Posted on 12/12/2005 4:41:04 AM PST by Mercat
Custody ruling drawing fire Judge rules in favor of mother even though father serving in Iraq
After filing for divorce last May, Marine Cpl. Levi Bradley wanted a say about which parent his 2-year-old son would live with.
When Bradley, who has lived in Pomona and Ottawa, was deployed for Iraq two months later, his family and legal team thought a federal law meant to protect military personnel from civil litigation would stave off proceedings until he got back.
Instead, on two different occasions, a Franklin County judge ruled that the law didn’t apply to Bradley, raising the eyebrows of attorneys and a high-ranking Kansas lawmaker.
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Bradley is in Iraq and could not be reached for comment.
The Servicemember’s Civil Relief Act was signed into law in 2003, shielding military personnel in Iraq, Afghanistan or other war zones from civil lawsuits and evictions until they are back in the U.S. Judges, the law says, must postpone judgment for at least 90 days if the service member applies for the additional time.
Records show that the Marine and his mother, Starleen Bradley, had legal custody of the child when he was deployed. Amber Bradley, the Marine’s estranged wife, signed the arrangement.
Court records show that Levi Bradley asked in October to delay further proceedings, a month before the first child custody hearing was to begin. The application included a signed Marine Corps letter from his commanding officer in Iraq and his own testimony, as the law requires.
But in court Nov. 8, Judge James Smith ruled that the mother should receive custody of the child, saying that the Servicemember’s Civil Relief Act didn’t apply because the temporary action affected the child, not Bradley himself, transcripts show.
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Pomona is just down the road a few miles from where I live. I will be interested in hearing what transpires on this case.
Maternal grandmother works with the judge. There's your answer to the ruling.
Join the Marines.
See the world.
Lose custody of your kids.
Sad and wrong.
That's like saying that having your car stolen affects the car, not you. The judge must be trying for a position on the Ninth...
The judge is probably correct. The child should have had an attorney.
"Marine Cpl. Levi Bradley wanted a say about which parent his 2-year-old son would live with"
I think most fathers would like a say about which parent their kids live with........doesn't mean they get it.
I see a divorce story, not so much a military story.
Although the judge would seem to have a really serious conflict of interest in this case, the child in question has his or her own rights. A different judge may well rule the same way inasmuch as the custodial parent (the Marine) sought to leave the child in the custody of a non-relative (his girlfriend).
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