Laurel and Richard were
married and had two kids. Then they got a divorce.
As part of the divorce decree,
Laurel was awarded sole custody of
the children and Richard got visitation rights, and had to pay child support.
Laurel moved several times
without telling Richard where she was going. Richard lost track of the
children for four years.
When he finally found them
again he learned that Laurel had taught them to "hate, despise, and
fear" him.
Richard filed numerous motions
related to visitation, custody and support.
The Trial Court found for
Richard. Laurel appealed.
The Trial Court found that
"the cause of the blind, brainwashed, bigoted belligerence of the
children towards the father grew from the soil nurtured, watered and
tilled by the mother."
That's known as parental
alienation.
The Court ordered Laurel to
"do everything in her power to create in the minds of the children a
loving, caring feeling toward the father."
The Court threatened Laurel
with contempt, imprisonment, and loss of custody.
The Court found that Laurel
was not protected by the 1st Amendment when she badmouthed Richard to the kids.
The Florida Supreme Court
affirmed.
The Florida Supreme Court
found that a custodial parent has an affirmative obligation to encourage
and nurture the relationship between the child and the non-custodial
parent.
The Court applied a
balancing test of Laurel's 1st Amendment right to free speech against the compelling
government interest in the well being of the parties' children.
The Court found that on
balance, the State's interest outweighed Laurel's freedom of speech.
It may sounds silly to order a
spouse to not bad-mouth another spouse, but remember, if there is evidence
that the bad-mouthing continues, the court has the ability to throw them
into jail for contempt!
