Worst Judges List

Campbell County

Judge D. Michael "Mickey" Foellger

(see Complaints in Reader Feedback)

What does this Campbell County judge have in common with Adolf Hitler?

In his book "Mein Kampf", German dictator and madman Adolf Hitler demanded the forced sterilization of all "cretins, cripples, and undesirables". The Reich is long gone, but the spirit of Der Führer still lives on in Kentucky's Campbell County.

Judge D. Michael "Mickey" Foellger insists that he's "not trying to make a statement", but in cases where fathers owe over $10,000 in child support and have children with more than three women, he's given male defendants a choice: jail, or forced sterilization.

The mind reels when one considers how a public official can openly promote a concept such as forced sterilization -- a brutal assault against an individual -- and yet say he is not making a statement. Unless of course Judge Foellger thinks so little of human rights in the first place.

From his other public statements, one can surmise that Judge Foellger sneers in the face of human and civil rights. In the National Law Journal, he arrogantly stated "I wasn't elected by the church" when speaking about the fascist policies he hands down from the bench. This statement is quite revealing of Foellger's nature; it shows that he knows his policies are fundamentally immoral and unethical, yet he does not care.

And what's worse, his arrogance has been excused by our nation's Supreme Court which recently ruled that forced sterilization is not an assault on civil rights. This is the same Supreme Court which recently ruled that big business can seize prime real estate land from ordinary people in the name of urban development (read, big business), proving once again that Nazi-like measures to deal with social issues are becoming more and more popular in this country.

Judge Foellger is obviously content riding the Fascist tide. But as his statement points out, he's "elected" to his position. Kentucky citizens would be well advised to stop him now, because judges like this might one day suggest concentration camps and gas chambers for "undesirables".

Reader Feedback on Judge Foellger

Complaint #1: Complainant alleges that this judge is being improperly influenced by a social or political relationship, and that he does not dispose of judicial business in a timely manner. Complainant further alleges that this judge has allowed four motions to remain pending since October2008 that are yet to be heard. Complaint further alleges that Judge Foellger has been suspended from the bench and has been accused of sexually harassing a person in his office. Complainant writes: "Why is he still a sitting judge?"

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Mercer County

Judge F. Lee Forrester

Rewards American Naval Officer's Service in Iraq with Reduced Parenting Time

Superior Court Judge F. Lee Forrester of Mercer County has an interesting way of rewarding military dads for their service overseas. In the recent case of Grother v. Keenan, lieutenant Scott Keenan, an intelligence officer in the Naval Reserves, was deployed overseas for three weeks around the time of the September 11 attacks as part of our nation's extra security measures to protect citizens. Because Lt. Keenan did his duty, he lost his ability to exercise all of his allotted parenting time with his elementary school-age boys. Judge Forrester -- in strange show of patriotism -- permanently reduced his parenting time by 20%.

This flagrant act was not only a display of hatred against non-custodial parents, it was also a slap in the face to American military personnel in a time of war.

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Judge Fred Keiser, Jr.

(see Complaints in Reader Feedback)

Responsible for Death of Non-Custodial Parent

The individual pictured at the right issued a summary death sentence for divorced dad and fathers' rights activist Wilbur Streett. He is Superior Court Judge Fred Keiser, Jr., seen here yucking it up at a legal conference in Middlesex County.

In 2004, Keiser presided over a Middlesex County child support case involving Mr. Streett, who was suffering from Lou Gehrig's disease and bound to a wheelchair. Ignoring Mr. Street's serious health condition, Keiser issued an arrest warrant to collect child support arrears. Mr. Streett, who was previously beaten by police in Middlesex County, was taken into custody and died a few days later perhaps as a result of the sudden change of environment (this according to Mr. Streett's daughter, Kimberly). Mr. Streett's inhuman treatment and death were brushed under the carpet by state authorities.

The actions of this irresponsible jurist is a clear example of why the system must be reformed. Without any oversight, neither of courts, or child support agencies, or police organizations, Mr. Street was effectively put to death by the state for failure to pay a debt -- and an artificial one at that.

NCPForce! is now vigorously engaged in an effort to bring Wilbur Street's killers to justice and the guilty parties held accountable for their actions. Please visit our Avenger Project page to learn how you can help.

Reader Feedback on Judge Kieser

Complaint #1: Complainant alleges that Judge Keiser allowed his children to be taken out of the country by his ex and that he is being forced to continue paying child support to his ex. Complaintant alleges that Judge Kieser knew his wife had taken his children abroad for about a year before properly addressing the issue; even then, according to complainant, Kieser's actions did nothing to bring about the return his children or to discontinue child support payments.

Complaint #2: Complainant alleges that Judge Kieser ignored spousal and child abuse, and switched custody of children between parents no less than 5 times in 4 years from Jan 2004 until May 2006. Complainant further alleges that Judge Kieser imputed an income twice what she had ever earned in her entire life and ordered she replenish a trust account that never existed.

Complainant also alleges that one of her daughters ran away from her father after he received custody, because she was being abused. According to complaint, Kieser sent her back to her abusive parent 18 hours later after stating on record: "This may be a textbook case of sexual abuse, but I don't want to get involved." Complaint also states that Kieser refused to listen to complaints of children about the abusive parent; that Judge Kieser invented a "history" about complainant's life then continued to base his rulings on his baseless version of reality; and that Judge Kieser threatened to punishment complainant's sister with the same rulings he made gainst complainant; showed preferential treatment to complainant's opponent and even expressed his bias openly. Complainant writes: "People need to be made aware that judges like exJudge Fred Kieser, Jr who are equal opportunity discriminators are out there on the bench. Worse still that even when they are finally removed, their colleagues are more interested in covering up the mess rather than serving the children they are supposed to be protecting".

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Albany County

Judge W. Dennis Duggan

Voted Worst Judge in New York State, Two Times in a Row

In 2007, the New York State Family Court Judges Association gave Albany's Judge W. Dennis Duggan its Judge of the Year Award. Obviously, those who voted Duggan must not be fully aware of his behavior on the bench (or they simply don't care), because for two years after their award, Duggan received a far less prestigious honor: in 2008 and 2009, Duggan was named Worst Judge in New York state by a poll on the Courthouse Forum.

According to the 2009 poll, readers of the Courthouse Forum cast 142 votes cast for Duggan as worst judge. The year prior, Duggan received a whopping 5704 votes for worst judge; the second worst judge, Martin Schoenfeld, received only 74 votes. Judge Duggan was also ranked the fifth worst judge in the United States in 2008, and was universally disliked by both men and women.

The Courthouse Forum also published the results of a survey on Duggan in which fourteen respondents gave him an overall rating of "F", and graded his performance in various areas. Duggan scored an dismally for basic reasoning ability and his ability to perform in the specialized area of family law. He also scored straight Fs in an entire category rating his ability to treat people in a respectful manner and to judge cases with impartiality. Administratively, he also scored an F for hiring and promotion practices.

According to an article by Daniel Weaver on Examiner.com, Judge Duggan is also a massive hypocrite. Weaver reports that when Duggan wrote a column for the Albany Times-Union newspaper arguing for the need for two parent families, fathers' rights activist James Hays responded with a letter to the editor saying Duggan was part of the problem because he awarded custody to mothers in more than 90% of his cases.

In another article by Weaver on Examiner.com, we also learn that Duggan was the subject of a complaint by the American-Arab Anti Discrimination Committee (ADC), largest organization in the United States dedicated to protecting the rights of Arab Americans, which claims that Duggan discriminated against a Moroccan man of Islamic faith.

NCPForce! would like to hear from you about your experience with Judge W. Dennis, two time holder of the title "Worst Judge in New York". Contact us using the links below.

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Saratoga County

Judge Gilbert Abramson

He Left His Mark With Lewd Jokes and Dispensing Jail Time Without Fair Hearings

One of the biggest nightmares a non-custodial parent faces when entering the family court for the first time is the largely unknown factor of "who" exactly will hear your case. When the fate of your relationship with your children is at stake, the best you can hope for is a judge who is wise and sympathetic to both sides. But in the worst case scenario, former New York state judge Gilbert Abramson is your man.

Abramson abruptly resigned his post on the Saratoga county family court in October 2010 after being banned from the bench for making a lewd joke. He had already served nearly a full term of 10 years and was about to run for re-election. Fortunately for the people of Saratoga country, his judicial career was put to an end before he could do any more damage.

According to a report in the Saratogian newspaper, Judge Abramson wrongfully jailed litigants in four separate cases for periods ranging from 21 days to 268 days without allowing them a rightful hearing and without advising them of their right to have an attorney. And what's more, Judge Gilbert arrogantly did so after being warned by a state commission about similar behavior in the past.

One of these cases of wrongful imprisonment involved a non-custodial dad who was unable to meet child support payments after suffering a stroke. Judge Abramson, ignoring the man's clear and very grave health issues, sentenced the NCP to 180 days in jail. The details of this noxious case of judicial abuse can be found in Daniel Weaver's excellent column on New York State family court affairs on Examiner.com.

In addition to the lewd jokes and unlawful imprisonments, Judge Abramson also engaged in a number of other disreputable acts, among them writing a letter of reference on official courthouse letterhead for an unlicensed social worker cited for a breach of professional ethics; and for engaging in improper ex-parte communication which turned one man's case into legal quagmire.

For these reasons, the recently deposed Judge Gilbert Abramson has earned his place on the NCPForce! Worst Judges List.

Additional Reading:

Was Judge Abramson unique in the Saratoga county court system? Or was he just one bad apple in the bunch as this article on wrongful jail sentences in Saratoga County seems to suggest.

This link to Examiner.com contains a full transcript of this Judge Abramson's lewd comedy routine.

For some ideas on how to deal with bad judges, there's this inspirational article from Examiner.com's Daniel Weaver.

NCPForce! Wants to Hear From You

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