Ga. Supreme Court overturns ban on kids visiting father’s gay friends
Justices also reverse 10-year sentence of female teacher who had sex with former student
Jun 19, 2009 | By: MATT SCHAFER
https://www.sovo.com/2009/6-19/news/localnews/10246.cfm
In two separate decisions handed down this week, the Supreme Court of Georgia ruled a gay father does not have to shield his children from his gay friends and reversed a ruling that sentenced a female teacher to 10 years in prison for having an affair with a female 16-year-old former student.
The state Supreme Court chastised a ruling made by a Fayette County Superior Court judge in a divorce case for barring a gay man from allowing any of his gay or lesbian friends near his children. In the unanimous opinion, the justices said Fayette County Superior Court Judge Christopher Edwards abused his judicial discretion when he ordered that gay father Eric Mongerson was prohibited from allowing his children to be in contact with gay friends.
Edwards is one of several nominees for the seat on the high court that will be left open when Chief Justice Leah Ward Sears retires at the end of June.
The court also reversed the conviction of Melissa Lee Chase, who was sentenced to 10 years in prison and five years probation for having a sexual relationship with a 16-year-old former student.
The rulings were among a batch of decisions released on June 15.
Mongerson vs. Mongerson
Eric Mongerson and Sandy Mongerson were married 21 years and had four children together before Sandy Mongerson initiated a divorce in 2005. She accused her husband of engaging “in a series of affairs with other men,” according to court documents. Eric Mongerson is now openly gay, but part of a 2007 divorce decree prohibited his children from meeting his “homosexual partners and friends.”
While the court upheld several elements of the divorce settlement, including alimony payments and child support, the justices unanimously disagreed with the prohibition on gay friends.
“Such an arbitrary classification based on sexual orientation flies in the face of our public policy that encourages divorced parents to participate in the raising of their children, and constitutes an abuse of discretion,” Justice Robert Benham wrote.
Justice Harold Melton wrote a “special concurrence,” joined by Justice George Carley, noting that children can be barred from interaction with a parent’s gay and lesbian acquaintances only if there is evidence that such interaction is against their best interests.
“The trial court abused its discretion by restricting husband’s visitation rights based on his children’s potential exposure to husband’s compatriots, independent of whether or not husband’s friends exhibited any harmful behavior that could affect the children,” Melton wrote. “Our case law is clear that such a visitation restriction must fail.”
Beth Littrell, a staff attorney in the Atlanta-based Southern Regional Office of Lambda Legal, said if the court had upheld the lower court ruling, it could have set gay rights back decades.
“I think if they would have let this blanket restriction on homosexual people stand it would have not just set a bad precedence, but really set us back 50 years because the law in Georgia has been very clear that this is evolving to recognize gay people,” Littrell said.
Lambda Legal filed a friend-of-the-court brief on behalf of C.O.L.A.G.E., Children Of Lesbians And Gays Everywhere, a national activist group for the children of gay parents.
Hannibal Heredia represented Mongerson in his appeal to the high court and said the Fayette court order created an unreal living situation for his client.
“He literally could go into a mall with his children, and if he saw one his friends he’d have to go the other way, that’s how openly worded the order was,” Heredia said.
Chase vs. The State
In a 5-2 vote, the court reversed the conviction of Melissa Chase, 31, who had a sexual relationship with a female 16-year-old former student in 2006. The friendship began in August and eventually became romantic before the two had a one-time sexual encounter in November, according to court documents.
Chase, a former physical education teacher and softball coach at Harlem High School outside of Augusta, maintained the affair was consensual.
The former student was living with her father and stepmother while having the relationship with Chase. When the student’s mother found romantic letters from Chase to her daughter, she called the police and Chase was arrested and charged with sexual assault of a student enrolled in school.
Chase waived her right to a jury trial and opted for a one-day bench trial. At the trial, the former student testified she initiated the relationship with Chase because “she had feelings for her.” The state argued Chase could not put on a “consent defense” because of the student’s age and the trial court agreed. An appeals court upheld the trial court’s ...
Savannah GA Divorce Lawyer
GA Uncontested Divorce - GA Contested Divorce -
We specialize in: Separation Agreements - Spousal Support - Property Division - Alimony - Military Divorce - Contempt Actions in Divorce Cases - Child Custody / Custody modification - Child Support Modification - Child Visitation - Adoptions - Prenuptial Agreements
Savannah GA, Richmond Hill, GA, Fort Stewart, Hinesville, Georgia Family Law Lawyer - Georgia domestic mediator. Georgia divorce lawyer, GA child custody attorney
Friday, June 19, 2009
Savannah GA Divorce Lawyer - Savannah Georgia Uncontested Divorce Attorney - Ga. Supreme Court overturns ban on kids visiting father’s gay friends
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
0 comments:
Post a Comment