All Court Orders Are Not Created Equal

The haphazard manner in which court order are enforced is another reason why there is no administration of justice in our courts.

San Francisco Superior Court

One glaring problem in a California case I have been covering recently is that a judicial order is being blatantly ignored.

I have been tracking a child custody case between Kara Mikale Bendian and Kristin Haynes.

The case has come to a head because a court order has been blatantly ignored. Below is part of a March 2022 court order.

Despite this clear court order giving Kristin physical custody and a schedule of custodial time, Mikale ignored the order and refused to give their daughter back.

He claimed their daughter had figured out her mom had been alienating her from him and would no longer see her as a result.

“Since {their daughter} was 7 years old, Kristin has been the alienating parent and now that {their daughter} is older, she is no longer letting the alienation affect her like when she was a young child and is not easily manipulated. {Their daughter} is estranged from Kristin due to Kristin involving {their daughter} for six years in severe parental alienation.” Bendian said in an affidavit dated June 2, 2022.

Rather than simply enforcing the court order, the court has instead allowed Bendian to keep her full time while appointing a reunification therapist to fix the problem.

Of course, that’s not how court orders are supposed to work, and they often work quite differently.

Let’s look at the case of Lori Thaner. I covered her case in 2019. Her ex was abusive- substantiated by CPS- and the kids repeatedly refused to go back to his home. What did police do? They told the children their mom would be jailed if they refused to spend time with their father when it was his child custody time.

Lori Thaner said police repeatedly showed up after her kids ran from an abusive situation.

CPS substantiated neglect against her ex-husband but that report appears to have been buried as no action was taken.

On May 25, 2015, her ex-husband first reached out to the Glastonbury, Connecticut Police Department, where Thaner lived, after their kids refused to go back to him when Thaner’s custody time ended.

Glastonbury Police told her ex-husband he wasn’t even allowed on her property, according to a warrant.

That same warrant stated, “He [Glastonbury Police Officer] stated he explained the situation to him [Thaner’s ex-husband] and he told him they do not get involved in civil matters.”

So, Thaner’s ex went to the police department where he lived, the Norwalk Police Department and filed a report; the Norwalk Police Department later filed a criminal warrant for Thaner on June 2, 2015.

The Glastonbury Police then executed the warrant and removed the kids.

Glastonbury Police did not return messages for comment.

“The warrant speaks for itself,” said the Norwalk Police Department officer who spoke with the Caller.

Bozzuto also presided over Thaner’s case.

In January 2016, while in her father’s custody, Thaner’s daughter ran away to Thaner’s home and refused to leave. Another police department, the Trumbull Police Department, was dispatched this time to forcefully take her.

Thaner’s ex-husband referred to Bozzuto’s orders giving him sole custody in filling out the application.

He didn’t respond to a voicemail for comment. The Trumbull Police Department officer on duty who spoke with The Caller said, “You have the police report,” but declined further comment.

Another time her kids ran away and refused to return, Bozzuto had Thaner incarcerated until the kids returned to their father.

Thaner said she served fifty-eight days in prison for custodial interference in 2017.

Thaner described her ordeal when she testified in front of the Connecticut legislature in 2017.

The difference in the two cases could not be starker.