More Insults For Good Parents: Syracuse Family Court Magistrate Insulated From Accountability

In a recent post, we featured a 15 page report and demand for resignation submitted to Syracuse Family Court Magistrate James Gorman. This came only days following a related comprehensive report naming the same magistrate in a complaint filed with the New York Commission on Judicial Conduct. First Amendment retaliation was evident from the text and impact of a support decision by Magistrate Gorman issued within days of this complaint. It went so far as to fabricate a PhD degree for support purposes while admitting to intentional violations of statute. The illegal acts of this magistrate caused Leon Koziol, an outspoken parental advocate, to lose newly secured employment.

Numerous violations of the state’s Judicial Code of Conduct were cited in both complaints. Because a support magistrate is subject to local administrative review, a second complaint was necessarily filed and promptly referred to a referee (“special counsel”). Only one week later, a response letter arrived stating that nothing would be investigated here. This follows additional concessions in another “confidential” forum that the state was in fact targeting the public criticisms of Leon Koziol. In short, the subjects of criticism are going to every extreme to punish the whistleblower. Welcome to America.

Below you will find a two page rebuttal which summarizes this shocking display of retaliation and injustice. An independent Judicial Review Commission has been proposed to overcome the inaction and whitewashing of judicial misconduct. Self regulation of our judiciary is simply not working to benefit the people who entrust such important duties to the public servants in our third branch of government operations. We are presently engaged in soliciting investments and donations behind this cause. We need extensive resources to be able to come into your individual communities and root out misconduct through investigation, report and complaints before the media and related government entities. Please look us up at Leon Koziol.com and make your contribution today.

______________________________________________________________________________________________

Office of Leon R. Koziol
Civil Rights Advocate
1518 Genesee Street
Utica, NY 13502
leonkoziol@gmail.com
(315) 796-4000

May 30, 2013

Gerard J. Neri
Special Counsel
Fifth Judicial District
Onondaga County Courthouse
Syracuse, New York 13202

Re: Support Magistrate James Gorman

Dear Mr. Neri:

On May 13, 2013, I submitted a 15-page resignation demand and formal complaint regarding serious ethical misconduct and gross incompetence exhibited by Onondaga County Support Magistrate James Gorman. It was provided to Family Court Judge Martha Walsh-Hood consistent with a procedure outlined by a Family Court clerk. I then received a May 16, 2013 letter from Judge Hood acknowledging my “complaint letters” and informing me that the matter was being assigned to you “for review and response”.

One week later, I received your letter dated May 23, 2013 which concluded the entire matter with peculiar, boiler-plate statements to the effect that “it appears you are objecting to legal decisions made by Support Magistrate Gorman…   that this office does not have authority to intercede in litigation or over-turn decisions of the Judges within the District… however, any objections to decisions/orders of the Support Magistrate should be made in accordance with the statutory requirements of the State of New York”.

I am appalled that such text was actually contained in a formal statement under the office letterhead of James Tormey as Fifth District Administrative Judge. To this, I have two questions: who are you, and did you read my submissions? If you are a referee for judicial incompetence and misconduct, the Walsh-Hood transfer notice did not specify this. And if you had read my material, you would have discovered the identity of your immediate supervisor as a related subject of complaint. In that case, consistent with ethical duties of a lawyer or a judge, I am not sure which classification fits your job description, you should have disqualified yourself.

When I submitted my complaint, I did so on the good faith premise that an independent entity was in place to investigate and prosecute violations of our state’s judicial Code of Ethics. It “would appear” that there are no such ethics applicable to this hybrid animal known as a “support magistrate”. Like you, he or she is treated as neither a judge nor an attorney. Therefore these publicly paid officials can go about abusing government authority by simply making up material facts and exploiting them to suppress the free exercise of First Amendment rights.

Is it “competent” to find that I possessed a PhD contrary to anything stated in a court record and then abuse such a fact to orchestrate a jail-able support violation in retaliation for offensive public criticisms? Did you really think that I was unaware of the “objections” and “appeals” process? If you read my submissions, you would have known that I was complaining about gross incompetence and judicial misconduct of Magistrate Gorman derived from matters outside of the court record. As “special” counsel, you would then also have known that such matters are not subject to either “objections” or “appeals”. Even a rudimentary reading would have caused you to conclude that Magistrate Gorman was being grieved for his proximate retaliation upon my filing of a published complaint against him before the Judicial Conduct Commission.

This decision came only days after the publicized event, more than six months since our support hearing concluded, and five months after the same decision was promised on the record. The delay alone was bad enough. To reiterate aspects of my complaint, Magistrate Gorman admitted to intentional violations of “statutory requirements of the State of New York” in his decision copied upon you. This is not simply an issue for appeal. It is an unethical and unlawful act which caused me to lose a new job. An appeal of his decision will not get the job back. It is furthermore unethical for you to “shoe-horn” my complaint within the convenient confines of a support case in order to insulate a colleague in the same courthouse from accountability. This is a complaint showing numerous violations of ethical code requiring a truly impartial and detached review.

Only today, the Syracuse Post Standard and Syracuse.com featured a civil rights case by a professor against SUNY Institute of Technology for First Amendment retaliation resulting in a $600,000 verdict, or the same amount obtained against your boss for violating similar rights of a Family Court clerk. A support magistrate may attempt to claim immunity from monetary recovery of this kind, but he or she is not immune from ethical accountability for the same unlawful act. Otherwise there would be no purpose to any code of ethics, conduct commission or your “office” for that matter. Please do the right thing here by disqualifying yourself so that a proper “review and response” can be made in connection with this very serious matter.

The public has a right to expect some kind of accountability in our third branch of government operations. A truly impartial “support magistrate” would not only honor our ethical codes but he would commence every case with notice to the litigants that they are being subjected to a tax as well as a child support obligation in any final order. I have explained the logic of this in my submissions but that would of course impair the same magistrate’s overall impartiality due to a financial stake in the outcome (principally impairing fathers and non-custodial mothers). This is all part of my continuing effort to alert you of an escalation in tensions and violence arising from this kind of bureaucratic cycle of abuse, harming good parents, families and innocent children.

Very truly yours,

Leon R. Koziol

Cc: Martha Walsh-Hood
Judicial Conduct Commission
U.S. Justice Department
Syracuse Post Standard

With One Judge Removed From Family Court, Koziol Seeks Removal of Another

Just when you thought it was safe to return to court, along comes another example of misconduct and gross incompetence which we have targeted in the Syracuse Onondaga County Family Court. Parents entering this arena are at risk of similar victimization and should pass out flyers at the courthouse steps to demand corrective action on a daily basis. The people of Syracuse, New York must take a hard look at what is happening in their public system of justice.

After going through nearly 30 trial level judges in the past seven years of a once uncontested divorce, Leon Koziol has announced that enough is enough. No more payments will be made to this “child support” bureaucracy fraudulently declaring itself to be acting in the “best interests of our children.” A letter has been issued directly to a support magistrate demanding his resignation after another judge, Bryan Hedges, of the same Family Court was removed by the state’s top court last week for sexual abuse upon a handicapped five year old niece.

Once again, you just can’t make this stuff up. Apparently only our protected judges can do this as a Family Court magistrate, James Gorman, actually manufactured a PhD among Mr. Koziol’s professional qualifications to support his “finding” that imputed income can be satisfied with no reduction in obligations. There is much more, and you simply have to read the entire demand letter attached here. It can be used as a template for your own demands, as we continue cleansing judicial office across the country from its corruption and misconduct upon good Americans.

After Koziol publicized his last complaint to the New York Commission on Judicial Conduct, this “child support” magistrate, named in that complaint, evidently abused his position in revenge so that free speech of the kind found at Leon Koziol.com can be utterly shut down. Whether you are a support victim, a subject of child alienation, a police officer sworn to uphold this system or a common taxpayer who pays for it all, this story must be told. More important, it must be read completely, and it must be circulated everywhere to promote “free press” that is being harmed.

Your parenting and childrearing crises are only going to get worse unless you join our civil rights movement and take real action. As this site shows throughout, there is extensive drive and professional qualifications to secure long overdue reform to our divorce and Family Courts. But it cannot be done without proper resources against a bureaucracy so large and out of control. If ten people can invest $10,000 a piece instead of donating it to useless lawyers, we can get a good start and begin entering your cases and courthouses to expose similar abuses. Maybe you have the connections to assist in our fundraising and reform efforts. For every abused child, and our moral fiber as a nation, we are running out of time! Stay tuned, more alarming news to follow.

See Request For James Gorman’s Resignation (Click Here)

Former Deputy Involved in Custody Dispute Convicted of Killing Ex-Wife

Today’s latest story of FCIV (Family Court Inspired Violence) comes from The Roanoke Times:

Read Story (Click Here)

Almost every single day, we receive countless stories about good fathers getting “screwed over” in the court room. As previously expressed here at LeonKoziol.com, we believe that litigant abuses taking place in family court involving divorce, custody and child support matters are leading to far more violence than what is actually being reported by the news media today. So, why isn’t anything being done about this? For starters, anyone who attempts to expose such information would more than likely run the definite risk of retaliation (see report). Who would possibly retaliate and why (see report) ? The answer may come as quite a surprise.

By acknowledging and admitting the detailed existence of such abuses (see the elephant in the room picture above) not only would it be an indictment of the entire legal profession and judiciary but, even more so, it would prove to be a public relations nightmare and embarrassment of the worst kind for our nation’s family courts. Especially, when their personal self-serving financial interests are routinely satisfied at the expense of predominately male litigant victims in what has now become a multi-billion dollar child control industry. It’s often these same fathers who find themselves unexpectedly placed on the defensive in the majority of court proceedings, whereby custody determination is routinely awarded to the mother as evidenced by the indisputable recent U.S. Census Bureau statistics (Table 2, page 6). Sadly, there seems to be a growing trend amongst these victims, including those with established law enforcement careers, like Jonathan Agee and others, who feel “locked out” of this very same system, which they had at one time pledged to honor and uphold. As a result, they see no alternative but, to take the law into their own hands.

However, thanks to the courageous efforts of Leon Koziol, J.D, who sacrificed a lucrative law practice, as well as countless others who have worked diligently to expose these injustices, the truth is getting out and spreading like a wild fire. While we do not condone violence in any such manner, Leon Koziol, J.D.’s, recent report to the Judicial Conduct Commission was intended to serve as a wake up call and continues to reinforce that both corrective action and reform must take place in order to prevent similar future tragedies from occurring. Ironically, this same report contains and eerily similar paragraph that reads much like the Roanoke Times story and involved a member of our own local law enforcement community, who after support court was reportedly reduced to living on $26 per week.

“As our domestic courts degenerate from their constitutional design to a money-driven enterprise, violence is increasing on an alarming scale. One of many cases that may corroborate this trend is Pearce v Longo, 766 F. Supp. 2d 367 (NDNY, 2011) where a police officer executed a murder-suicide leaving three children without parents. Abusive court processes were ignored as a cause. I urge your members to examine this submission carefully. It sheds new light on a spreading cancer and will be shared with the Justice Department and Human Rights Division. As the band plays on, our state is sinking to new lows in moral fiber, public service and family preservation.”

At LeonKoziol.com, we are proud to salute those in law enforcement who risk their lives to protect and serve us. It’s our sincere hope that meaningful reform can be achieved and future tragedies can be averted. We ask that you kindly consider making a contribution to the Parenting Rights Institute (using PayPal link on side of page) in order to help offset the cost of our ongoing efforts.

Thank you in advance for your support.

Police: Custody Dispute Motive in Manchester Slayings

“After 23 years of success as a civil rights attorney, Leon R.Koziol, J.D., predicts increase in violence arising from litigant abuses in our courts.”

Taken from a report submitted to the New York Judicial Conduct Commission By Leon R. Koziol, J.D., on April, 23, 2013.

Read the entire report: (Click Here)

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The staff here at LeonKoziol.Com has just received late breaking news regarding the Manchester, Illinois killings that occurred in the early morning hours of April 24, 2013, just shortly after the above referenced report was released on this website and predicted an outbreak of such violence.

According to State Police investigative findings released today, it was determined that a custody battle was the motive for the recent killings. For those of you who follow this website on a regular basis, outbreaks of FCIV (Family Court Inspired Violence) as confirmed by these latest findings, should come hardly as a surprise.

Read about this latest development:

Chicago Tribune (Click Here)
KSDK.com (Click Here)
I4UNEWS (Click Here)
St. Louis Post-Dispatch (Click Here)
WSILTV.com (Click Here)
ABC7NEWS (Click Here)

Leon Koziol is available for media commentary regarding this story and other related subject matter. He can be reached
at (315) 796-4000.

Help Stop the Spread of FCIV!

As a follow up to a previous post dated April, 24, 2013, the Chicago Sun Times has since reported that a “Custody dispute may be linked to killing of 5 in downstate family,” according to the news story headline.

See Chicago Sun Times (Click Here)

While the staff here at Leon Koziol.Com does not condone FCIV (Family Court Inspired Violence), it is our sincere hope that both lawmakers and the judiciary will take the necessary corrective actions that are long overdue by providing all parents with fair and equal treatment in matters involving divorce, child custody and support. However, until victims of litigant abuse realize they have a personal responsibility to advocate and find creative ways to finance such reform efforts, these sorts of foreseeable and otherwise preventable tragedies will continue to occur.

Leon Koziol, J.D., has been a long time advocate of such reform. He sacrificed a successful law career when he first began his whistle blowing efforts to expose a multi-billion dollar child-control industry, one that promotes needless and ever-lasting conflict at the expense of loving parents after unexpectedly finding himself in this very same predicament.  Unfortunately, he can no longer afford to fight this battle alone (for the benefit of all loving parents) without your financial support. Here is an excerpt from his report to the New York Judicial Conduct Commission which outlines his own personal experiences. When you read the entire report, you can’t help but wonder, how the average person without a civil rights background such as Mr. Koziol’s, would ever stand a fair chance? This is why your support of his efforts is absolutely essential.

“More than 25 trial level judges were assigned to my originally uncontested divorce case over a seven year period. Some are no longer on the bench, one was publicly admonished, and another was removed as Family Court judge due to child sex abuse. Meanwhile, I was made a target of retribution on the same day I presented an appeals court with widespread misconduct by a lawyer seated on the Fifth District ethics committee. Two years afterward, the same appeals court, in its disciplinary capacity, suspended my law license while a motion for its discharge was pending. Only weeks later, my request was granted, and the entire appeals court belatedly stepped down.”

Read the entire report (Click Here)

There are several ways that our readers can help finance reform efforts in order to help stop the spread of family court inspired violence. The first way is by simply making a donation to the Parenting Rights Institute using the PayPal link located on the right hand side of the page. The second way is through the purchase of PRI Self-Guided Court Program. Either way, your support is greatly appreciated!

Judge Removed From Koziol Custody Case Now Removed By High Court

You just can’t make this stuff up!

Once again, well ahead of his time, Leon Koziol targeted a family court judge back in August of 2011, seeking to have him removed from a custody case involving his 7 and 9 year old girls in Syracuse, NY. Mr. Koziol repeatedly objected over the years to any sessions known as “Lincoln” hearings conducted without the parents present in the privacy of a judge’s chambers. Eventually, Judge Hedges granted Mr. Koziol’s motion and removed himself from the case. Only 6 months later, the judge was brought up on charges of sexually abusing a 5 year old handicapped girl and the New York Judicial Conduct Commission removed him from the bench.

This is the same commission where the 28 page report was submitted by Mr. Koziol that was published here at Leon Koziol.Com on April 23, 2013. Just 2 days later, the high court of New York affirmed Judge Hedge’s removal.

See New York Daily News Article (Click Here)

The following excerpt was taken from Page 9 of Mr. Koziol’s report:

Another named defendant was Family Court Judge Bryan Hedges who was removed from the bench by this Commission in a recent published decision. He admitted to sexual interactions with a handicapped 5 year old girl (relative) while in law school. The sordid details are better left to the decision but only months prior to his removal, this same judge presided over my ongoing custody case. My motion for his recusal was opposed by the divorce lawyer and child attorney on grounds that this judge was beyond reproach. It was fortunately granted prior to the standard “Lincoln” session in chambers (without the parents) involving my then 7 and 8 year old girls.

More Family Court Inspired Violence?

Within moments of parental advocate Leon Koziol, J.D., releasing an alarming 28 Page report which predicted an increase in violence arising from litigant abuses in our courts, we were made aware of this tragic story from the Chicago Tribune. (Read Story Here). We are not suggesting the family court or litigant abuse was the cause of these senseless killings nor are we condoning these random acts of violence.

However, as previously expressed here at LeonKoziol.com, we continue to believe that a strong correlation undoubtedly exists between ongoing custody battles and the violence arising from litigant abuses which can be found in a variety of mainstream news media reports. Mr. Koziol’s recent report to the Judicial Conduct Commission was intended to further serve as a wake up call in hopes that both corrective action and reform can take place in an effort to prevent similar future tragedies from occurring.

A random Google Internet search of the terms “custody battle lead to killings,” revealed these disturbing recent news headlines:

News Story 1 (Click Here)
News Story 2 (Click Here)
News Story 3 (Click Here)
News Story 4 (Click Here)
News Story 5 (Click Here)

Could these unnecessary deaths have been prevented? We want to hear your thoughts.