Judge Bill upholds dismissal of criminal charges; DHS supervision ended
By Diane Bukowski
December 13, 2011
DETROIT – Maryanne Godboldo expressed both joy and pain after Wayne County Circuit Court Judge Gregory Bill upheld the dismissal of multiple felony charges against her Dec. 12.
Maryanne Godboldo speaks at rally last July
“I’d like to thank my attorneys for their excellent representation, and thank Judge Bill,” Godboldo said tearfully. “He gave an excellent lesson to the attorneys from the opposition on the law. I hope they will remember that because they are dealing with people’s lives and their children. I thank him for doing his job and upholding the law.”
But Godboldo added, “Every day we come home from court, the many hours we spend in here, I could be home taking care of my daughter and moving forward on her treatment plan.”
Tanks roll down Linwood Mar. 24 to confront mother and child
Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy brought multiple counts of assaulting, resisting and obstructing police officers and other charges against Godboldo. Godboldo had defended her child, Ariana Godboldo-Hakim, 13, from seizure by police and Child Protective Services (CPS) worker Mia Wenk, during a twelve-hour stand-off March 24.
CPS wanted to force dangerous drug on child
Wenk was intent on medicating the child with a dangerous psychotropic drug, Risperdal. The North Oakland Child-Adolescent Family Center, which is paid by drug companies to conduct trials, originally put Ariana on the drug, which is not approved by the FDA for use in children.
Penny Godboldo (center) at rally outside 36th District Court after her sister's arraignment in March
Her mother consented in writing only on the condition that she would be allowed to take her off the drug for any reason, which she did after observing harmful side effects.
Godboldo’s sister Penny Godboldo called Judge Bill “a teacher and preacher and a man of justice,” after Wayne County Family Court Judge Lynne Pierce finally ended the Department of Human Services’ supervision of the family during a court hearing that afternoon.
“Justice has been served.,” Ariana’s father Mubarak Hakim said, “Judge Bill was very thorough, very honest and covered all the facts.”
Ariana's father Mubarak Hakim
Godboldo’s attorney Allison Folmar said, “We thank Judge Bill for upholding a parent’s constitutional right to choose how to treat their child.” Her co-counsel Byron Pitts added, “Two judges have now ruled in favor of my client. We ask that Kym Worthy leave this case alone and allow parents to take care of their children without government interference.”
Despite Pitt’s emphatic request, Worthy’s office announced shortly after Judge Bill’s ruling that she would appeal.
Judge Bill upholds Judge Ronald Giles, incorporates his statements
Judge Bill incorporated 36th District Court Judge Ronald Giles’ entire statement dismissing charges against Godboldo after her preliminary exam into his ruling. He said he was also incorporating the entire transcript of the exam, which spanned two full days in July and August earlier this year.
36th District Court Judge Ronald Giles
Judge Giles said Aug. 29 that his decision was based both on the invalidity of the court order Wenk used to take Ariana, and the prosecution’s failure to show probable cause that Godboldo fired a gun during the twelve-hour stand-off with police, who were armed with assault weapons, tanks and helicopters.
Godboldo’s stand exposed for the first time that the Wayne County Family Court had been seizing children based on court orders rubber-stamped with Chief Judge Leslie Kim Smith’s signature by unauthorized probation officers. No hearings had been held before the Judge, and no review of documents and evidence in the cases had been done before removal of an untold number of children over an undetermined period of time.
The Justice4Maryanne Committee has contended that the court, the state, and non-profit agencies are motivated by the federal payments they receive for each child taken.
“He (Giles) talked about a person’s constitutional rights, about familial integrity,” Bill said. “He said, ‘it is ridiculous to go in and remove somebody’s child based on THIS order, without even exigent circumstances.’ It wasn’t like the child had cancer, there was no immediate threat of death or physical harm.”
Bill further noted that Judge Giles found no evidence on the record “that this defendant discharged that firearm.”
Judge Bill finds Judge Giles thorough and impartial
“My findings parallel those of Judge Giles,” Judge Bill said. “He had the advantage of seeing and hearing the witnesses testify. His decision was amply supported by the nature of the testimony during the exam.”
Bill said Giles allowed the prosecution numerous opportunities to present witnesses and evidence, even over defense objections, and that his handling of the case was extremely thorough and impartial.
Bill said he himself spent the entire weekend, after hearing arguments from both sides Dec. 9, “reading and re-reading” briefs, exam transcripts, and exhibits before making his own decision to uphold Judge Giles’ ruling.
Wayne County Assistant Appeals Prosecutor David McReady had argued that Judge Giles abused his judicial discretion, and that he “suppressed evidence,” referring to Giles statement that everything following the invalid court order was “the fruit of the poisonous tree.”
McReady also argued, among other matters, that Godboldo had “tacitly admitted” firing the gun, but Judge Bill found that no such admissions had taken place.
Mother says child severely harmed by events
Godboldo said her daughter Ariana Godboldo-Hakim, now 14, was severely harmed by the year’s events.
Friends console Maryanne Godboldo during vigil outside Hawthorn Psychiatric Hospital
“My daughter has had a very difficult time,” Godboldo said. “Last night she could not sleep. The damage done to my child because of them taking her has nearly destroyed me.”
After her seizure, Ariana was incarcerated in Hawthorn Children’s Psychiatric Hospital in Northville for six weeks. There, doctors forcibly medicated her with Risperdal, according to Wenk’s wishes and against the will of both her parents. Wenk has only a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice and had been on the job for only three years..
Wenk said in court testimony that the fact that Godboldo took the child off the drug was the cause for her removal. She also testified during the preliminary exam that Ariana needed to be “caged” in the back of a police car, despite the fact she had never seen or interviewed the child.
During Ariana’s stay at the hospital, doctors gave her three other dangerous psychotropic drugs and 14 immunizations, according to Godboldo and attorney Folmar. Hospital personnel took her prosthetic leg, which she had worn since infancy, and forced her into a wheelchair. Prior to her removal, the child had been active in dance and horse-back riding.
Godboldo also filed a police report alleging her child was sexually abused at Hawthorn, after she was taken from there to Children’s Hospital (CHM) for treatment of a sexually-transmitted disease. During a physical exam immediately after her removal from her home, CHM found no such disease. No action has been taken on that report.
Dr. Margaret Betts prescribed holistic regime for Ariana Godboldo-Hakim
During the Family Court hearing before Judge Pierce, Ariana’s court-appointed guardian ad litem Daniel McGuire said, “I visited the child Saturday morning. She was the most animated and attentive I had ever seen her. She made eye contact and was not shy at all. There has been great improvement. The holistic regimen [prescribed by Dr. Margaret Betts] seems to be improving her temperament and her motor skills. I don’t think she needs me or the court in her life anymore.”
Maryanne Godboldo said Ariana is once again dancing, studying music, and playing her drums, which her father, who is a musician, taught her to play. “She is coming along,” Godboldo said. “She is doing better because she is at home where she belongs.”
Worthy refuses comment on charging Wenk, CPS, DHS, Family Court
Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy
Prosecutor Worthy’s Chief of Communications Maria Miller said, “We are appealing on the same grounds as in the Circuit Court.We believe that the lower court judge abused his discretion in dismissing the charges at the preliminary examination.”
VOD inquired, “Does Prosecutor Worthy plan to do any or all of the following:
• File criminal charges against CPS worker Mia Wenk for making a false report to the police (she admitted during the preliminary exam that she told police she had a “warrant,” not a court order, which escalated the police response); for obstruction of justice (having the police raid the home the day after the order was obtained when in fact she had thirty days to have hearings held and give due process to the parents, etc.) or any other charges? Mia Wenk used the same procedures in the case of Nathaniel Brent, who is currently suing her and other officials in federal court, and likely an unknown number of other families.
• Will the Prosecutor at least initiate an investigation of Ms. Wenk’s actions and those of other DHS officials, as well as Wayne County Family Court officials, regarding violations of the constitutional rights of families in Wayne County through assembly line seizures of their children?
• File charges against officials in the Wayne County Court family division and the Department of Human Services for taking children based on orders that had never been seen or personally signed by the Family Division Chief Judge, and on which no hearings had been held by ANY Family Court Judge or Magistrate prior to the seizure of thren? The State Court Administrator’s Office has said that hearings must be held first to provide due process, and that orders such as that used in the Godboldo case, rubber stamped by probation officers, are in fact invalid.”
Miller responded to those questions as follows: “We have no comment on these questions because the Attorney General handles the abuse and neglect issues. These questions relate to that part of the case.”
(VOD: Perhaps the fundraiser below, still needed since Worthy is pursuing appeal, can turn into a celebration for the Godboldo-Hakim family. All they wanted for Christmas was justice!)
(last one, apologies my html skills didn’t get that Hope VI/HUD reference link in:
From The Myth of the Rule of Law (Catherine Austin Fitts), “What’s HUD got to do with it?” Maybe I’m “preaching to the choir,” but I think most people, if it’s explained could understand the basics, esp. after experiencing them first-hand.
Similar idea, I’m posting this because it helped me understand better how many works, and the intentional profit in causing defaults, causing failure so other areas can get the contracts. HHS and HUD had similar problems, and some overlap of personnel causing them.
Fees for our Friends [Cuomo] Aug 2006
I’m outta here.
Also, http://americanamnesia.wordpress.com (“Who Stole My Kids”? a shorter one).
I am so thankful for Diane Bukowski (reporting), Voice of Detroit and all the people who supported Maryanne Godboldo, as well as for her. I am constantly referring to this example for what risks families are at in this country because of the Rx incentive and the family courts that are being (have been) re-designed for service referrals.
I never thought I’d have to ask for this, but my children have aged out, after being taken overnight from my (single mother, formerly homeschooling) home based on all kinds of false allegations never given in court. We requested a factual and legal basis for the overnight switch, accomplished by a mediator, and ripping (two) daughters out of my home into the home of an abusive, and thousands of $$ in arrears father, who was undermining my work relationship. It never happened. He was given control of our daughters after committing felony child-stealing (enabled by the local county sheriff’s despite an existing custody order). I didn’t give the green-light to call in CPS (there was no allegation of my abusing them), which I know would’ve meant foster care system. But I didn’t fully understand the family courts yet, or that in some situations there is pro bono legal help for the Dads to start custody battles they don’t even want (in exchange for reduction of child support arrears).
SO instead overnight and for the first time in their life, my kids had no mother, a substitute mother (that he’d picked up for this purpose) who simply set the standard of we “ARE” the law — and I ran out of funds to fight back, not to mention walking around in shock for about a year (still not over it years later). Once my connection with them was adequately severed, this woman kicked their father out and KEPT OUR KIDS. He of course didn’t tell anyone, and a lot of people made a lot of money over abusing my children in a non-relative, non-guardian’s home, while one parent was back bothering me again, and I’d been deprived of a self-sustaining profession, plus contact with my kids I’d just raised!
The missing daughter has never been diagnosed with a disability (to my awareness and she’s been in front of specialists) other than the usual one — independence and being smarter than some of the adults around her (“Unbossed and unbought.”) Her (uncle and father) tried to call her all kinds of labels (in pleadings too), but the fact is, she’s a multi-talented conceptual thinker, and my take is, saw through them. An attempt was made to bribe her (within the past year), it was rejected, and now she is, I don’t know whether fled, or got warehoused.
The other one is MIA since last October, and since this one is family of origin digesting itself as we speak (and there’s money involved, yes), the father kindly informed me she might have been put (as a young adult) in a similar institution and “possibly” attempted to commit suicide (within the time she went MIA and now). EVERYONE in my network was immediately on that, but I have not found her, and the only source of information I have is liars. Presently. If my daughter has fled and doesn’t want to be found (something I’ve definitely considered) more power to her, but at this age, and with no social support, and nothing but minimum wage, I call that “at risk.” The other one blows it off, and I don’t know who to believe, but am continuing to make calls.
“Coincidentally” this is happening as other family members are attempting to throw me out of the housing have been able to hang onto over the years. I was permitted to live there with the endgame (it turned out) of having to be subject to further family abuse until I can get someone to stop it (as we speak). not to put too kind a spin on it, this is about money, and using someones SS# to overbill the public and put as many Rxes in vulnerable children (and elderly) as possible while they’re still alive. See this post:
http://familycourtmatters.wordpress.com/2013/03/06/finding-ground-zero-in-connecticut-the-underground-economy-in-an-afcc-courthouse/
(links to a case in Connecticut, in which the reporter dug up the contracts and invoices, and posted them on-line! the article being in the Washington Times).
Search “Godboldo” or “Atypical Antipsychotics” (a recent post by this title) on the blog. My situation is different — I as driven on welfare because it was a DV marriage; but I chose to look up the nonprofit incentive, as the other explanation for why courts were acting as they did, just made no sense.
http://familycourtmatters.wordpress.com/2013/02/13/how-a-1952-divorce-opinion-was-leveraged-into-pushing-the-conciliation-court-model-and-no-fault-divorce/
Am also struck here how Kym Worthy and Mia Wenk are women. I’ve never met Maryanne but the photos, what she’s done, and the fact that the funds made available (no doubt) probably included (regardless if anyone was actually on welfare at the time) TANF funding, which is targeted as low-income single mothers, is probably an issue. Why are women in social services, and other places of power so cruel to obviously competent and concerned mothers? What’s wrong upstairs, that they would do this?
Anyhow, this country is being shifted to socialism and centralized control with a behavioral health/Rx model. The Rx control of kids goes hand-in-hand with over-incarceration. Then they set up re-entry programs. Closely examined (even a little closely) many of these programs are run by corporations who don’t file right, and are over-billing. So, the longer anyone is kept IN the system, the more $$ to be made from them.
http://familycourtmatters.wordpress.com/2012/12/13/kickbacks-for-atypical-antipsychotics-to-drug-up-locked-up-kids-elderly-disabled-and-disabled-on-state-aid/
They screen for customers through the public education system, and are picking off the ‘stragglers” families or single parents who manage healthy and sustainable lifestyles through homeschooling, which maintains the parent bond and produces more independent children (also puts the standard system to shame academically). An attempt was made in California to outlaw homeschooling for ALL parents based on a few cases. It failed, so they just target whoever can’t fight back.
Can’t say a lot more here, but for those of you who still believe in God, I’m asking your prayers for me (the mother) and both the girls (now young lady) and for others involved in this case to have a change of heart. I am being extorted and have been driven back on welfare the THIRD time, and am beyond PTSD. I write because someone ought to know what’s going on, and stay networked with others.
Our country is running drugs and children for profit, what else is there to say about it?
I NEVER thought there wouldn’t be an end to it after my children aged out, another of my parents has died (not too long ago), and certain people are still milking this situation, trying to intimidate me into either giving up, or provoke a health incident through the stress.
Some of us write to stay sane in the light of all this, but even through the PTSD, the blog is a resource, or contact me for more. I look things up in many states, as the models are national models anyhow. To understand the nonprofits involved and their funding is to understand most of the system. Again, I am so thankful for anyone and everyone who is standing up, sticking together as a community, and “outing” these creeps. They have no shame, so someone eventually has to find out who got paid what in the case; read the tax returns, financial reports, contracts with the county and other entities to see how many can we Risperdal, etc.
And like I said, please pray (religious communities aren’t exactly supportive after I outed the religious abuse locally, and the participation in government grants which target single mothers as “bad” for society; it seems the more confident and competent ones are getting hit hard). I saw what happened to my own mother from the same sources (including what I’d have to say is being medically abused, i.e., strong medications to control her, while all this was going among her offspring, and she was being induced to pay for what the deadbeat father [by choice. I know not all men are, but this guy has it on the transcript record he wasn’t even trying] actually owed my household….)… (Hope I don’t regret that long comment!).
As one who has had similar problems with the liars in the Medical field and the CPS, I wish you much success. I was one who was fortunate enough to figure out that they were coming for my children a day ahead, and so I sent my wife and children out of state – out of their jurisdiction – before any papers were served. That way, they were only able to deal with me, preferring child abuse charges against me with the state providing me with a free jerk lawyer that wanted to make deals instead of prove my innocence, because he was friends with the doctor and the socialist worker in the CPS that made the accusations.
A good lawyer, provided by the Church, was able to quash the accusations in a matter of a few weeks.
These government drones like Mia Wenk are looking for money from the federal government as a reward for taking children away from their parents and putting them in harms way – the medical establishment and perverts who are either in government service or running foster homes and mental asylums. That’s what Hitler and the Nazis, Stalin and the Communists, and now the current spate of Socialist CPS offices across the nation are doing; take the children away from the parents so you can indoctrinate them in the Socialist Agenda, kill a few by either putting them into the white slavery mill, use them for test subjects in the latest drug craze and/or vacinate them with Mercury and Cancer. Keep up the good fight for your Constitutional Rights, your Freedom and Liberty depend on it!
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Merry Christmas to the Godboldo-Hakim family! May it be one filled with peace and joy. You stood your ground, fought for justice and won with the help of a good legal team and many, many loving supporters. You also helped to remind those who have the power to remove children from their homes that the laws in place must be followed, especially in regard to the practice of rubber stamping orders to remove children, and that people will not stand by and watch while they harvest children for profit from poor or low-income families. It’s such an important issue and one that so many families across the nation are struggling with. Hopefully, the lessons learned in this case will useful to those families in their fight for justice.