Alisha Cark Walker is the latest guest on the podcast.
Alisha has a troubling case from upstate New York in which multiple judges violated several parts of her first amendment rights: her right to choose a religion, her right to freely assemble, and her right to speak freely.
Worse yet, she is currently barred, and will be for almost two more years, from even seeing two of her children. Below is part of a temporary order signed by Judge Anthony McGinty
NOW, THEREFORE, IT IS HEREBY ORDERED, that Alisha Clark Walker (DOB: 11/21/1979) observe the following conditions of behavior check applicable paragraphs and sub paragraphs:
Stay away from: the home of {her daughter} (DOB: l0/31/2012) and {her son} (DOB: 03/25/2015); and the school of {her daughter} (DOB: l0/31/2012) and {her son} (DOB:03/25/2015)
IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that this temporary order of protection shall remain in force until and including February 6, 2025.
How could such an abomination occur? Alisha said she was the primary caretaker to their two children when custody was switched to Luke Walker.
The reason, Alisha cited in a lawsuit, is that she is Buddhist and may not take the children to the doctor, as such.
Alisha said in the interview that largely on the strength of this finding custody was switched.
In a separate lawsuit, Alisha explained that this was done without a trial.
From there, Judge Catherine Cholakis, now retired, and a number of subsequent judges issued a series of temporary orders which mirrored the original temporary order which Judge Cholakis signed on August 22, 2019.
This continued until December 2022, when the current judge, Judge Anthony McGinty, presided over a trial.
His final order mirrored the string of temporary orders.
The record supports a finding that Mr. Walker has been the primary custodian of the children of the past three years. He has housed them, fed them, financially supported them, brought them to medical and dental appointments, arranged their extra-curricular activities, birthday parties, and addressed their educational needs, including schooling the children at home during the pandemic. He has done this without any assistance from Ms. Walker. She has paid no child support for her children. Mr. Walker credibly testified that as Ms. Walker's mental health deteriorated. she voiced objections to vaccinations. doctors, health insurance and embraced conspiracy theories about Big Pharma (the pharmaceutical industry).
Judge McGinty continued.
Ms. Walker has demonstrated irrational and impulsive behavior, poor judgment, a propensity to put her own needs above those of her young children. and an inability to co-parent with Mr. Walker.
Meanwhile, regarding Walker’s criminal past, Judge McGinty brushed it off.
Ms. Walker alleges that Mr. Walker's prior sex offense conviction and his current relationship with a BDSM coach are important factors which weigh against an award of custody. The Court disagrees and makes no such finding.
Luke Walker did not respond to my email for comment.
Furthermore, though Alisha’s income has dwindled to near zero, Judge McGinty ordered her to pay nearly $10,000 per year in child support, based on an income he believes she can make.
The Court finds it appropriate to impute income to Ms. Walker when calculating child support. Ms. Walker successfully managed a real estate investing company. She is an experienced photographer, and the record supports a finding that she has business management skills. She testified that now she takes photos "for herselfl' under a new name, Alicia Clark Studios, admittedly not yet a licensed business. The Court rejects her argument that her photography business opportunities were "frozen out" by the dissolution of Clark+Walker Studios when Mr. Walker formed Walker Wedding Group.
When a judge “imputes” income- as Judge McGinty did in this case- he is basing child support not on what someone currently makes but what the judge believes they can make.
Alisha told me in the interview that the income he believes she should make was made in a business which both she and Luke ran, that was taken from her.
”He thinks I can start another business and make just as much,” she told me.
Meanwhile, Judge McGinty paid lip service to a relationship that Alisha should have with her kids.
We know this was not genuine since a few short months later for no good reason Judge McGinty issued a subsequent protective order- which I featured at the top- barring her entirely from seeing her children.
Finally, Judge McGinty even violated Alisha’s free speech rights by barring her from speaking about the case.
The Court finds that a provision regarding social media posting isnecessary. A temporary order was previously issued prohibiting the parties from posting onsocial media information about this case and the children. Mr. Walker is requesting that the prohibition on social media posts involving the children be removed for it has negatively impacted their lives. The children are unable to appear in school or team photos that may be posted online, and the family is unable to post vacation photos or other photos of memorable events involving the children. That request is granted, and the Order is now vacated.
Going forward, this Court's judgment will provide that neither party shall make any social media posts pertaining to court matters, disparaging information about the other parent and their significant other and may not encourage any third party to do so.
Judges love to block litigants from discussing their cases and they’ll claim it’s for the best interest of the kids. It’s almost always to protect themselves.
Two people did respond when I reached out to them. Leslie Silva is Luke Walker’s attorney.
“There is a gag Order in this case that my client and I will be adhering too {sic}. I apologize, but we cannot participate due to the Order.” Silva told me.
Alisha said that there is no gag order, only an order not to disparage the other party.
“Going forward, this Court's judgment will provide that neither party shall make any social media posts pertaining to court matters, disparaging information about the other parent and their significant other and may not encourage any third party to do so.” The order states.
I asked Ms. Silva to provide a copy of this gag order and she said, “I’m unable to do so without violating it. I hope you understand.”
Doug Broda is the attorney for the children- the equivalent of a guardian ad litem- and he provided this response.
I am sorry, sir, but the rules governing attorneys for children do not allow me to publicly comment on the details of a particular custody case.
I can state, generally, that custody trials are often highly complex and that Courts must consider all the evidence, favorable and unfavorable to each party, in making their decisions. The orders resulting from those decisions are, of course, subject to review on appeal to a higher Court. I can also state, unequivocally, that I would never tolerate a Court acting in any way prejudicially towards a parent based on their religion while I am on the case; doing so would be contrary to one of our most cherished Constitutional rights.
Broda is right; he’s not allowed to comment on the case; Alisha disagreed that he would never violate her right to free religion. Check out the interview to hear her response.
Alisha previously appeared with Francesca Amato to talk about this case. Frencesca is one of several women who sued Judge McGinty, arguing he has a bias in favor of abusive men.
“Anthony McGinty has a history of court orders that change custody to abusive fathers and remove them from safe, loving caretakers with an extreme gender bias against mothers,” Amato, who is in her early 50s, alleged in the lawsuit.
The Post has spoken to four other female domestic violence victims who have not been allowed to regain full custody of their children, despite pleas to McGinty.
Three, including Amato, are still desperately fighting to steer their children back home while two have decided to quietly settle out of court.
Attorney Joshua Douglass believes Ulster County Family Court had no grounds to remove the children from his clients, Amato, Alana Orr, 39, and Deidre Mayr, 37. His three clients are all domestic violence victims who have agreed to share their traumatic experiences and sensitive medical and court records with the Post.
Find the interview below.
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