Every year, thousands of children in California are parentally abducted partially due to the state court system's disregard of the threat. After Fresno County Superior Court Judge Jane Cardoza ignored the written confession of two previous abductions by the child's mother, the court ruled for Larry Jr. to live in Russia with his mother and summer visits with his father. No safeguards in the custody order were made. The judge's decision resulted in the third abduction of Larry Jr. Sadly, courts in California and many other states have made many erroneous rulings allowing children to live in countries that will not adhere to U.S. custody orders - therefore, opening the doors to international parental abduction.
Larry Jr.'s father drafted a bill that would, in essence, bring to a court's attention the red flags of child abduction during a custody/visitation hearing. The Synclair-Cannon Act provides measures of abduction prevention for the court to implement. It was time to stop such judges like Jane Cardoza from making decisions that destroy not only the child's right to be raised by both parents, but the left-behind parent's fundamental and constitutional right to the care, custody and control of the child.
The Synclair-Cannon Act received support from the California District Attorneys Associations, the California Branch of the National Organization of Women, the California Judges Association, and John Walsh, TV host of "America's Most Wanted." |
