"The constitutional violations of the child support system in Knoxville Tennessee "

Hi,

My name is Howard E. Jones and i have primary residential custody of my only child Emily Jones. I should add that i was never married! For a father to have primary residential custody of a child born out of wedlock is extremely rare. The fact that i have it says that there has been major problems in the households of the maternal grandparents and the biological mother. It also says a lot about me seeing that i have fought this battle without legal representation. I know my RIGHTS and i stand strong for them. But dealing with the child support system that is so bias that they can not even take the time to view the evidence before they pass a prejudice judgment on the matter, is totally unethical and unconstitutional. I just want to share with you the experience that me and my daughter has had to face and are continuing to face each and everyday of our lives.

I met my daughters biological mother in the summer of 1993 as we both was working at the same establishment that was just opening up. We met and it seemed like a perfect match. We dated for a short period of time until i discovered that i wasn't the only one and the fact of everything she had ever told me was discovered to be a lie. Well shortly after we had broken up we had a bunch of mutual friends. I continued my friendships respectfully. Well there came a time when my ex came to me and said she thought that she might be pregnant. So we both went to have a test done to find out. Well sure enough she was. I was happy and at the same time suspicious because i had learned that she was not being faithful to our relationship. But nonetheless i did everything in my power to try and make the broken relationship work for the sake of my unborn child. This was until i dropped by one of our mutual friends house one night and guess who was there?

Well i came up to the front door which was glass and you could see in the room were everybody was. Before i could knock on the door i had noticed that what i thought was my girlfriend setting with this other guy and he was helping her hit a joint. I freaked out and did not know what to do. But i know what i felt like doing..

So i walked up to the door and knocked and one our supposed friends came to the door and said my name and they would not let me in the house because they knew i had seen her hit a joint and she was pregnant with my child. So once they would not let me into the house i left. I did not know what to do about what i had witnessed and i felt so helpless and i knew i had to do something to protect my child. So i went to my ex's parents home and i sat down to talk to them about what i had discovered. I thought that maybe they would be on my side in trying to protect the unborn child from her harm. They sat and listened to what i had to say and then they got hateful with me because they said that i was only trying to start trouble because we had broken up. That was not my motive!

The maternal grandparents then used the information that i had gave them to prove there own daughter unfit once the child was born. The maternal grandparents gain custody of my child after my ex got arrested for shoplifting while using the diaper bag as a cover up. When my child was born i was called to the hospital for the birth of my child. So i rushed to the hospital with excitement . Once i got there i went back to the delivery room were i was met by the maternal grandmother and a doctor. The doctor turned and said that only one of us could be in the delivery room. He asked which one was staying. I said that i was! Then the maternal grandmother said that she was staying. Then the doctor turned and said "Are you two married"? I said no. He said the next of kin has priority. So i was forced out into the waiting room during the birth of my child. I later found out why the maternal grandmother wanted to stay in the delivery room so bad. She coached my ex to leave the maternal mothers maiden name on the birth certificate. So that i would not have any legal rights to the child.

After my ex got arrested the maternal grandparents then filed a petition for custody based on the fact that the biological mother was abusing drugs and not providing for the child. This after i continued to give money so that my child would have everything that she needed. When they filed the petition they stated on the form that they did not know who the father of the child was. I have a copy of the document. But all the while they kept all this information hush hush from me. Once they gained custody of my child. The maternal grandmother took it upon herself to call me and tell me that " She now has custody of my child and that i made any attempt to contact my child she would have me arrested for attempt of child abduction"! Now keep in mind the child's last name was Briggs instead of Jones. Keep in mind i was only 20 years old. I had the wit about me to know that what she was threatening me with was a federal felony punishable by 15 years federal time in prison.

So she ended up keeping my child away from me for four years. Finally my sister called the grandmother and asked if she would let me see my child because i was in severe depression and i had lost all hope because the system had failed me and my child because i had tried everything to get them to allow me to see my child. Finally the maternal grandmother agreed to let me see my kid.

So when i got word that i was going to be allowed to see her i flew over to there house. When i pulled into the driveway my child was riding her tricycle in the front yard. Now keep in mind this child has not seen me since she was 4 months old. She was now 4 years old. Once i pulled into the driveway she stopped on the spot and was staring. Once i got out of the car the child came running screaming "Daddy, Daddy, Daddy"! We both hugged and cried.

The grandmother came to the door. The only thing she said is i am going to have to take you to court. I said i will be there! I knew or thought that if it got into the court i would at least be able to have visitation with my child.

We made it to the court date and the grandmother was trying to have the court hold me responsible for back child support for the past 4 years she has kept my child from me. I fought that because by law if you refuse contact with the child you then by way can not be rewarded for depriving the child and the parent. But the judge placed the arrears at $800 and a few months went by and i made all the payments i was ordered to pay on time. We then went back to court because the judge had set a date to review things and see how it was going. Before i left the court room they then reviewed and placed the retroactive child support for the case. I have this document as well. He said that he was going to hold me accountable for half the birthing cost and he gazed up at the courtroom ceiling and said that it costs $25,000.00 to have a child in the hospital and half of that obligation was mine and the other half was the biological mothers responsibility to pay. So my arrears went from $800 to $13,355.00 . I was dumbfounded on how they could set such a ridiculous amount but i continued to pay every time to keep seeing my child.

Every time i went to court i asked for a itemized audit for the amount they placed on my name. This is your legal right to have a manifest of the bills from the hospital dated for the time of birth since they say i owed that amount. It's the law!

But after asking 20 - 30 times each and every time we appeared in court i have still yet to get that manifest.

But back to what the order of the court says. Both of the biological parents are to be held responsible for half of the birthing cost. The court order states the biological mothers name along with mine. But even today they have not applied that to the biological mothers financial obligations after her obligations have been in the system for the past 4 years. Thus violating my right to fairness and equality. Making this action against me unconstitutional and unethical not to mention gender bias.

Second part of this order that is unconstitutional is that the courts awarded a third party (the grandparents) with claimed rights over those of my fundamental rights as the biological father of the child. They also violated the statue of (the best interest of the child) because it is in the child's best interest to be with a biological parent unless they could have proven me unfit. Which was never challenged! Causing irreversible damage to my family structure. Which the family protection act is one of the oldest laws in the constitution.

Up until today i have paid into the system $16,327.46 in payments. I still pay this today as they still say i owe just over $10,000.00 and i have full custody of my child and have had it since 1/23/2005. The child support order against the mother has been in place for the past 4 years and they have yet to hold her responsible for the $12,255.00 (her half of the birthing cost).

I won custody by being my own private investigator against the maternal grandparents. They beat my child leaving bruises and i took the photo's to court with me. Mind you this was taken to the child support court. The judge looked at the photo's and did nothing to protect my child and leaving the child in harms way because in 2006 the maternal grandfather attempted suicide with a loaded gun in front of the children on Christmas Day. When my child came to my house for visitation on the weekends she told me that the grandparents was calling me bad names in front of her. Which was S.O.B and the M.F er. She also told me that the grandfather was smoking pot in the living room every night while he watched T.v. I asked her if she was sure that's what he was smoking? She said daddy i know what it smells like because momma smokes it all the time. My child was 7 years old when she told me this. I informed the court of this and they did nothing.

Once i got primary custody in family court without having a representation. I argued my constitutional rights and fairness. By the time i left the court that day i had a court order granting me my child. But all the time in child support court of showing them the abuse and what the child had said herself. They never once thought about the child's best interest.Even after gaining custody due to the fact of neglect and placing the child in danger the child support court still has not acknowledge the fact the child was removed from the petitioners custody and placed in my custody as the court document still shows me to be the noncustodial parent now in 2009 as they continue to try to collect the debt from me. Now remember i had gained proof of D.H.S allowing the proven unfit biological mother to get benefits in her name as a convicted felon and charged with child neglect and child endangerment of the very same children she was allowed to claim without providing documentation of clearing up the charges. I find this to be totally unbelievable!

Once i gained full custody rights to my child, i changed her last name to mine (Jones) and i also changed my child's mailing address. One week after changing the mailing address i received a letter from the COMCAST attorney's law firm stating that they was going to sue my 12 year old daughter for the unpaid balance from the address of the biological mothers residence. The maternal grandmother gave the biological mother the documents to apply for public benefits, she then went and created a fake I.D. in my child's name and has been using it as her own identity on countless other issues that i have discovered. I took this to the child support court that is still forcing me to pay payments on the $10,000.00 and showed them the letter. The court's clerk said that it was not against the law to use your child's SS# and identity as it was your own. The clerk said that she does that with her children.

Now correct me if i am wrong here! The court clerk admits she commits a criminal offense in open court of record and nothing is done by the judge(referee)now magistrate. The clerk was a woman. She still works in the same court room today.

Now let it be said that i once sat on the opposite side of the court room as the non custodial parent. I know how they treated me. Now i am on the states attorneys side of the court room and i have had a court ordered child support order in place for the past almost 4 years and i have only received $349.

Where they have placed that $13,355.00 on my name as the only caretaker and biological parent that the child has to rely on. It stops me from getting income tax returns, it stops me from getting any of the stimulus checks everyone got and also has kept me from getting a mortgage or any type of help because of the debt to income ratio. It takes food off my child's plate every month and clothes off her back. While they have not collected any current child support from the biological mother nor held her to comply with the court order the very same court issued about her half of the birthing cost. That to me is unconstitutional! At least three times a year they threaten to take my state issued drivers and or business license away because of the financial hardship they continue to plaque my family with unjustly.

I fell on hard times and had to apply for public assistance and i had to prove i had a court order granting me custody, i had to have SS card for my child and i had to produce a birth certificate. Then i had to produce utility bills, proof of income and all sorts of things. I am telling you this because once i gained custody of my child. The insurance card the maternal grandmother had to hand over to me via courts order was in the biological mothers name as(policy holder)and not the maternal grandmother's name which had the legal right to claim. The biological mother has not had legal rights to the child since 1997 and has never been overturned because of her noncompliance with the courts authority. The biological mother has two other children by a different man. She does not have legal rights to the other two children either and the child support system allowed her to collect $1800 from the other children's father without having legal rights to them. But in 2006 she was allowed to renew the policy with all three children on it. Both the biological mother and the maternal grand mother applied for child support against me resulting in me being double billed for one child. I was billed $357 and $257 a month for years because there was two active cases in the court in regards to one child against one father back then i was labeled (noncustodial parent). Now i have custody i have discovered that the court system and D.H.S allowed one person that did not have legal rights to the children or custody to apply for public benefits and get them. They also allowed the maternal grandmother that appeared to not be receiving benefits to apply for child support also. The biological mother is a convicted felony and our tax dollars was keeping her up for free. Both the biological mother and the maternal grandparents shared the food-stamp card between two separate households. The biological mother committed fraud of public benefits and the court has forced me to repay this debt. I did not commit the fraud. I have always done what was expected of me even though i felt i was being treated unfairly.

Now i have a court date of Dec 4th 2009 in the case of the grandmother against me and they still see me as the noncustodial parent in this case. I know how this is going to play out, They will not allow us in the court room. They will send the court appointed attorneys out to speak with us. I will not get a chance to say anything before they try and throw me in jail for non payment. I am writing this blog in hopes that i can get the word out to someone that can help me and my child before we are put through even more unjustified bias and prejudice crap with the broken Child Support System in Knoxville Tennessee! They have failed me and my child are continuing the trend without being called into check for there numerous violations of families fundamental constitutional rights. Impeding my abilities and rendering me hopeless.

Raising a family is hard enough with both parents. Imagine trying to do this solo with the courts binding your every move? By forcing someone to repay a debt brought on by fraud by a individual that should not have even been allowed to gain the public benefits if D.H.S did their job of investigating the application as they did mine when i filled. I think the entire system is Bias & Prejudice completely through and through. In fact i know it is. I want everyone that reads this to continue passing this to everybody you know? Maybe just maybe somebody somewhere will find it in their hearts to understand the pain and suffering that me and my child has been forced to deal with unconstitutionally and unjustly!

I would like to add that there is so much more to this story like attempted suicide on Christmas day 2006 in front of the children with a loaded gun by the maternal grandfather. Plus when the grandmother was forced to hand over the insurance card she turned and threatened my child. She told my kid that she will make her regret deciding to live with her father. She fulfilled the threat by moving out of state with my child siblings. Over 600 miles away. She moved out of state because she knew that i would find out about her part she played in committing TENN- CARE fraud with her daughter. She played a role because of the fact that D.H.S demands you to have the documents such as SS#, birth certificates, court documents, but i bet i was forced to present those because of the gender bias! But in order for the biological mother to be able to get her hands on those documents she would have had to be given them for the purpose of applying for the benefits. Makes the grandmother a conspirator to commit fraud against the taxpayers that fund D.H.S.

This is huge case that will blow the lid off the local government and the states attorney's office for the way they treat these cases. I know if i have been done this way there has got to be countless others. So please pass this along to everybody you know? This is embarrassing for me to air this in a public way. But it is ever worse having to live it.

See my mother just passed away just a month ago. My daughter feels as though she has been cheated because she was only allowed to get to know my mother just 4 short years before my mother passed away October 15th 2009. I was the last to see my mother alive and i was the last to speak to her just a hour before she had a heart attack. The last words she spoke to me was " I am proud of you"! She went on to tell me that she wanted me to know that the way i deal with things is so unhealthy because i keep things bottled up inside. She told me that she knew why i dealt with things like that because that's the way she dealt with things. She witnessed all the heart ache that i carried around. She made me promise to " Just say it" ! Let it be known. Don't hold things in. She said i know i am i fine one to talk because i have done the same thing. But i see that now that i should have just said the things that i felt needed to be said. So now it has been a month and five days since she passed and i am trying to fulfill the promise i gave my mother that was her dying wish to me. Neither one of us had any idea what was about to happen that day. But i am so glad we took the time to have that talk. The very last words she spoke to me was " I am proud of you son"! and I love you. " Just say it! Promise me? She said. I replied i promise and Mom, i love you!

Please, i beg all of you that reads this to help me get the word out? Help me make this situation right once and for all? I have the back bone and now i have a angel on my side.

Thanks for reading,
Howard E. Jones (Eddie)