CourtWatcher

She is unopossed in the November 6, 2012 re-electi...

2012-05-05T10:53:36.526-04:00

She is unopossed in the November 6, 2012 re-election. This being said she is allowed to continue ruling the way she does because she keeps her chair.

Kest is absolutely horrible. She does not care wha...

2012-04-20T18:09:05.634-04:00

Kest is absolutely horrible. She does not care what the children have been through and what is in the best interest for the child or their safety. She puts down her ruling without reviewing the case history and evidence of police and doctor reports. It really surprises me the judgements she makes being a mother herself without considering what if it her her child or grandchild in the situation she was hearing about, how would she handle the threat of their lives and well-being? Would she really be ok with handing them over to someone that had neglected and/or abused her loved one and walk away for a matter of hours, days, or weeks not knowing what is happening to that child and not being able to help them if they were once again put into a situation that brought the whole thing to court in the first place. If she would be able to walk away from her loved one the way she orders parents to do in these situations she does not deserve to have a family or be someone judging the what if in some innocent childs life.

What are we to do when a person has a mental disor...

2012-04-20T17:07:17.729-04:00

What are we to do when a person has a mental disorder like this and commits crimes? We all complain about paying for them via taxes while they are in some form of government paid custody. We attempt to help these people to try and make an effort to aid them to become a healthier individual that can cope with their illness and become a viable person in our society. We by law cannot take these people into a field and shoot them if we feel they will not change yet we by law cannot hold them in facilities for the remainder of their lives unless they break a law that allows us to dos so. I feel bad for the victim as they should not have to deal with this individual and the judge by law is bound to uphold the laws given to him. Personally I would put him down but then I would be in jail.

We are guessing that both parties to the sex were ...

2012-04-02T11:21:58.476-04:00

We are guessing that both parties to the sex were underaged?

Amazing how simple it can be to communicate with p...

2012-03-13T00:54:44.438-04:00

Amazing how simple it can be to communicate with people and have them understand a certain topic, you made my day.
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To Anonymous (2/22/12): First and foremost, one of...

2012-02-23T09:14:57.939-05:00

To Anonymous (2/22/12):
First and foremost, one of the toughest lessons I've had to learn was about forgiveness. In the years that I dealt with not being able to forgive my abuser, I learned that forgiving someone is not the same thing as saying (either directly to them or to yourself) that what they did is OK. Forgiveness is letting go of the bitterness (which will destroy your life) and letting God deal with the other person.

Also, forgiveness is NOT necessarily allowing that toxic person back into your life when they could/would do you more harm. You're the best judge of that, so don't let anyone try to tell you what you should do.

Finally, if you haven't already done so, I recommend consulting with an attorney about the guardianship situation. Perhaps you'll get a new judge who'll give you a fair hearing on the matter.

Good luck to you!

ohhh yes i totally understand , that sadly judges ...

2012-02-23T02:45:09.215-05:00

ohhh yes i totally understand , that sadly judges only choose to listen to only one side , I am under forced guardianship and as competent and intelligent as I am my abusive father , petitioned the court to have me put under '' forced '' guardianship , and I am of age and still God willing have my whole life ahead of me but my father has lied in court and says things about me etc that are not true and that wasn't any of his business, I do not want to be cheated out of a life and I certainly don't want to have any regrets but I choose to believe and to think in the positive otherwise we will all drive ourselves crazy and we cannot do that , I publicly disown my father because when one's own family stoops so low as to do this right now it is unforgivable of what he has done to me , I cannot in the present forgive this ultimate betrayal , because it isn't safe physically nor emotionally , and all that I've ever done was love my father and ohhh how I loved him and when others were putting him down I took up for him and would say do not talk about my dad like that, because I love him. but that was then and this is now I'm all grown up now , but sadly he and I have grown apart and he thinks that money can buy happiness, by nature I'm a very out-going and happy individual and I love and appreciate life and never want to take this great gift for granted, life itself is a risk no matter where you go you take a chance by just walking outside your door , or you could be bathing and you get eletricuted etc. so no matter where one is whether at home or abroad death is waiting for us all, but one must'nt allow that truth to scare us from living life to the fullest , otherwise the only one who is really cheating you out of a life is you.. guardianship /conservationship needs to end, because one doesn't need a guardianship in order to care for those who truly cannot take care of themselves. so please please stop the abuse. do unto others what you ! would have them do unto you.. thank you

Judge White was absolutely wrong in what he forced...

2012-02-20T18:23:19.994-05:00

Judge White was absolutely wrong in what he forced this girl to do in court. Worse, he told the perpetrator loudly and clearly that he can get away with sexual assault and rape.

Just got an "emergency" motion dated 3 d...

2012-02-15T23:09:22.249-05:00

Just got an "emergency" motion dated 3 days ago from my abusive soon to be 8 who has now taken to abusing our 6 year old daughter in my stead. CPI refuses to investigate. Sheriff does nothing and I stand my ground against a hostile judge while my child suffers. Now he wants emergency sole custody alleging I am severely mentally ill (never diagnosed with ANY mental illness) and our daughter is in Limmediate danger f harm". Well if that is so why did he not report these concerns to CPI or police? Is this not failure to protect? Let's use these fathers rights bull shit laws right back on them! File a false claim like this and I'm turning around and accusing HIM of failure to protect! See how they like it!

Ms. Williams- Are you a watchdog, or an attack do...

2012-02-13T10:51:42.149-05:00

Ms. Williams-

Are you a watchdog, or an attack dog? Your opinion is undermining your legitimacy.

I know the blog depends heavily your identity as a victim's advocate - it would not exist at all without your traumatic experiences, I assume - but I think you'd get a larger and more diverse audience by simply letting the facts speak for themselves.

The only problem with that path is the possible realization that, in some cases, it may be best to simply write nothing at all. The only excuse I could see for this behavior is if you were paid to write these blog posts, paid to take this ideological position, and had quotas and deadlines and a livelihood to earn. But I don't think that's the case. Lucky you.

I'd love to see you take this blog beyond the bloated realm of self-righteous ideologues, upwards into the underpopulated region of tactful reporting.

PART 2/2 Furthermore, the state of Florida define...

2012-02-05T14:23:26.631-05:00

PART 2/2

Furthermore, the state of Florida defines stalking as "any person who willfully, maliciously, and repeatedly follows, harasses, or cyberstalks another person…" During the trial, the prosecution failed to prove that my actions were in any way malicious, a critical component of the legal definition. There was no evidence of maliciousness. I never intended to do any harm to the plaintiff. Even the plaintiff stated, in a document she submitted to the court summarizing our interactions, that "the student has not crossed any lines in his behavior."

I was never accused of stalking by the plaintiff. The term was used for the first time upon my arrest, which happened because of the belief, by the detective and the plaintiff, that I had violated an injunction. I had not violated any injunction. The injunction charges would later be dropped.

I would also like to address a major lie by the prosecution. During the trial, the prosecutor stated that I had been expelled from UCF, and implied that I had been expelled due to stalking. This is grossly untrue. I was suspended for a year from UCF for harmful behavior/disruptive conduct.

Considering the above, let me reiterate my request that Laura S. Williams’ CourtWatch article, “Convicted Stalker Manages to Wiggle Out of Serving Jail Sentence," (dated Wednesday, October 7, 2009) be taken down from the CourtWatch blog because it is damaging to my reputation, it is a biased description of the trial and it fails to separate facts from allegations.

Sincerely,
Gabriel Rhenals

PART 1/2 On January 16, 2012, I submitted the let...

2012-02-05T14:22:36.194-05:00

PART 1/2

On January 16, 2012, I submitted the letter below to the CourtWatch Board of Directors. Despite reiterating my request on January 29 to the Board of Directors' Chair, Ms. Laura S. Williams, so far I have not received any response.

LETTER TO THE COURTWATCH BOARD OF DIRECTORS

I request that Laura S. Williams' CourtWatch article, "Convicted Stalker Manages to Wiggle Out of Serving Jail Sentence," (dated Wednesday, October 7, 2009) be taken down from the CourtWatch blog. The article presents a biased representation of my trial, it is damaging to my reputation - as it is one of the top items to appear in a Google search of my name - and there are a number of other issues with this article.

To begin with, Ms. Williams’ article violates the principles stated on the CourtWatch website. CourtWatch reporters are supposed to be “impartial observers of the judicial system”. As I demonstrate below, her article is not the report of an impartial observer. In addition, the mission of CourtWatch is “Empowering the community to positively impact the court system’s handling of domestic violence, sexual assault and child abuse cases.” My case does not belong to any of these categories.

Ms. Williams makes the mistake of totally siding with the plaintiff, completely ignoring the defendant's testimony or the points made by the defense. This is not fair and objective reporting. The essence of being just and fair is to allow the conflicting parties equal opportunity to express their point of view. A flagrant example of how biased this article is can be seen in the use of the phrase “wiggle out” in the title of the article when referring to my right to appeal the case on perfectly legitimate grounds.

Ms. Williams fails to separate facts from allegations. As this trial dealt primarily with opposing testimonies alone, it's not an easy job, but a very delicate one, to label what is said as fact. I would like to respond to some of the "facts" cited by her:

1) In my testimony, I said that my behavior in class was "occasionally boisterous," not disruptive or aggressive.
2) I did not violate any injunction. The final injunction, after the initial 15-day temporary injunction, was never served, though it was thought by the plaintiff and the detective assigned to this case that it had been.
3) One of the more egregious statements made at the trial came from the detective. I did not say that, in my mind, I thought there was a sexual relationship with the plaintiff. The statement by the detective doesn't even make any sense. Obviously, if something takes place in your mind, it's happening for real. No one who truly believes something in their mind would make the distinction.
4) I never followed the plaintiff. There was an instance where we left a building at roughly the same time. But once out of the building, I did not follow her. In fact, we briefly smiled at each other when we encountered each other in the building’s lobby.
5) I never hovered outside her classroom or office.
6) I never slammed any door.
7) I never admitted that I was obsessed with her in the way someone who has romantic intentions would. I was simply lauding her work and achievements in the field of film theory.

Unbelieveable only 18 months for killing a defence...

2012-01-30T14:01:01.591-05:00

Unbelieveable only 18 months for killing a defenceless child!

Sgt Conway is the epitome of dedication and profes...

2012-01-25T20:42:48.440-05:00

Sgt Conway is the epitome of dedication and professionalism. I feel safer knowing he is working to protect me, my family and the residents of Seminole County. Thank you Sgt. Conway.

Sgt. Conway always goes above and beyond. He is a...

2012-01-25T11:49:42.820-05:00

Sgt. Conway always goes above and beyond. He is an asset to the Seminole County Sheriffs Department.

The judge has placed the burden of safety on the V...

2012-01-22T14:23:23.048-05:00

The judge has placed the burden of safety on the VICTIM-how in-appropriate. The one time the perpetrator VIOLATES the order/sentencing may be ONE TIME TOO LATE for the victim! Teh VICTIM should NOT have to endure further emotional nor financial hardship (as a relocation would inflict) due to the court's discretionary, and much too lenient sentencing. When will the court start putting the vitim's safety and well-being above the perpetrator's benefits. How many more interpersonal violence injuries and deaths have to occur for reforming occurs in our broken court system? It is no wonder American's have continued to lose faith in our legal system-it should now be called the American INJUSTICE system.

So very sad. I have sympathy for those with menta...

2012-01-21T19:02:24.982-05:00

So very sad. I have sympathy for those with mental illness, but that does not make their crimes more acceptable or less painful once the victim is dead. If this person is so ill, as the judge is obviously convinced, what makes anyone believe that the threat of arrest or prison would stop him from following through with these threats. There are so many examples of people who took the lives of others despite hte potential consequences. When will we ever protect those who need protecting?

Anonymous said,recently judge Dickey Back peddled ...

2012-01-11T08:10:51.125-05:00

Anonymous said,recently judge Dickey Back peddled on his judgement to not let a child be taken out of state to a sex offenders home in north carolina by a brother who has never been tested in ten years to be the real father,the fake dad sold his home in orlando after bankruptcy,and run for it because we got inches from having test done,Dickey stated in sept,2011 you cannot leave the state with the child!! the fake dad left anyway,lives there and where did the contempt go we were there for???? he could go but not child? what happened here?Judge dickey left courtroom and we were still talking!! Overrrr????? Definetly not!!!

reading all this is crazy i can't believe peop...

2012-01-10T21:57:31.532-05:00

reading all this is crazy i can't believe people would put and say things they know nothing about i miss him and cry everyday almost 3 years gone by i can't believe this happened i seen him months before she killed him he was afraid and told me to stay away because he was scared of what she would do i wish i could have done something to save him. i pray for the 2 kids that i hear are not being taking care of may jerry rest in peace

Dear Anonymous (1/2/12) - given the fact that ther...

2012-01-03T07:53:48.655-05:00

Dear Anonymous (1/2/12) - given the fact that there are a dozen felony courtrooms, and far fewer volunteers available, we are not able to watch every case every day. I have no doubt that Mr. Interlicchio has prosecuted other tough cases successfully. I just happened to catch this case where, as I stated in the blog, he should have been better prepared. This case represented a waste of taxpayer resources (courtroom time, jury's time) because the prosecutor was not prepared with caselaw to respond to the defense attorney's motion.

The defense argued for JOA stating the victim didn...

2012-01-02T21:28:34.491-05:00

The defense argued for JOA stating the victim didn't testify that she did not consent to the battery. The judge was absolutely wrong in his ruling, a person cannot consent to a battery. For the prosecutor with ten years experience i find it sad that you didn't know that. Mark should have known that law as well, but a judge is trusted with knowing the law. Also Ms. Williams you failed to mention that he prosecuted a tough DV case where the victim refused to cooperate. I guess it is simply easier to criticize then do a bit of research.

Common sense is thrown out the window by so many f...

2012-01-02T11:48:20.354-05:00

Common sense is thrown out the window by so many family court judges-it seems that they have become de-sensitized to the victims' & their families'safety needs in the family courtrooms. There is absolutely no reason to ever place children and their protective parents in further harm's way! It is bad enough that the courts rarely limit abusive parents from unsupervised visitation with their children, but to add insult to futher potential injury, the judges often (perhaps unknowingly-how sad they lack this knowledge!)actually ENABLE the perpetrators to further their violence by facilitating face to face custody exchanges, thus providing them with unlimited opportunities to facilitate their violence in front of and by involving/using the children (this is abuse in itself by the JUDGES!) So many simpler choices (via alternate school day p/u, & more preferably-child/family safety centers, etc.) are available that should be utilized for the best interest of the child, and to document if either parent is not adhering to proper schedule and/or behaviors at the facilities.

Judge Kest is by far the WORST domestic judge on t...

2011-12-19T18:56:32.235-05:00

Judge Kest is by far the WORST domestic judge on the bench in Orange County. We must keep her name in the news and try to prevent her re-election.

I found this is an informational message and inter...

2011-12-15T04:36:32.886-05:00

I found this is an informational message and interesting, so I think that is very helpful and knowledgeable for me. I would like to thank you for the efforts they have made to write this good article.
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2011-12-13T17:31:37.221-05:00

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