Posted on 09/12/2002 4:21:25 PM PDT by ladysusan
Judge orders estranged parents not to smoke around child
By PAUL SINGER The Associated Press 9/12/02 5:28 PM
CLEVELAND (AP) -- A judge has ordered estranged parents not to smoke around their 8-year-old daughter in a ruling family law experts say is the only known example of a court raising the issue of secondhand smoke without being asked.
Judge William Chinnock's ruling says the child is healthy and makes no mention of any testimony about possible health threats posed by adults smoking in her presence.
Instead, he cites in detail dozens of studies on the negative health effects of secondhand smoke, and concludes it is the court's obligation to act in the best interests of the child to limit exposure to smoke.
"A family court that fails to issue court orders restraining persons from smoking in the presence of children under its jurisdiction is failing the children whom the law has entrusted to its care," Chinnock wrote in the Aug. 27 decision in nearby Lake County.
John Banzhaf III, executive director of Washington, D.C.-based Action on Smoking and Health, said courts in at least 15 states have ruled that secondhand smoke can be a factor in a custody proceeding. He said many divorce proceedings now include agreements not to smoke around the children.
"This is the first one I have heard of where the judge on his own suddenly raised the issue," Banzhaf said. Usually, a nonsmoking parent cites a specific concern about the health of the child.
Chinnock, a retired judge from Cleveland, also ordered the girl's parents not to let anyone else smoke around her.
The family wasn't identified.
Although he notified the media of his decision, Chinnock refused to comment on the case because of the privacy rules of juvenile court.
The judge has been involved in several other high-profile cases.
In 1998, he issued a report saying that Cuyahoga County's military-style boot camp does not reform juvenile delinquents because, "boot camps simply make hoodlums into stronger hoodlums." The county followed his recommendation and shut down its the facility.
He ordered four teens involved in making an X-rated movie to spend 100 hours each working with a shelter for abuse victims.
Chinook was appointed to juvenile court in Cleveland in 1997 and decided not to seek election to the seat the next year.
The attorney for the girl's mother in the Lake County case said the judge settled other custody matters in a separate ruling and issued the smoking order without prodding from either parent.
"No one was objecting to this (smoking)," said Karen Lawson, of Painesville.
She would not discuss the other custody issues and said she had not determined whether to appeal the order.
Paul Boynton, a lawyer and contributing editor for Ohio Lawyers Weekly in Cleveland, said the order raises troubling questions about the limits of a court's authority to dictate a child's home environment.
"This really gets into the right to privacy," Boynton said. "Where do you draw the line?"
Becky Blair, a Cleveland lawyer who has served as guardian for children in custody cases, said it is common for one parent to ask that the other parent be prevented from smoking around the child.
However, courts never order such a ban, and parents usually agree to avoid smoking during the child's visitation, she said.
"Sooner or later we're going to recognize that we're not doing these kids any good by smoking," Blair said. But she added, "We certainly do a lot of other things that are unhealthy around our kids. No more potato chips in the house?"
John Lawson, legal director for Cleveland Works, helps parents on welfare resolve custody and child support issues. He said he has never seen a ruling as sweeping as Chinnock's and is skeptical that it can be enforced.
But he said the ruling does not seem to be beyond the court's authority.
"The judge has absolute discretion to make decisions that are in the child's best interest," Lawson said. Protecting children from secondhand smoke "is not that far out a concept."
Oh you bet! You know, we had a lot of teens that lost their lives this summer in twisted pieces of metal that used to be a car from drinking and driving. See? All "they" care about is DON'T LET THE TEENS BE AROUND SMOKING. KEEP TEENS FROM SMOKING!"
Well, by God, if these kids smoked instead of drinking they would still be with us today. I know no one wants to see teens smoke OR drink. But there are bigger fish to fry in this world besides the war on the smokers. These groups are absolutely ridiculous!
Just lost a customer
Today, I sent my son-in-law to the Maine Smoke Shop in Brewer to buy some tobacco. He is 19 years old, and is in the military. The person at the counter asked for his ID, which I can understand. When she saw it, however, she showed it to the owner, and the owner said, “That’s no good, get out of here.”
My son-in-law told me several places in Bangor will not accept his military ID. What is wrong with this town? I will ask everyone else just as I asked the owner of that shop when I called him: Do you not appreciate having your country protected by our boys?
I am from a military family. My father was retired military, and I was born in Bangor, but I am ashamed of how most of the businesses in this town act and treat their customers. This is the most unappreciative town I have ever lived in, and I have lived in many.
Our military men and women should be treated with respect, as should any customer. To tell someone to get our of their store because of their ID is an embarrassment. Do they treat all military personnel that way? Judging by the economy around here, they should be kissing their feet, for more reasons than just that they are protecting us. I informed the Maine Smoke Shop that they just lost a customer because of their attitude, and if I didn’t live here now, and need some of the other stores around here, I would tell them the same.
Donna George
Carmel
You know, We have the Navel Ship Yard AND the Bangor National Guard in southern Maine for many years. It's not like the store opens do not know what a military ID looks like. This is an outrage!
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