Man charged for taking his daughter to church

Law Student Charged with Contempt for Exposing Daughter to Christianity

A Chicago law student who took his 3-year-old daughter to Holy Name Cathedral as a television news crew recorded the event has been arraigned on charges of violating a court order.

The unusual order, issued in a bitter custody battle, barred 35-year-old Joseph Reyes from exposing his daughter to any religion other than Judaism, ABC News reports. Reyes, a 2L at John Marshall Law School, pleaded not guilty on Tuesday to a charge of indirect criminal contempt.

Reyes converted to Judaism after his daughter was born, but he says he decided to expose his daughter to the Catholicism he practices after he separated from his wife, the Chicago Sun-Times reports. In his view, the case is about freedom of religion.

Reyes’ wife, Rebecca, had sought a temporary restraining order after her husband sent her photos of their daughter’s baptism in November. The couple had married in 2004 and separated about four years later; their divorce battle continues, the Chicago Tribune reports. She claims in a sworn statement that Joseph Reyes had agreed their daughter would be raised exclusively in the Jewish faith, an allegation he denies.

Rebecca Reyes’ lawyers sought the contempt charge after Joseph Reyes took the girl to Holy Name.

University of Chicago law professor Emily Buss told the Tribune that the order limiting the child to exposure to Judaism is unusual. "Even if [one] parent has more authority in the form of more custody, the other parent can [usually] … still expose the child to his or her religion even if it was not the religious practices within the family when it was intact," she said.

Read more:Source

I wonder if the judge would have charged the wife if the situation was reversed and they had agreed to raise the child Catholic?

[edit on 19-2-2010 by FortAnthem]

All I can say is: how is this going to be anything good for this girl's mental health to have her father locked up simply because of exposing her to other religions than the mother saw fit??? Absolutely ridiculous. A well rounded person should learn about everything they can, world religions being one of them, and then make an informed decision on what faith they feel a connection to, or otherwise.

Interesting... Does such a court order make any sort of sense? I don't know, I can see why she would want that court order and why he would want to expose her to catholicism... This is weird.

Once the child is grown, she will decide for herself which, if any, religion she will follow. For the man to be arrested is ridiculous.

Wait a minute.

I thought the government had no jurisdiction over matters such as this.

Oh yeah I am right, they do NOT have Jurisdiction over matters of this nature!

The government has NO PLACE putting up Religious restraining orders. "You cannot do so and so religion". BS. Constitution says you can.

This judge should be fired. What a disgrace to "Law and Justice". HUGE disgrace.

No wonder people are becoming restless and insane and suicidal. Our gov't is off it's rocker. This kind of story proves the .Gov is overstepping it's authority.

The raising of a child is the responsibility of both parents - especially when you drag in the child support laws (which are draconian). That means that both parents may choose to present whatever religion they like to the child as long as no harm comes to the child. If the courts can compel any one parent to adhere to a specific religious code, there is something very wrong that goes beyond this case.

This is a perfect example of the law and religion not mixing. The court order is specifically naming the child's religion. What's next? Can the courts order everyone into church? I'm sure they'd like that kind of power.

Originally posted by muzzleflash
The government has NO PLACE putting up Religious restraining orders. "You cannot do so and so religion". BS. Constitution says you can.

The constitution says that the government can't restrict what religion a person practices, nor force them into a religion. But that's not what's happened here; they have forbidden one man from forcing another person into a religion. Maybe that falls under the same banner, but we need to think about it before we say that flat out.

Originally posted by Solasis
they have forbidden one man from forcing another person into a religion. Maybe that falls under the same banner, but we need to think about it before we say that flat out.

As opposed to one woman and her parents imposing their religion upon the child?

Think about it.

This is clearly a case of a woman not being able to stand up to her domineering parents that has destroyed the marriage and is hurting the child.

That is the only real issue here.

[edit on 19-2-2010 by leo123]

[edit on 19-2-2010 by leo123]

Wow our courts and their rules get a little dumber every day. I'm still waiting for the breathing too much air in one day restrictions.

[edit on 10-04-08 by Beach Bum]

Originally posted by leo123
This is clearly a case of a woman not being able to stand up to her domineering parents that has destroyed the marriage and is hurting the child.

Um, where are you getting that from? Why assume that her parents are keeping her Jewish and not her faith?

Originally posted by Solasis
Um, where are you getting that from? Why assume that her parents are keeping her Jewish and not her faith?

abcnews.go.com...

"The couple married in 2004. Joseph Reyes was Catholic, but he converted to Judaism to please his in-laws. He has said the decision wasn't "voluntary."

Originally posted by Beach Bum
Wow our courts and their rules get a little dumber every day. I'm still waiting for the breathing too much air in one day restrictions.

[edit on 10-04-08 by Beach Bum]

Nothing much new here.

The Family Courts have been at war against fathers ever since the feminazis hijacked the system a couple of decades ago.

reply to post by FortAnthem


So much for separation of church and state.
But then again, what do you expect from the city that gave us the Obamanation.

I think it's great how the courts find loop arounds to persecute religion, then they say it's not about "religion." YES IT IS. It is literally about banning this girl from being a Christian. There is no other way around it. The USA government is prohibiting this girl the right to be a Christian.

Exactly.

I'm no fan of religion, but I appreciate the freedom of religion that is offered - at least outwardly - by the constitution. This is an out and out violation of human rights. You cannot force someone into a religion by law!

quoting jesus
let the children come to me and do not hinder them. for such is the kingdom of heaven
unquote

want to guess whats hindering her

reply to post by FortAnthem


While the guy may have been in violation of a court,I still find this to be absolutely absurd.Besides, what happened to separation of church and state?

all I can say is that all parents should be arrested for trying to impose a religion to a child

no child have the experience to decide whats his belief

the best thing would be to give the child access to information and let the child decide or even not pick anything until they feel they need to

thats why we live in a world where nobody has a free will, since u are born, your parents, your government thought school, TV all try to make you something without giving u the right to research, to question and decide for yourself

All religion should be done away with.

It's a messy custody battle is what it is. The girl is three, she doesn't have a concept of God. It's a very precarious situation for the court, the mother (who will likely win full custody and already put a restraining order on the father) has been given the right to raise the child, if she believes an action is detrimental to the child she has the right to say so. The father, still legally capable of raising the child, is touting this as some sort of attack on christianity...I mean seriously, a news crew? "My wife doesn't want my cute, little girl to be a God-loving Christian, isn't that terrible?!"

How would you feel if your child said, "Mommy/daddy, I'm going to go to the synagogue/church/temple/mosque with my friend." Depending on your worldview you would either agree or disagree. The mother is obviously overbearing in believing Judaism is superior to Christianity, she's throwing a fuss. The father believes the exact opposite.

Did the Judge's last name end in stein?

This is perhaps the most ridiculous thing I have ever heard of in my entire life. The judge should be locked up for contempt of common sense!