Press Release

April 19, 2010

Judge Holds Mother in Contempt; Refuses to Hold Scheduled Custody Hearing

Daytona Beach – A mother who has been separated from her children for more than
three years was denied a hearing today to reunite with them and instead was held
in contempt by a Volusia County judge.
Linda Marie Sacks, an Ormond Beach mother, arrived this morning at the City Isla
nd Courthouse in Daytona Beach for a scheduled hearing (Case 2004-30312 FMCI) as
king for unsupervised visitations and total contact with her daughters, ages 13
and 15. But Volusia County Family Court Judge Shawn L. Briese declined to hold t
he hearing, which had been on the trial court schedule for six months, and deman
ded instead that Sacks submit to a deposition by the opposing counsel during the
scheduled hearing time.
Sacks filed for divorce in 2004 after her daughters began acting out sexually. T
he eldest daughter, at age 8, drew a picture of the father as an erect penis dur
ing a therapy session and made an outcry during Sunday School that she had perfo
rmed a sex act on her father. Sacks has spent six years in the family court tryi
ng unsuccessfully to protect her daughters.
Justice for Children, a Houston-based national child advocacy organization, has
written a letter to Volusia County law enforcement authorities, including Depart
ment of Children and Family Administrator Reggie Williams, expressing concern th
at the allegations of sexual and physical abuse of Sacks’ daughters was never p
roperly investigated.
In April 2007 Judge Briese (Case 2004-30312-FMCI) ruled that the child lied, gav
e the father sole physical custody of the daughters and placed the mother on sup
ervised visitation. In the last three years, Sacks has had only 63 hours with he
r daughters at the The Family Tree House Visitation Center in Daytona Beach.
In 2008 the Florida Fifth District Court of Appeals in Daytona Beach reversed th
at decision,(Case 5D07-1682) and ruled that Judge Briese had abused his trial co
urt discretion, violated the mother’s due process rights and ordered the custody
case be retried in the lower court. Despite the appeals court ruling and numero
us motions to have him removed from the case, Judge Briese has continued to deny
Sacks full-contact with her children.
Instead, just a few months after the Fifth District Court of Appeals ruling, Jud
ge Briese quickly set another custody hearing, denied to admit any of the mother
’s evidence or witnesses and again ruled that Sacks be allowed only supervised v
isits with her daughters.
Sacks, this time as a pro se litigant, has again filed an appeal with the Fifth
District Court (Case 5D09-3752). Recently, the appeals court denied the father’
s attorney’s motion to strike the mother’s appeal brief. Within days the father’
s attorneys, James L. Rose and Leonard R. Ross of Daytona Beach, filed a subpoen
a in the lower court demanding Sacks appear for a lengthy deposition and filed a
motion to end the mother’s two-hour a month supervised visit with her children.
Florida Rules of Civil Procedures Rule 1.310 (d) dictates that a deposition bein
g used to harass a party can be terminated. Rule 1.290 (2) also states that a pa
rty cannot be forced into a deposition 20 days before a hearing. Sacks was found
to be in contempt of court after she refused to take part in the deposition and
only asked that she be able to have her hearing time.
During the hearing today, Judge Briese at first agreed with the mother’s filed o
bjection to the deposition saying the Ross has had years to take the deposition.
But when the Ross complained that the mother is speaking to national organizati
ons about the case, Judge Briese changed his mind and demanded Sacks submit to t
he deposition.
Judge Briese said today that the mother will not be heard about being reunited w
ith her children until she does submit. The hearing to see her children was sche
duled for three days.
The mother will be back at the courthouse at 1:00 P.M. in hopes that hearing wil
l be allowed to begin, but has already been told by the trial court judge, if yo
u don’t allow the deposition, you will not get your scheduled hearing time.
Today Sacks filed an emergency motion to request a hearing before the Seventh Ju
dicial Circuit Chief Judge J. David Walsh to ask that Judge Briese be disqualifi
ed from the case but was denied by Judge Briese.
Read more about Sacks’ battle to protect her children in the January 2010 MomLog
ic magazine article.
For More information please contact: KATHLEEN RUSSELL | KATHLEEN RUSSELL CONSULT
ING
1346 4th Street | San Rafael, CA | 94901 Cell 415.250.1180 | Main
415.459.9211 | Fax 415.459.9210
Telling Stories, Moving Mountains
www.kathleenrussell.com
or
Linda Marie Sacks
386-453-3017