Dad defeats order of protection that kept him from his kids

By Eric Smith

CHICAGO — A father and mother broke up. Suddenly, Dad found himself banned from seeing his kids, too — until he fought in court and won.

Dad and his girlfriend were together for many years, and they had two boys. Their breakup was acrimonious, and the girlfriend blindsided Dad by going to court without giving Dad any notice of the court date, and obtaining an order of protection against him when he wasn’t even in court to defend himself. The order of protection banned Dad from seeing his children. Any attempt by him to see his boys could have landed him in jail.

“In my view, this was wrong and unjust. This dad absolutely loves his children,” says attorney Jeffery M. Leving, founder and president of the Law Offices of Jeffery M. Leving Ltd. in Chicago, who represented the father.

Leving will talk about the case on his weekly radio show, the Dads Rights Legal Hour, 9–10 a.m. CST Saturday, Feb. 27 on Power 92.3 FM in Chicago.

Orders of protection are at times issued on the basis of flimsy or manufactured evidence, Leving says, but the issue here is that there’s no purpose for the order of protection to protect the boys from their loving dad. Even if a man and his ex have a squabble, there’s no reason to assume that the children are in any danger, if there’s no factual basis.

“This father in this case called me and asked for help. Being completely cut off from his children was a horrible nightmare for this loving father,” Leving says. “We went to court, presented the evidence, argued his case, and we won. Not only did the judge remove the boys as protected parties under the order of protection, he also granted Dad parenting time and unlimited contact with his kids — which includes phone, text, email, video chat and so on.”

This is a thorough victory, modified for broadcast, that puts this dad where he belongs: Back in the lives of his kids. “This dedicated father and I simply would not stand for injustice, which was harmful to dad and his kids. Thanks to this court victory, we don’t have to,” Leving says. “Dad told me he was overjoyed that we won for him, and that he can be with his children again. I’m really happy for him.”

Also on the program, airing on the last Saturday of Black History Month, Leving will call listeners’ attention to a website he created with his colleague Jennifer Whiteside, OurBlackHeritage.com, which contains interesting photos and articles about African-American history in Chicago. “I’m a student of Chicago history, for which Black History Month is very important,” Leving says. “I urge you to give OurBlackHeritage.com a look.”

Jeffery M. Leving is founder and president of the Law Offices of Jeffery M. Leving Ltd., and is an advocate for the rights of fathers. He is the author of Fathers’ Rights, Divorce Wars and How to be a Good Divorced Dad. To learn more about Jeffery M. Leving and his latest court victories, follow him on Twitter and Facebook, and view his videos on You Tube.