Domestic Violence // Current

Teenage girl shot because she didnt want to date another girl

Parents and classmates of a 15-year-old girl allegedly shot by another girl at Dillard High School are shocked that such violence... more

regjoeschmo
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21 responses

6 days ago

Recount press conference in historic MI courthouse by Independent candidate Cathy Church

Marquette, Michigan - In the marble halls of one of Michigan's most famous courthouses, an Independent candidate for Marquette County prosecutor filed a recount petition in her race against a longtime democratic incumbent.
Former assistant prosecutor Cathy Church cited uncounted absentee ballots and suspected problems with Diebold optical scanners used to tabulate ballots as the reason for the recount. She lost to the incumbent by 1,784 votes or about six percent.
"We decided there were some anomalies we wanted to look at," Church said. ""You took your ballot and put it into a machine that may or may not have sucked your ballot in on the first attempt."
Church served for 14 years as an assistant prosecutor of domestic violence cases.
She said the $400 filing fee was worth "the peace of mind."
The Nov. 12, 2008 press conference scheduled for the front steps of the historic courthouse was moved inside the main doors due to a cold rain.
The Marquette County Courthouse was the site of the director Otto Preminger's famous 1959 movie trial "Anatomy of a Murder" based on a book penned by prosecuter and future Michigan Supreme Court Judge John D. Voelker, under the name "Robert Traver," and starring Jimmy Stewart, Lee Remick, and a score by Duke Ellington.
At the same courthouse in 1913, former President Theodore Roosevelt was awarded six cents after winning a libel suit against a local newspaper publisher who wrote that Roosevelt was addicted to alcohol.
Church said the optical scanners used to tabulate the vote are sometimes being unreliable.
Diebold optical scanning machines “don't always read people's marks on the ballots correctly," she said.
"The scanning machines (in Marquette County) have had problems around the county," Church said. "Any mark within the circle counts as a valid vote in Michigan."
"However, the scanners are like anything, what they are doing is they are sending out some type of reading device and unless - and I think - if it's a check mark or an X it has a 15 percent chance of reading it."
"The scanner would not have picked it up but a hand recount will," she said.
At different precincts, voters were asked to mark their ballots different writing utensils including pencils and blue and black ink pens, and absentee ballots were filled out with black felt tip pens, said Professor Ruth Watry, NMU political science professor.
"I was going to take a pen out of my purse and she (the clerk) gave me a felt black tipped marker and said ‘this doesn't always read the pen well why don you use this' and some other people who had absentee ballots mailed to them from the city of Marquette has these markers mailed with the absentee ballot," Professor Watry said.
"I did a lot of research on this and according to the manufacturers, if the scanners have an infra-red reader on them there are only four types of marking instruments you are supposed to use" including a number two pencil and a Sharpie, Church said.
"It can be highly selective," she said.
Many voters voted straight party tickets but could check her name as an independent candidate for prosecutor.
"That's known as a split ticket" and if the scanner correctly reads the ballot "it should override the straight party ticket for that particular race," Church said.
"My race is pretty unique. I am not affiliated with any party" and there "was no republican candidate," she said.
"Poll workers work very hard in kind of a thankless job. I want to stress to you that I think those people do a stellar job."
"Michigan bought all these optical scanners for their precincts it was about a $32 million dollar contract," she said.
Berry County, Michigan had never had a problem with voting until using the optical scanners in 2006, she said.
"When Barry County transmitted the data 15 out of the 16 malfunctioned and they dropped 1,500 votes. Ohio just had a problem with the 11 out of 40 counties."
The recount date has not been set.Marquette, Michigan - In the marble halls of one of Michigan's most famous courthouses, an Independent candidate for... more

Yoopernewsman
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6 days ago

Independent candidate for prosecutor files for recount at famous courthouse in northern Michigan

Marquette, Michigan - In the marble halls of one of Michigan's most famous courthouses, an Independent candidate for Marquette County prosecutor filed a recount petition in her race against a longtime democratic incumbent.
Former assistant prosecutor Cathy Church cited uncounted absentee ballots and suspected problems with Diebold optical scanners used to tabulate ballots as the reason for the recount. She lost to the incumbent by 1,784 votes or about six percent.
"We decided there were some anomalies we wanted to look at," Church said. ""You took your ballot and put it into a machine that may or may not have sucked your ballot in on the first attempt."
Church served for 14 years as an assistant prosecutor of domestic violence cases.
She said the $400 filing fee was worth "the peace of mind."
The Nov. 12, 2008 press conference scheduled for the front steps of the historic courthouse was moved inside the main doors due to a cold rain.
The Marquette County Courthouse was the site of the director Otto Preminger's famous 1959 movie trial "Anatomy of a Murder" based on a book penned by prosecuter and future Michigan Supreme Court Judge John D. Voelker, under the name "Robert Traver," and starring Jimmy Stewart, Lee Remick, and a score by Duke Ellington.
At the same courthouse in 1913, former President Theodore Roosevelt was awarded six cents after winning a libel suit against a local newspaper publisher who wrote that Roosevelt was addicted to alcohol.
Church said the optical scanners used to tabulate the vote are sometimes being unreliable.
Diebold optical scanning machines “don't always read people's marks on the ballots correctly," she said.
"The scanning machines (in Marquette County) have had problems around the county," Church said. "Any mark within the circle counts as a valid vote in Michigan."
"However, the scanners are like anything, what they are doing is they are sending out some type of reading device and unless - and I think - if it's a check mark or an X it has a 15 percent chance of reading it."
"The scanner would not have picked it up but a hand recount will," she said.
At different precincts, voters were asked to mark their ballots different writing utensils including pencils and blue and black ink pens, and absentee ballots were filled out with black felt tip pens, said Professor Ruth Watry, NMU political science professor.
"I was going to take a pen out of my purse and she (the clerk) gave me a felt black tipped marker and said ‘this doesn't always read the pen well why don you use this' and some other people who had absentee ballots mailed to them from the city of Marquette has these markers mailed with the absentee ballot," Professor Watry said.
"I did a lot of research on this and according to the manufacturers, if the scanners have an infra-red reader on them there are only four types of marking instruments you are supposed to use" including a number two pencil and a Sharpie, Church said.
"It can be highly selective," she said.
Many voters voted straight party tickets but could check her name as an independent candidate for prosecutor.
"That's known as a split ticket" and if the scanner correctly reads the ballot "it should override the straight party ticket for that particular race," Church said.
"My race is pretty unique. I am not affiliated with any party" and there "was no republican candidate," she said.
"Poll workers work very hard in kind of a thankless job. I want to stress to you that I think those people do a stellar job."
"Michigan bought all these optical scanners for their precincts it was about a $32 million dollar contract," she said.
Berry County, Michigan had never had a problem with voting until using the optical scanners in 2006, she said.
"When Barry County transmitted the data 15 out of the 16 malfunctioned and they dropped 1,500 votes. Ohio just had a problem with the 11 out of 40 counties."
The recount date has not been set.Marquette, Michigan - In the marble halls of one of Michigan's most famous courthouses, an Independent candidate for... more

Yoopernewsman
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0 responses

6 days ago

WKQS Radio: Cathy Church files Recount Petition in Independent Race for Marquette County Prosecutor

Video of WKQS Radio exclusive interview with Independent candidate Cathy Church who filed a petition for a recount due to... more

Yoopernewsman
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6 days ago

Mining Journal Video: Cathy Church asks for hand recount of votes in Independent race for prosecutor

Once again, the Diebold Optical Scan Voting System is in question for not counting all ballots. (Marquette, MI) - Cathy Church,... more

Yoopernewsman
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0 responses

6 days ago

Domestic violence abusers could get gun rights

Reporting from Washington -- Thousands convicted of a misdemeanor for threatening or assaulting a spouse or girlfriend could once... more

synclaire
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37 responses

7 days ago

Domestic Violence A Growing Problem For Veterans

"The increasing number of veterans with post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) raises the risk of domestic violence and its... more

TravG73
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0 responses

11 days ago

The Quiet Maverick rides the Independent Campaign trail for Prosecutor of Marquette County, MI

In the spirit of the swedes, fins and others who crossed the ocean to settle the rugged wilderness we now call the Upper... more

Yoopernewsman
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0 responses

18 days ago

Running as an Independent is challenge with victories and difficult days - it's called life!

Well, I finally met Cathy Church - who is running as an independent candidate for Marquette County Prosecutor. A friend of a... more

Yoopernewsman
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0 responses

18 days ago

Is it really the ex's fault?

The answer is NO and you are about to learn why. It is not Ex-spouses, Ex-Girlfriends, and Ex-Boyfriends that are causing/creating... more

laryholland
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7 responses

19 days ago

Domestic Violence: Not Just the Hudsons' Problem

Its way deeper

caseygane
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0 responses

22 days ago

Hudson Murders - "Trouble in the Marriage"

The hunt for Jennifer Hudson's 7-year-old nephew continues to intensify. And we're told the operating theory among... more

Apocalipstick
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0 responses

24 days ago

Stop Violence Against Women campaign

Amnesty International Stop Violence Against Women campaign.

freeforall2008
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15 responses

24 days ago

SafeNet shelter director ordered to stay away from kids

What happens when an abuse shelter engages in conduct that is so unethical and bizarre that the public almost can't believe... more

regjoeschmo
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6 responses

29 days ago

The intellectual perversion of the VAWA Mafia

When professor Suzanne Steinmetz published the results of her survey on domestic violence, no one had prepared her for the... more

regjoeschmo
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11 responses

29 days ago

EXAMINING ASSAULTS BY WOMEN ON THEIR SPOUSES OR MALE PARTNERS

Last updated: September 2008 SUMMARY: This bibliography examines 246 scholarly investigations: 187 empirical studies and 59... more

regjoeschmo
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2 responses

29 days ago

Domestic Violence Awareness Month 2008 — California Leads the Way

The saying “As goes California, so goes the Nation,” never has been more true than for Domestic Violence Awareness Month 2008. On October 14, the California courts led the nation in bringing public awareness to a previously hidden Domestic Violence issue — that of battered men — and subsequently ruled that battered men deserve equal protection under the law.

Facing squarely the reality of Domestic Violence against men, the California Court of Appeals ruled that: “We find the gender-based classifications in the challenged statutes that provide programs for victims of domestic violence violate equal protection. We find male victims of domestic violence are similarly situated to female victims for purposes of the statutory programs and no compelling state interest justifies the gender classification. We reform the affected statutes by invalidating the exemption of males and extending the statutory benefits to men, whom the Legislature improperly excluded.” (page 2).

The California court ruling was based, in part, on empirical research undertaken by hundreds of social scientists who have helped to provide “the rest of the story.” This research has demonstrated that both men and women initiate Domestic Violence at roughly equal rates with some recent studies suggesting that the initiation rates for girls and women may be increasing. Furthermore, approximately 40% of the physically harmed victims of Domestic Violence are men.

The implications of the California Appellate Court ruling are clear, compelling, and require a fundamental revision of all State and Federal Domestic Violence legislation to fully recognize the need for equal treatment of battered men under the law. It is particularly important to revise the federal Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) and replace it with a Domestic Violence Act that stands in compliance with the California court ruling. By its name alone, the Violence Against Women Act now is both Unconstitutional and scientifically misleading.

Hopefully, the long-term impact of the California ruling will be to raise public and political awareness to the reality that Domestic Violence truly is an equal opportunity affliction. Since the Democratic Vice Presidential nominee Sen. Joe Biden both is the father of VAWA and a self-defined Constitutional scholar, let us hope that he will take advantage of the closing days of the campaign to propose a revision to VAWA along the lines of the California Appellate Court ruling. Voters should be listening for such a proposed revision.

Such an action also would be in the spirit of the words of Presidential candidate Sen. Obama* that: “…we must fight to bring domestic violence out of the darkness of isolation and back into the light of justice…” On October 14, 2008 the California courts ruled that justice must serve and protect both men and women.

May it continue to hold that: “As goes California, so goes the Nation.”

Gordon E. Finley, Ph.D. is Professor of Psychology at Florida International University in Miami.

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The saying “As goes California, so goes the Nation,” never has been more true than for Domestic Violence Awareness... more