NH REDRESS OF GRIEVANCES COMMITTEE
PETITION 11- David Vandenberg
Founded With Recommendation:
After hearing the testimony of petitioner, David Vandenberg, and reviewing documentation of various court events in a divorce settlement, and having received no responsive testimony or documentation, or other evidence from any of the officials named, the Committee on Redress of Grievances finds (and is now significantly supported by a decision of Cheshire Superior Court on March 1, 2012) that Justice John Arnold of Cheshire Superior Court: (1)Unlawfully terminated contact between Petitioner and his daughter for two years and nine months, violating his natural and constitutional right to impart his religious beliefs to his daughter; (2)Failed to enforce mandatory directions to putatively appointed guardian ad Litem, Judith Hamilton; (3) Improperly granted Judith Hamilton's motions to exceed the mandatory fee cap of $ 1,000.00 by at least $ 11,069.69 without the requisite hearings demanded by Superior Court Administrative Order 17 [SCAO 17] and Family Division Administrative Order (FDAO) 2005-01; (4) Coerced compliance of payment on Petitioner by threat of incarceration, despite several attempts by Petitioner to move to vacate the underlying problem of unlawful termination now recognized as such by the Cheshire Superior Court; (5) Failed to meet even one of the administrative-court-ordered requirements, as per SCAO 17 and FDAO 2005-01, for the appointment of Judith Hamilton as guardian ad litem including: a) assuring that such person have standing before the court to apply for appointment; b) noticing parties of hearing; c) holding a hearing with the parties and the GAL present; and d) confirming such appointment by the production of stipulations and a report, and; (6)Allowed Ms. Hamilton to improperly apply for and receive retroactive appointment and retroactive fees of $ 7,369.69 in violation of SCAO 17 and FDAO 2005-01 claiming later to have "waived" the hearings without formally doing so; (7)Failed even to schedule hearings on motions to vacate this unlawful order terminating child's contact with her father for over 2 ½ years. Additionally, the committee finds that Ms. Hamilton, a) failed to produce the report required per Family Division Administrative Order 2005-01 [FDAO 2005-01], and the mandatory stipulations for fees and services required per FDAO 2005-01; b)without proper appointment and without proper court authorization, moved to terminate contact between Petitioner and his daughter.
Recommendations: The Committee recommends that the Legislature introduce legislation to (1) Investigate Judge John Arnold for impeachment for offending the dignity and undermining the integrity of the courts and the confidence of the people, for failing to uphold the laws of the State of New Hampshire and for infringing on the natural and Constitutional rights of the petitioner; (2) Require that Rules of Evidence, Rules of Procedure, and all other Rules of the pertinent Court(s) be complied with by all judicial courts; (3) Require that all motions and petitions brought before a court of New Hampshire be docketed immediately and scheduled to be heard within six months after docketing; (4 Eliminate immunity of guardian ad litems, requiring them to be formally trained and bonded, and require that an accounting of the public input provided at the GAL audit hearings be included in their recent report; (5) Restructure Family Division courts as courts of law, not courts of equity, and; (6) Repeal Supreme Court Rule 3.9 which provides for discretionary appeals in post-divorce custody matters, so that mandatory appeals must be provided in all matters in which fundamental natural rights, which include the right to religious expression and the right to raise one’s children in the religious practices of one’s choice, are issues before the bar, including all family division matters.
