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Janet Jenkins’ Lawyers File Motion To Hold Lisa Miller In Contempt of Court
01/04/09-by Bridgette P. LaVictoire
It has been three days since Lisa Miller failed to appear at the custody exchange for Isabella. Today, Janet Jenkins’ lawyers filed an emergency motion to hold Lisa Miller in contempt of court for failing to bring Isabella to the reunion with her second mother. In a written statement issued by Jenkins via her lawyer Sarah Star, “I am so worried about Isabella. I do not know where she is or whether she is okay.” Janet Jenkins and Lisa Miller have been locked in a custody battle now for six years. At issue was Judge William Cohen’s decision to grant Jenkins unsupervised visitation. Lisa Miller, who claims to be a former lesbian, fled to Virginia in hopes of being able to avoid the visitation orders. Virginia has a strict constitutional amendment not recognizing either civil unions or same-sex marriages. However, the courts in both Virginia and Vermont have both upheld Judge Cohen’s orders due to federal laws governing these cases.
“My goal has never been to separate Isabella from Lisa. I just want Isabella to know and love both of her parents. I just want to be with her, like any parent,” Jenkins stated further in the statement. A year ago, Judge Cohen warned Lisa Miller that she risked losing custody entirely if she failed to uphold his visitation orders. In November, after she failed yet again to uphold these orders, Judge Cohen ordered that Isabella be given to Janet Jenkins, who would have sole custody of her. He took into account all the testimony from child psychologists regarding the exchange of custody.
In the interim, Lisa Miller has done a series of interviews with Christian media in order to slander Janet Jenkins’ name and make her case seem more sympathetic. Miller’s accusations include attempts to make it sound as if Jenkins is a pedophile; however, the courts did look into the accusations and found them baseless.
The hearing regarding the contempt citation is likely to be held Tuesday or Wednesday. According to a source close to the case, it is also possible that, given the behavior of Lisa Miller’s lawyers, that they may also be held in contempt. Judge Cohen is a fairly conservative judge and a stickler when it comes to court discipline. He has a track record of siding with the birth mother in child custody cases unless there is a strong reason not to.
On Friday, Janet Jenkins filed a missing persons report for Isabella. The phone at Lisa Miller’s house has been shut off, and her cell phone goes unanswered. Should this become a criminal case, it is probable that Lisa Miller will be facing jail time, and may lose custody and will likely be unable to get unsupervised visitation even if she does not go to prison.
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27 Responses to Janet Jenkins’ Lawyers File Motion To Hold Lisa Miller In Contempt of Court
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Peppermint
January 9, 2010 at 4:57 am
It’s amazing how people jump to conclusions. When I said that the American people will resist the courts that does not necessarily mean through violent means. The “Manhattan Declaration” is one example of how government can be resisted. Or, are you suggesting that violence is the only means by which Americans can correct a wayward government? I vividly remember the Oklahoma City bombing and was living in New York during 9/11 and experienced first-hand the devastation of the terror event. I don’t take things like that lightly and would certainly never use them merely to bolster an arugment. That is insensitive and reprehensible. Again, I am not a practicing Christian, though I respect all religions and faiths. It comes with respecting diversity. I am quite aware that people can be passionate about their beliefs but that doesn’t preclude civility. Though few minds are ever changed on boards like this, my purpose has merely been to add my voice to this discussion. If I merely wanted surround myself with those who agreed with me, there are plenty of sites that offer an echo chamber.
Sei
January 9, 2010 at 9:18 am
Peppermint,
My father worked for the Federal government for most of my life. I met many people who went through the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center in Brunswick, GA. I knew people who died at Oklahoma City, and I lived in fear of my father dying in such an attack until the day he retired. It was because of people like you advocating the breaking of laws over and over again that someone like Timothy McVeigh came to believe that it was alright to murder people in the name of his cause. My great aunt was suppose to be in the North Tower on 9/11. I will, however, tell you this…the most frightening terrorist event that I have had to live through killed only three people. It was because a little radical group in England, which began life “resisting” little laws. All they did was leave a bomb in a Soho gay bar.
Bridgette P. LaVictoire
April 8, 2010 at 7:45 am
Mary,
What you are seeing is a tiny fraction of a bunch of conversations which spanned multiple posts and multiple threads. YOU may not like the tone that Paula and myself were taking, but let me tell you, after enduring a sustained attack upon this site by people who are specifically friends of Lisa Miller no matter how fucking sweet their words sound, we were brooking none of it.
Peppermint
January 8, 2010 at 5:16 am
For those of you who are gleeful about Lisa possibly being imprisoned, keep in mind that a successful transfer of “custody “can only be accomplished through Lisa’s full support and compliance. Otherwise, I assure you, Isabella will not only deeply resent Janet for causing her mother to be imprisoned but might very well suffer severe psychological trauma from a forced transfer. You can point out that it was the “courts” that imprisoned Lisa but Isabella will hold Janet responsible. A harmonious relationship can never exist between Janet and Isabella under these circumstances. And, for those of you who believe that Janet has the support of the American people on this issue, you are sadly mistaken. Familial relationships far outdate this American court system and if this nonsense continues, I believe there will be a severe backlash against the court system. Government can only push people so far before they rebel. History has proven that.
Sei
January 8, 2010 at 8:07 am
Peppermint,
I am far from gleeful about Lisa Miller being imprisoned. What is more, it is amazing how people like you talk about rebellion when the government or the courts do not bow to the will of an increasingly tiny minority. A minority which has all the rights that it requires. What it does not have is the right to demand that the government implement policies enforcing its religious beliefs.
Lisa Miller’s life will be ruined. Do you understand that? Once she is of no use to her “buddies” at Liberty Council, and once they cannot get their way, she will tossed aside like garbage to rot in prison. Take a look at how the Rutherford Institute treated Paula Jones sometime.
No, I grieve that Lisa Miller is going to spend the rest of her life paying for this while those who, like you, have encouraged her to break the law will spend no time actually grieving over the wreck her life will be or paying for the fact that you have ruined her life.
You and others who have come on these forums to try and sway this debate in your direction may wonder why I am so passionate about this, and why I am so adamant about this. It is because I do not want to see someone make a terrible mistake. I have an aunt who was a warden in a women’s prison for many years, and trust me, IF Lisa Miller lives through her experience in prison, she will be scarred for life.
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Michelle Smith
January 5, 2010 at 10:14 am
From the Rutland Herald:
“Eventually, the courts ruled that I was Isabella’s parent, but in my heart I’ve always known that,” she said. “My goal has never been to separate Isabella from Lisa. I just want Isabella to know and love both of her parents. I just want to be with her like any parent.”
If you love her…. leave her with her mother… she doesnt know you… And probably doesnt want to…. you need to understand that she is with her mother. The best place for her… she is probably scared to death of you…. you are trying to take her from her mom… the only mom she has… and the only family that she knows. Seems to me that you are being a bit greedy here… if you love her you will think of her needs before your own…..
Sei
January 5, 2010 at 10:53 am
Ms Smith…
Ok, amazing how many Smiths show up commenting on these stories. Lisa Miller disobeyed Judge Cohen’s orders repeatedly. The last time that Janet Jenkins got to see her daughter- and yes, she is her daughter as well- was some time ago because Lisa Miller decided that she was above the law. Now, I know it is tempting to reward a law breaker for, well, breaking the law, but your arguments fly in the very face of the actions and words of Lisa Miller. Miller has already taken Isabella from her family and her mother.
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Julie
January 5, 2010 at 12:08 am
Derek, I see your upset about this. However, I not sure exactly where you are getting your information, as none if actually matches what is in the legal papers.
Lets deal with this step by step.
First, This child was born into a legal union. It was recognized in the state they were married in, the state she was conceived in and the state she was born in. It was also considered a legal union in the state in which the divorce took place. Any child born into a legal union of any kind is considered the legal child of the parents in that union, regardless of how that child “came to be” – natural conception, artificial insemination, adoption or mom screwing around with whatever walked by. Even in divorce, “biology” doesn’t matter so much as the fact that the child was born into that union, making those people the child’s rightful and lawful parents. (Ask a guy whose wife had a kid from someone else while married to him if he could just up and say “No, I don’t want to be responsible.” Even WITH a paternity test in some states, he is STILL responsible for that child if it was born while he was married to the mother!)
AFter the divorce was settled and visitation rights issued, Lisa Miller fled the state to Virginia in an attempt to violate those court orders. She was already well on her way to becoming a fugitive by that act ALONE. Which means, all these things had already BEEN decided BEFORE she went to Virginia.
AS for how long the girl has been away from Janet because of Lisa’s disrespect of the law… that is Lisa’s fault. Apparently however you are saying that a non-custodial parent…if they can get away with kidnapping that child, should keep the child after a certain span of time because they deliberately keep the child from the other parents…illegally??? Sorry, that one doesn’t fly. KIDNAPPING is never acceptable. LEAVING a child with a KIDNAPPER is never acceptable just because the kidnapper has spent more time with that child than its lawful parent!
As for the bathing thing… first, the court proved that Lisa was out and out lying about that one. And several others. And second…. my daughter who is now in Junior High has certainly seen me naked more than once!!! She has a bad habit of walking into the bathroom when I’m taking a shower. Seeing the human body is not a sexual attack. Its just seeing a body. Lisa blew this out of proportion in an attempt to get sympathy.
What really surprises me is that so many Christians are ALLOWING Lisa to manipulate them and their religion to her own ends. This is making the Christians look very bad as well as turning them into Criminals.
Derek James
January 4, 2010 at 11:20 pm
“Incidentally, Janet Jenkins has not seen Isabella since she was, around, five. Isabella only just turned seven, and Miller ignored Judge Cohen’s orders for at least a year before he ordered the change of custody.”
Gee… I wonder why??? Since thats about the time she was accused of forcing the girl to take a bath with her.
And anyone who would put a small child through all of this is just to push some is INDEED sick.
And BTW- I’m not a Fundie. I’m Libertarian and it was Michael Badnarik in 2004 who pushed the cause of a ‘Parental Rights Amendment.’
You wonderful people are now making plenty enemies other than Southern Baptists.
Sei
January 4, 2010 at 11:27 pm
Mr. James,
You mean the time she bathed with Jenkins when she was SIX? You seem to have missed that little point, you know. Miller says that the bath happened when Isabella was six not five, but Jenkins hasn’t seen Isabella since she was five. Now, how is that possible?
Oh, and you seem to have decided to suddenly become a Libertarian rather than someone who relies upon the Fundamentalist Media for your information.
If you want to call someone sick, that person is Lisa Miller who has distorted the information about Jenkins and pushed Isabella into becoming a poster child of a group of people who want to recriminalize homosexuality. And, trust me, most women side with Jenkins in this case, not Miller. Sorry, but we’ve been on top of this story longer than you’ve been out pushing the distortions.
Derek James
January 4, 2010 at 11:05 pm
Sei,
Why does everyone keep bringing up religion in support of Jenkins? Can we please just have a civil debate upon the facts?
1) Miller is the only real, known, biological parent to Isabella Miller… even thought I know this is a lie and Janet Jenkin was as much a parent as anyone could be….
2) After Miller found out Jenkins was supposedly taking NAKED BATHS with a 6 year old girl, she said ‘no more unsupervised visits.’ No one rational would blame her…. and I know this is a lie too because it was investigated time and time again….
3) Why didn’t Jenkins move to Virginia? Here parents live there! She could have been in close proximity and readily involved in the girl’s life…. now I know I have no idea what I am talking about… but I love to talk out of my butt
4) Jenkins name appears NOWHERE on Isabella MILLER’s birth certificate.
5) What kind of people, in the pursuit of a political and legal agenda would demand or recommend that a seven year old girl be ripped away from the only parent she has ever known? Besides us Christian that is… who would do it in a heartbeat if the shoe was on the other foot.
This is a severe malfeasance of justice that Will Not Stand…. even though I know there is not a damned thing I can do about it
It is unconscionable that Lisa and Isabella Miller had to go into hiding in order to find some peace and security- and by the way, Lisa Miller has been charged with NOTHING! Absolutely NOTHING…. however, she is about to be charge with kidnapping in a few days and she should know that the FBI tend to always get their woman… eventually
Judge William Cohen on the other can and may be sued for malpractice resulting in serious civil penalties. One can only hope they’ll remove that guy from the bench….. and I say this even though if I knew what I was talking about I’d know judges can not be sued….
Sei
January 4, 2010 at 11:13 pm
Mr. James,
I would love to see you sue all the judges in this case for malpractice. You think that is going to work. Every court has upheld his decisions. What is more, those events never happened, or did you not notice that the time line is screwed up? The courts investigated and found that Lisa Miller was lying through her teeth about these incidents. You might want to consider that before you try this effort to undermine the reality of this case. The irrational people are you, Mr. James, who believe Ms Miller and her lies. Oh, and no, I’m not going to have a civil debate with someone who is buying into a FUNDAMENTALIST site’s reporting on this case. What is also laughable is that you come in and call US sick and YOU want a civil debate. Why don’t you try drilling out the wax in your ears and listen to yourself.
Ms Miller has lied about the supposed child abuse to try and get people just as gullible as yourself to side with her. And religion is at the heart of this given Ms Miller’s constant delusion that prayer lead her to no longer be lesbian.
No, Mr. James, if you want civil debate, let us start by you apologizing for calling us sick, and then, you admitting that you’re busy relying upon information which was created by Lisa Miller to distort this whole case.
THEN, how about you admit that the courts have sided with Janet Jenkins, who has been deemed to be Isabella’s parent by the courts, and stop trying to push your distortions on the rest of us.
Oh, and the person who demanded that a seven year old girl be removed from her “loving mother” is a judge who often sides with the birth mother and who is fed up with Lisa Miller ignoring his orders on visitation.
Incidentally, Janet Jenkins has not seen Isabella since she was, around, five. Isabella only just turned seven, and Miller ignored Judge Cohen’s orders for at least a year before he ordered the change of custody.
DanO
January 10, 2010 at 4:26 pm
I’ve seen Mr. James with his same old drivel on other news sites. He also appears to be one of the most active teabaggers on the facebook group.
My favorite line of his is the desire to “sue the judge for malpractice.” It only goes to show the level of idiocy and lack of civics knowledge that these people have. You don’t sue a judge for malpractice, you appeal the decision. Until Miller’s attorney’s appeal in Vermont, the state that has jurisdiction, Cohen’s rulings stand. The appeals of jurisdiction went all the way to the USSC who declined to intervene.
Derek James
January 4, 2010 at 10:49 pm
Nice to see you fine ladies are willing to screw up a seven year old for life. but hey, anything for the cause, right?
If Jenkins loves this girl so much, why doesn’t she move to Virginia and accept supervised visits, which are what Miller wanted all along?
This case is a joke. Stealing a seven year old from her mom to make political points? Sickening- you people have no shame.
Sei
January 4, 2010 at 11:03 pm
Mr. James,
You mean the “supervised visits” which Miller did not bring up until interviewed about them by Life Site, but were never actually on the table? Instead of having Janet Jenkins uproot her life, why not have Ms Miller move back to Vermont? Oh, that is right, that means that she cannot have the support of the people who have distorted her world view, preyed upon her self doubts, and turned her against the law.
And it did not have to come to this. Ms Miller, backed by the Fundamentalists in Virginia that she is loathe to leave, has broken the law, ignored court orders, and abducted a seven year old girl all for the attempt to attack the LGBT community.
No, Mr. James, the people without shame are you sick effs in the Fundamentalist community who have been trying desperately to manipulate this case into something that is going to result in Lisa Miller never seeing her daughter again.
Former lesbian
January 4, 2010 at 9:28 pm
Why are you only showing Janet with toddler Isabella-Isabella is 7 now and doesn’t have any connection with Janet Jenkins. Why don’t you mention that Lisa discontinued visits for Isabella with Janet after she took a bath with her the first overnight she had with her?
Sei
January 4, 2010 at 9:43 pm
First of all, I do not have a more recent picture of Isabella. Secondly, that accusation of Janet taking a bath with Isabella was proven to be false. Thirdly, Lisa did not discontinue those visits after Janet took a bath with Isabella at the age of six since Janet has not seen Isabella while she was six. It might be nice to note that you are busy supporting a person who has lied repeatedly about this issue, and who is now facing a very real probability of going to jail. Of course, you are more than welcome to believe her lies, but since they are lies, they are not being reprinted. In fact, had you read my previous comment, you would know that Lisa Miller lied about these allegations and that is probably part of why she no longer has custody.
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Eric Smith
January 4, 2010 at 7:18 pm
What you are not mentioning in the article are allegations that Jenkins is prone to violence and that Jenkins forced the young girl, Isabella aged 6, to bathe naked with her.
If any of this is true, then any normal parent would deny unsupervised visits.
Judge Cohen should be ashamed of himself for forcing a mother and her daughter into hiding.
– Posted by Derek James on Mon, Jan 4, 2010, 6:05 pm EST
Sei
January 4, 2010 at 7:36 pm
Mr. Smith, we have been through this several times before. Life Site is unreliable, and the allegations were proven to be false. In point of fact, I said that in this article, which you did not, apparently, read. In fact, all of those allegations have been proven to be falsehoods created by a woman being manipulated by people who are using her for their own agenda. In fact, we went into this rather lengthily on two other posts which you tiresomely made these same accusations again and again without ever acknowledging that they were false. The courts looked into them and found them to be lies. In fact, they are probably part of why Lisa Miller lost custody in the end.
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