May Judge Order Divorcing Parent to Include Disclaimer With All Future Child Abuse Allegations?
In last week’s Peterson v. Rush (Pa. Super. Ct.), the trial court had given shared legal and physical custody of a daughter to the mother and father, but also stated this:
I am, therefore, going to order Mother that, to the extent that she has concerns over child abuse, obviously any concerns regarding child abuse need to be reported to authorities, but they must now be reported with a disclaimer [(Disclaimer)]: “The [c]ourt made a finding of fact at the conclusion of a one-day trial on September 10, 2024, that Mother has intentionally weaponized the [Protection From Abuse], I[ndirect] C[riminal] C[ontempt], and child abuse process[es] in an effort to gain an advantage in custody proceedings.” Mother should then further inform the providers that: “Nevertheless, all legitimate allegations or concerns of child abuse should be fully investigated as required by law.” I am ordering Mother to make those two statements in any further child abuse reports so that a proper context is had….
On appeal, Judge Anne Lazarus, joined by Judge Timika Lane, upheld this condition:
Because Mother did not raise or even suggest a free speech claim in her Rule 1925(b) statement, the issue is waived on appeal. However, even if we did not find this issue waived, Mother would not be entitled to relief. {First Amendment protections historically encompass prohibitions on speech as opposed to compelled speech. See In the Int. of J.J.M. (Pa. 2021) (“First Amendment ‘made applicable to the States through the Fourteenth Amendment, provides that ‘Congress shall make no law … abridging the freedom of speech.'”); citing U.S. CONST. amend. I. In any event, the court was justified in requiring Mother to disclose the information contained within the Disclaimer where it bears directly upon “the important governmental interest of protecting the psychological and emotional well-being of Child[.]” S.B. v. S.S. (Pa. 2020).}
Judge Mary Jane Bowes dissented on this point:
Mother plainly raised a civil rights challe
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