You be the judge: A Pagan woman who works as a Chapter 13 bankruptcy assistant for a law firm wants to regain custody of her 9-year-old son. Her ex-husband is in jail on a $700,000 bond for solicitation of capital murder of his second ex-wife. Seems like a no-brainer, doesn’t it? Well, Judge Philip Warner in Houston, TX, summarily denied Erin Echels Scott continued temporary sole conservatorship on Apr 10.
The lawyer for Donald Chachere, Jr, argued that “whatever charges” were leveled against his client didn’t automatically make Scott the logical choice for custodian. He didn’t contest Scott’s assertions that she took advantage of every possible visitation allowed, kept well informed of his welfare, and that her son gets along well with his younger half-sister. Instead, he focused on her religion, and on seven-year-old drug possession charges. Scott alleges that Chachere framed her during the divorce proceedings and that statements to the arresting officer in his current case confirm his involvement.
“You practice a type of witchcraft; isn’t that correct?” Chachere’s attorney asked. “I practice a form of Paganism,” Scott replied. “And part of your [original divorce] decree says … ‘Each parent … has … [t]he right to have … direct moral and religious training of the child, excepting witchcraft’; isn’t that correct?”
Scott confirmed the religious discrimination of the original decree, which set Chachare’s counsel up for questions about a note her son had written in school that referenced “celtic authority.” This, he surmised, was evidence that the boy was learning about “pagan worship.” When Scott tried to contend that it more likely had to do with Celtic history, the judge ruled her answer “nonresponsive.”
Examination of Scott’s current husband did not touch at all on his relationship with Scott’s son, but a great deal of attention was paid to old charges of DWI and public intoxication. Even Scott’s attorney didn’t focus on his parenting ability, and during his testimony, the judge asked whether he practiced Paganism. When he answered “no,” the judge asked him to step down.
Likewise, when Chachere’s sister, to whom Chachere gave custody, took the stand, she was questioned about whether she attended church regularly, going so far as to inquire about her plans for Easter Sunday.
Her assertion that she provided a “loving environment” for her nephew apparently had more weight than the representation by Scott’s attorney that she would provide “a stable environment for the child irrespective of [her] personal religious philosophy.” It probably didn’t help matters that this comment was prefaced by remarks that “this Court and society has certain beliefs about religion,” which he did not then argue were unconstitutional intrusions into a child custody case.
After taking recess “for a moment or two,” Judge Warner denied the temporary orders. “There is NO other reason for this other than my religion of Paganism,” Scott argues. Although the TX Pagan Awareness League acted as a liaison between Scott and the ACLU, as we went to press, the civil rights group had still not decided to intervene. The boy, now 10, has exerted his right to declare his custodial preference for his mother; a final hearing is pending. {AREN; Harris Co. Cause No. 94-02949; Scott}
Article by Dian Firebearer Mueller
Dian Firebearer Mueller is a facilitator of the Burlington UU Circle (BUUC) chapter of CUUPS in Vermont. This is an excerpt from the July edition of “Paganalia” news digest, published in abridged form in BUUC’s moonly newsletter, Green Mountain Circle Works, available by subscription for $18/print, $9/zipped ascii email (which includes the unabridged column). An abridged quarterly version appears in Connections quarterly.
This article may be reprinted so long as an approved version of this notice is included and e-mail versions and Website urls are cc’d to Firebearer@aol.com and print versions are sent to: BUUC, POB 221, Burlington, VT
Witch's Well 