Watchtower Defeated in Court on a Regular Basis
Jehovah’s Witnesses brag to the public that they are invincible in the courts. In a recent documentary this was discussed extensively. It is true in the 1940’s the JWs won 47 court victories and they are very vocal about telling this. The part they do not tell is that they went to court 108 times. So actually that represents a win history of about 43%, not much to brag about. If you were an attorney that won only 43% of your cases you might not get much work. Watchtower attorneys use their 43% win ratio in the courts to make it appear that they are invincible. Yet when you look at case history you see that they lose – a lot!
This information contains summaries of approximately 30 Jehovah's Witnesses related Child Custody court cases in which they in fact lost. The vast majority of the summarized cases are appellate and even Supreme Court decisions. Viewers should bear in mind that these 30 or so cases are not exhaustive of all such cases. These cases are merely those that have been able to be located on the World Wide Web and range over about a fifty year period. The actual number of Jehovah's Witnesses related custody cases probably range in the 1000s over the past 50 years. Thus, these cases should be considered as being merely an "example" of what has occurred in the past, and may occur in the future.
There is no such thing as a "national child custody law". Although similar, each state's legislature has established its own state laws regarding child custody, and each state's courts interpret those laws using legal standards that may vary from that used by courts in other states. State courts currently apply one of the following three different legal standards when deciding these cases:
Actual Or Substantial Harm: Existing actual or substantial harm to the child must be proven to have been caused by a parent's religious practices before the court will restrict that parent's constitutional rights. Such states include California, Colorado, Florida, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Maryland, Massachusetts, Montana, Nebraska, New Jersey, New York, North Dakota, Ohio, Rhode Island, Utah, Vermont and Washington.
Risk Of Harm. For a court to restrict a parent's constitutional rights, it only has to be proven that that a parent's religious practices pose a risk of harm to the child. Such states include Minnesota, Montana, North Carolina and Pennsylvania.
No Harm Required. In only a few states, such as Arkansas and Wisconsin, a parent who has sole legal custody also has the exclusive right to determine the child's religious education.
Child custody court case decisions are typically lengthy and complex, and typically deal with a multitude of legal issues. As the reader will see the Watchtower is not so invincible and in fact in many cases makes complete fools of themselves. When the facts are fully presented the best interests of the child can be clearly shown to be away from the JW indoctrination.
If you want to be successful in your custody case contact JWCC at 800-762-9227 for a free consultation!
Click on each name to read the case history: