RADAR ALERT: Tell Your Congressman – "Don't Earmark Money for Lawyers, Oppose HR6088"

vol·un·teer1 (noun): "a person who performs a service willingly and without pay"

Here's a riddle: When do volunteers get paid $55 million dollars?

Answer: When the "volunteers" are lawyers paid by Congress with your money.

Under the guise of combating domestic violence, House bill HR 6088, the misleadingly-named "National Domestic Violence Volunteer Attorney Network Act" would funnel your tax dollars to lawyers. It would be bad enough if the intent of this bill were merely Congressional pork for lawyers. But the intent of this bill is to place Congress' thumb firmly on the scales of justice to guarantee the conviction of the innocent along with the guilty.

Over and over again, researchers not bound by preconceived beliefs have concluded that domestic violence is a human problem, not a gender problem.2,3 If the recipient of the lion's share of the funding under HR 6088 were an organization that subscribed to honest research, the bill might have a legitimate premise. But the $55 million the bill authorizes is specifically allocated to:

1. the ABA Commission on Domestic Violence,
2. organizations that are to be created by the ABA Commission on Domestic Violence, or
3. organizations that are required to collaborate with the ABA Commission on Domestic Violence.

One would expect the American Bar Association to respect basic concepts of American jurisprudence, like "innocent until proven guilty". But the ABA Commission on Domestic Violence (ABA-CODV) has demonstrated nothing but disdain for that most fundamental principle of American liberty. The overriding theme in their publication "10 Myths about Custody and Domestic Violence and How to Counter Them"4 is the presumption of guilt of the accused. The document is so larded with falsehoods that, of its 19 claims, only 2 are actually true.5,6

This week, please get in touch with your own Representative in the House. To locate the contact information, go to http://www.house.gov/, enter your zip code, and look up your Representative's name. Or you can call the Capitol Switchboard at 1-202-224-3121.

Please tell your Congressperson:

• No earmarks for lawyers who believe in "guilty unless proven
  innocent"!
• Oppose HR 6088.

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Noted references are available on the RADAR web site by clicking their links.

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Date of RADAR Release: June 16, 2008

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R.A.D.A.R. – Respecting Accuracy in Domestic Abuse Reporting – is a non-profit, non-partisan organization of men and women
working to improve the effectiveness of our nation's approach to solving domestic violence. http://www.mediaradar.org/.