide through the system, lots of information, quickly, sample motions and supporting legal briefs, and some clues to strategy.  You don’t need to read a story.  You’re living it.

Before exploring this site, you should first read my disclaimer.  (My name, address,  phone number, and email feedback connection are at the very bottom of every page in the site.)

And you should read my goals.

My goal is to make this Website informative for all falsely accused of sexual abuse or assault or rape of a child. What I have uploaded is only the nucleus of what I hope to see here: a treasure trove of information related to false allegations.  If you don’t see the answers to your questions here, visit my Store, where I sell answers to questions.  And if those aren’t enough to solve your problems, visit The Back Room, where I discuss Consulting Services and Legal Representation.

Information such as practices and policies and successes and defeats of the authorities in each state would be welcome.  Names of so-called experts used by the state or defendants and the cases in which they testified would be welcome.  Names of community centers or other locations where supervised visitation may be held would also be welcome: knowing those resources could possibly make the ordeal a bit easier for those readers going through it at this time.  And suggestions for new Web pages are welcome!”

At the “Evolve” website the following information is available which helps to shed some light on the perilous state of the disadvantaged youth in our society, many of whom are fatherless.

Disadvantage in youth

When we think about disadvantage, our minds often turn to places far away from Victoria, Australia. We may think of children starving in Africa, war-stricken countries, or natural disasters like the Tsunami, making it sometimes hard to see what is happening in our own country - in our own backyards.

What does disadvantage look like? Disadvantage has many faces and presents itself to Evolve in different ways. Regardless of its appearance, there is one commonality: no-one chooses disadvantage.

Our young people often come from environments where their families experience social, economic or geographic disadvantage, which can sometimes lead to negative mental health, self-harming and suicide, abuse and neglect, homelessness, educational disengagement and juvenile crime. When we meet and interview such young people, they are desperate for change, for a fresh start and for the opportunity to have an ‘advantage’.

In a 2008 study peformed by Youth Action & Policy Association (Ferguson, J, Poverty and disadvantage among young Australians - How are young people going?”, 2008) 657 young people aged 12-25 completed a survey to analyze poverty and disadvantage.

The results were confronting.

    * Approximately 5% were deprived of somewhere safe or stable to live, and a further 10% were unable to access dental treatment.    
   
    * Regarding economic exclusion, approximately 18% do not have enough money to get by on and 15% live in a jobless household.    
   
    * In the area of disengagement, worryingly, one in five young people had not participated in community events in the last 12 months, and more than 1 in 3 had missed an important event due to a lack of transport.    
   
   * In the category of service exclusion, 12% had been unable to access mental health services, while approximately 1 in three had been unable to keep up with basic payments for water, gas or electricity.    
   
   * Around 1 in 10 respondents were experiencing psychological and emotional deprivation. These young people reported no sense of belonging, no confidence in what they do, nor having the support or his or her family.
 

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