What in the world has our juvenile and family court system come to in this state? Is it legally, not to mention morally and ethically, acceptable for a judge to work behind closed doors and make decisions without oversight? Cherokee County and the State of Georgia have allowed just such a travesty to take place. Public officials should not be allowed to work in secret, and by condoning such a practice, the State not only short-changes the public, but makes a mockery of the justice system and fails to ensure the best interests of the children involved.

The “powers that be” tell us that the Juvenile Court System “protects” minors by maintaining this secrecy. What deception! I am familiar with the results of at least one horrific juvenile court case for which someone should take accountability. If “protection” is the primary aim of the juvenile court system, it has failed miserably as in the case of two lost children who, because they are out of sight, are also now out of mind. Protection? Again, what deception!

Several years ago, two very young children were determined to be deprived and removed from their parent’s custody. After floating around in foster care, they were at last placed with their maternal grandparents where they thrived. Not long afterward, in a hard-to-believe decision, Cherokee County Juvenile Court Judge John B. Sumner, removed these children from this loving home strictly on hearsay evidence. Not only did he take them away from conscientious and devoted caregivers, but turned them over to their paternal grandmother and her third husband who had been abusive and neglectful to his own biological children. The only people familiar with what went on in that courtroom were behind closed doors, so the maternal grandparents notified the press about the judge’s abusive treatment towards them and his highly inappropriate and harmful custody decision. Judge Sumner threatened to incarcerate both the grandparents and the reporter for revealing the story. Why are we not outraged about this? For one reason! Even the Fourth Estate, the people’s advocate, was threatened, so there was nobody left to tell the people what went on. The end result? The judge was allowed to do whatever he wanted, however egregious his mistake.

Fast-forwarding to 2008, these children, now ages 7 & 9, still live with their paternal grandparents. The mother, no doubt, had some parenting issues, but has worked hard to better herself. She loves her children and has done everything asked of her to regain custody. She has court ordered visitation and phone call privileges which the paternal grandparents totally disregard without consequence. The last time she physically visited with them was in January and her phone calls are seldom answered. On those occasions when she does get through, the children tell “Mom” how much they hate her, that they don’t want to talk to her, that she’s not their Mom, and other hurtful remarks. They have been instructed to call their mother by her first name, rather than “Mommy”.

Judge Sumner signed an ex- parte supervised visitation order brought to him personally by the paternal grandfather. The mother never had a chance to defend herself. In fact, she did not even know about it until she went to pick up the children for her scheduled visitation. She has no money to obtain an attorney, yet without the money to pay an attorney, she is unable to fight the injustice and protect her children.

These children, once thriving youngsters, continue to deteriorate — a telling example is the fact that the boy, now 9½ , weighs only 49 pounds. In fact, their Guardian Ad Litem recently stated that they are damaged, will be continue to be damaged for years to come and will require substantial therapy. Unfortunately, he has done nothing to better their situation. Both the guardian and judge are aware of the constant abuse the paternal grandparents inflict upon the mother and children, and there is NO question that the children have been successfully alienated from their mother. When the Guardian does speak with her, it is more about his fees than the welfare of the children, totally disregarding his obligation to work in their best interests.

A recent newspaper article praised Judge Sumner’s involvement with the Teenage Driving Impact Panel Program. If he is so intent on ensuring the safety of young drivers, why is he so indifferent to the security and protection of the young children he removes from the homes of loving caregivers?

Who will intervene for these children? Judge Sumner and the guardian do not make protecting them a priority. Is this because the actions were secret and nobody knows what’s going on? Although the court proceedings were “out of sight”, we should not tolerate the “out of mind” mentality by refusing to allow an open door policy where the judge and guardian are not held accountable.

Help these children! We cannot allow them to end up like Terrell Peterson.