Judge: We're not Germany or Russia * Thompson orders children's custody hearing open to public

www.cecilwhig.com ^ | Thursday, April 21, 2005 8:48 AM EDT | Mike Spector

[Woodstock]

Cecil Circuit Court Judge Dexter M. Thompson Jr. decried lawyers' arguments that a child custody hearing should be closed to the public Wednesday, saying such a move would be akin to creating atmospheres similar to historically totalitarian states.

The heated exchange came at the start of a hearing in which the county's social services department attempted to retain custody of John Joseph Dougherty's three daughters. Dougherty, 53, faces a second-degree murder charge after police found his brain-damaged wife dead on a mattress, surrounded by moldy food and her own excrement.

"Maybe we should be more like Germany or Russia," the judge said when asked to close the hearing.

Attorneys representing the social services department, Dougherty and the three children argued that the hearing should be closed by law. They cited a law that says the court must close the hearing if it "involves discussion of confidential information from the child abuse and neglect report and record, or any information obtained from the child welfare agency concerning a child or family who is receiving ... child welfare services or ... foster care or adoption assistance."

The request to close the hearing stemmed from the presence of a Cecil Whig reporter in the courtroom. The attorneys argued that media coverage caused one of Dougherty's daughters to change schools and worried that the children would be subject to harassment if the substance of the hearing was published.

But the judge said the attorneys failed to show any information would come out in the hearing that would compel him to close it. "What is gonna come out here that's different than any other case we hear?" the judge asked.

Thompson then said the United States was becoming increasingly secretive and said the court had an "obligation to remain open."

Michael Scibinico, the social services attorney, immediately asked the judge to delay the hearing so the agency could appeal his ruling. But the judge waved his hand and said, "The court's not going to do that."

Thompson's decision to keep the hearing open was in direct contrast to a ruling made by Judge Richard Eli Jackson before an emergency custody hearing in the same case.

The social services department gained custody of Dougherty's children Feb. 28 after that emergency hearing. The hearing came a few days after Dougherty's initial arrest.

Jackson, reading the same law attorneys argued in front of Thompson, decided he was forced to close the hearing under the circumstances.

Jackson said at the time that it was the county court's practice to remain open to the public but that the law mandated he close the particular hearing.

[Woodstock]

Per the Cecil Whig, today, the children are being returned to their father...and he had them participating in this like it was okay...go figure!

[Woodstock]

See my other posts. This man starved his wife to death over a period of years....

[Woodstock]

Ceceil Whig Headline: April 21: Judge returns children to accused killer

Thursday, April 21, 2005 8:48 AM EDT By Mike Spector mspector@cecilwhig.com

An Elkton man accused of murdering his brain-damaged wife by keeping her locked in a bedroom regained custody of his three daughters Wednesday.

Judge Dexter M. Thompson Jr. returned the children to John Joseph Dougherty, 53, after a hearing that lasted all afternoon in circuit court.

The county's social services department took custody of the children Feb. 25, after police found their mother dead on a mattress amidst squalid conditions in their Chestnut Drive home.

[Woodstock]

DEXTER MacARTHUR THOMPSON, JR., County Administrative Judge, Cecil County Circuit Court, 2nd Judicial Circuit, since March 29, 2002 (Associate Judge since February 7, 1995). Member, Family and Domestic Relations Law Committee, 1999-2001, and Family Law Committee, 2001-03, Maryland Judicial Conference. Member, Business and Technology Case-Management Program Implementation Committee, Conference of Circuit Judges, 2001.

Assistant Public Defender, Cecil County, 1986-95. Town Attorney, Chesapeake City, 1990-92, 1993-95. Born in Morgantown, West Virginia, August 20, 1944. Served in U.S. Army, 1963-66 (paratroops, military police, Vietnam combat). Pennsylvania State University, B.A. (foreign service & international politics), 1975; State University of New York at Buffalo, School of Law, J.D., cum laude, 1980; American Graduate School of International Management, Glendale, Arizona, M.I.M. (international management), 1981. Admitted to New York Bar, 1981; Maryland Bar, 1982; Pennsylvania Bar, 1983. Member, Maryland State and Cecil County Bar Associations; American Trial Lawyers Association. Member, Elkton Lions Club; Cecil Post 15, American Legion; Elkton Post 8175, Veterans of Foreign Wars; Cecil County Men's Shelter, Inc.; Cecil County Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA), Inc.

[Woodstock]

The Honorable Dexter M. Thompson, Jr.
Business Address:
Courthouse
129 East Main Street
Elkton, MD 21921

Business Phone:
410.996.5248

[LibertyRocks]

Wow, I'm surprised the judge kept the hearing open I thought ALL family court hearings were required closed by law. I liked his quote about Russia and Germany - he's right on the mark with that one. I personally feel that most of these hearings should remain open for the good of all sides involved (including the kids). It would definitely help rein in the social services departments which oftentimes tries to keep children they shouldn't...

I can't for the life of me figure out why he would've returned the children to their father in this case though. It's quite puzzling frankly...

[Woodstock]

As Larry the Cable Guy would say, "What is this, Russia?"

[xJones]

To help out, here's a link to your other posts:

Woodstock.

I can see why social services wanted secrecy on this case. The details are horrifying, and those 3 girls will now hear about it from cruel classmates. The youngest was only 3 when it started 6 years ago, and the father apparently controlled his daughters to the point that they went along and didn't tell anyone.

The judge made an unbelievable decision when he returned the 3 girls to their father's custody when he's out on bail facing 2nd degree murder charges for slowly killing their disabled mother. He'll have time to try and brainwash them into shutting up about further details that can hurt him at his upcoming trial.

Just imagine being one of those girls facing classmates at school asking why they didn't report anything to anyone, such as Mom banging her cane against the locked bedroom wall and Daddy not feeding or cleaning her. Those girls must have some real mental problems by now, and the judge returns them to the father.....