Newspaper Page Text
Vol. 2, No. 8
Taking Pride in Our Culture
June 8,1989
Lesbian Mother Awaits
Ruling in Custody Case
Lesbian mother Leigh VanderEls is guardedly optimistic about
her chances to regain custody of her 9-year-old son as she awaits a
ruling by Clayton County Superior Court Judge Stephen E. Boswell.
Boswell, who heard the evidence on May 23, is expected to offer his
ruling on the case within the next few days.
VanderEls is appealing a 1987 decision by Clayton County
Superior Court Judge William Ison which removed her son from the
home because of her sexual orientation.The appeal is in its final
stage after a three- year long battle that sent the case to the Georgia
Supreme Court last year. The Supreme Court found enough
evidence to warrant that VanderEls' motions for a new hearing, and
for Judge Ison to remove himself from the case, be heard. Ison had
denied both motions in his courtroom in April 1987. He ruled that
the motions had not been filed in a timely manner by VanderEls'
former attorney, M.P. Schildmeyer.
"I can only hope that this ruling will be more fair than previous
ones," VanderEls stated. "I really want to believe that one day the
best interests of my child, and the children of other lesbian mothers,
will be considered by the courts. Unfortunately, very little of this
lengthy legal process has focused on what's best and what's fair to
my child and my family."
VanderEls' began the appeal in January, 1987 after Ison ruled in
favor of a petition by her ex-husband to change the original divorce
decree and grant custody of their son to his father. No evidence has
ever been introduced in court that VanderEls is an unfit mother.
Leigh VanderEls' appeal is based on her allegation that Ison
should have removed himself from the case because of undue
prejudice against her sexual orientation. Ison admitted on the stand
last Tuesday that he granted custody to Mr. VanderEls solely
because of her sexual orientation, which he stated was "in the best
interest of the child."
In papers filed with the court, VanderEls alleged that upon ruling
against her in the custody case in 1987, Ison instructed someone
from the district attorney's office to contact Ann Plant, director of
the Clayton County Department of Family and Children Services
where VanderEls was employed as a foster care and adoptions
caseworker.The person from the D.A.'s office allegedly told Plant to
call Ison about the VanderEls case. Plant told VanderEls, subsequent
to her conversation with Ison, that she had no choice but to remove
VanderEls from her casework positionPlant allegedly stated that
VanderEls would be a detriment to the department if she was called
to testify in a child welfare case and placed her in a position where
Leigh VanderEls at the 1987 Lesbian/Gay Pride Rally.
she had no client contact That conversation, VanderEls maintains,
led her to leave her job at DFACS because she "had no future
there."
During his testimony before Judge Boswell, Ison denied that he
had made the first contact with Plant. He maintained that Plant had
contacted him to ask for "advice" on what to do about an upcoming
promotion for VanderEls to a position in Child Protective Services.
Plant, however, testified that she was told to contact Ison by Bob
Keller, district attorney for Clayton County, at which time they did
discuss the case. Prior to the conversation with Ison, Plant stated,
she had no knowledge of VanderEls' case. Plant maintained that
she was "fuzzy" about the details of her conversation with Ison, and
could not remember whether or not VanderEls was up for a
promotion, or whether or not Ison advised her to remove VanderEls
from her position.
VanderEls' attorney, Michael Hauptman, said that the
conversation itself cast enough doubt on Ison to demand a new
hearing.
"There is an air about this case that just doesn't fit right,"
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Neighborhood Park
Dedicated to Howell
Family and friends of John R. Howell,
longtime gay and neighborhood activist,
attended the dedication of John Howell Park
on May 20. More than 50 people gathered at
the former Virginia-Highlands Park to
remember Howell’s contributions to his
neighborhood and his community. Howell
was past president of the Virginia-Highlands
Neighborhood Association and the Lesbian
/Gay Rights Chapter of the American Civil
Liberties Union.
On June 10, the Virginia Highlands
Summerfest will be held at the John Howell
Park with proceeds benefitting the park.
AID Atlanta
Board Loses 8
Thurman Named Director
The board of directors of AID Atlanta,
Inc., cut their number in half with the mass
resignation of eight long-time members
during a special executive session held May
31.
The former board members will continue
to serve the AIDS agency, however, in the
capacity of an advisory panel, according to
board president Nancy Paris. Paris
described the decision to trim the board’s
size as "amicable," and said that the
resignations were accepted unanimously by
the rest of the board.
Paris said the decision to restructure AID
Atlanta's board was "painful, but
necessary." She added that the new
structure is based on recommendations
made in a consultant's report that found the
agency currently unable to raise the $1 to $2
million annually it will need to survive in
coming years.
"We need different kinds of people on
the board now,” Paris said, "and the
(remaining) board will develop a plan to
recruit these new people and carry AID
Atlanta into the next decades."
The board restructuring is the second
major shakeup at AID Atlanta in as many
weeks. The resignation of executive director
Buren W. Batson, Jr. on May 23 was seen
by many close to the agency as the first shot
fired in the battle to reposition AID Atlanta
as the major AIDS-care provider in Atlanta.
Without that positioning, the agency will
face a debilitating cash crunch in the near
future.
The development report referred to by
Paris was prepared by consultant Roger
Congdon and identified the continued
presence of the controversial director,
Batson, and a lack of focus by the board as
major stumbling blocks to the fundraising
goal.
With the replacement of Batson by
acting director Sandra Thurman and the
new board structure coalescing, Paris said
she is looking forward to the future again.
She added that the staff was holding up
"remarkably" under the circumstances, and
said: "It's a tremendous credit to the staff
and to Buren's (Batson) leadership that they
are acting professionally, and are carrying
out their duties as expected."
Kurt Rahn, one of the board members
who resigned, echoed Paris' positive
outlook for the agency's future. He added
that he agreed to the restructuring proposal
only "in the spirit that they continue trying
to do something with the other
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