Because Grayson's case IS truly about securing his best interests the Court did appoint a Guardian Ad Litem. Yet, over the past 3 years the Court at its digression has compressed or simply ignored the recommendations of the very GAL the Court appointed. Go figure. Ultimately, the GAL has never wavered on the strong recommendation that it is in Grayson's best interest to stay with the Vaughns and that was not what the Court wanted to hear. This is a waste of tax payer dollars and the end result, a child has been endangered by an out-of-control system acting well outside its legal obligations. When I was a prosecutor and now in my private practice I rely on the education and experience of professionals in their respective fields. GALs are an endangered or abused child's most critical independent advocate in concert with physicians, counselors, educators and caregivers. It would be criminal for me, as a lawyer, to pretend I was a physician to make medical diagnosis and treatments for my clients. Yet this is precisely what has happened to Grayson over the years his case has been debated within the Ohio Courts. I don't know any state in this country were judges are more free to legislate while practicing child psychology from the bench.

It is the responsibility of the GAL appointed to Grayson to perform a background investigation to facilitate the bio-dad's home study that would trigger a transition plan for custody if the results of the home study were favorable. Never mind that the bio-dad's home study never occurred due no fault of this GAL, but there certainly were red flags early on that should have initiated a thorough background check and GAL's across the country need to be provided adequate resources to achieve that goal. My legal teams, past and present, are acutely aware that instant access online records are often incomplete and require a due diligence process to validate information accuracy. A closer look at Grayson's biological father would have revealed over 40 encounters he has had with law enforcement as an adult, not including juvenile records. I am not sure how many traffic infractions would demonstrate a driver with habits risky to a child, but it is not all the speeding, blowing through stop-signs and no-seat belt citations that have my attention.

There are words that jump off the page as I flip through the incidents that span the bio-dad's lifetime to the present. Some of these words match complaints of aggression and conduct described by other parties: Road Rage; Menacing; Harassment; Drugs; Disorderly Conduct; Assault. It is the number of common incidents over a duration that needs to be closely scrutinized and should have been given time and attention to a competent investigation in the best interest of the child. Grayson's biological father refused to take a drug test the day of an initial mediation. One could assert that immediately shaving his head in a Brittany Spears like move would prevent a test of hair follicles to see if any drugs were ingested in the 90 days prior. The Court even overlooked its own "Risk for Violence" order. The list goes on and on. The bottom line; this man is a total stranger to Grayson and, as evidenced by his record, may even be dangerous to Grayson without some kind of serious and immediate intervention NOW.

And NOW is not soon enough given the backgrounds of some people appearing around bio-dad and therefore, Grayson. One in the top of that list is notorious felon David Floyd Houston. Houston is a persistent felony offender in the first degree and claims to be giving his experience as a paralegal to help the bio-dad free of charge. Houston has had up-close-and-personal experience as a paralegal over the years of his state pen incarceration where his desire to "become a litigation engine with grandiose behavior" became apparent. Houston has been media interviewed for his opinion in the Vaughn case and is prolific in his support of the bio-dad on the internet where he is worshipped as 'close to God like' by a small band of bio-dad supporters. Compounding this highly suspect situation are rumors of intimidating threats being made against certain parties, including similar complaints from Houston himself who incidentally has been convicted for Intimidation of a Judicial Officer.

Often parents, and others responsible for children, break child endangerment laws without realizing that their behavior is truly hurting the child involved. Well-meaning advocates can also be guilty of this. I think the case of Grayson Vaughn is the perfect storm. There is a crowd of "bio-father rights" and family reunification activists that have taken interest in this case (many of whom are commenting on my published articles). I totally understand the fears and feeling regarding the rights of fathers and adoptees in general - but this case is an exception to the majority and the activism is uninformed, misguided and harmful. Of course biological fathers and adoptees have rights! I think longtime supporter of Fathers and Families, Eric Reines M.D., F.A.C.P., made this point brilliantly in his article published earlier this week about Grayson, "Life is tough. But let it be tough on me, not on my child. -- Removing a three-year old child from loving parents, the only parents the child has ever known, is devastating, and wrong." Dr. Reines closed his

Ben Wyrembek booking photo

Kentucky DOC

What is critical is that Grayson needs to be in a nurturing, child centered environment and from my perspective he is not. Not even close. The expectation in demand that Grayson should immediately refer only to his biological father as 'DaDa' on the first meeting is just not realistic yet that is where Grayson lives today. It is a cruel person that tells a crying mother she lost her babies because "you all have bad seeds, that's why your babies have died at 3 months." It is self-centered manipulation that makes a "you can call your mommy later" promise to a distraught child, but in the end, that call never happens. Right or wrong custody histories, those kinds of antics are confusing for an already endangered child and completely non-age appropriate. But due to Grayson's biological father's historical so-called "rights" all this is okay by the Court. Child safety advocates will be outraged as I continue to be and I look for some activists to reconsider their standing sooner than the judicial system. There is hope that the judge will in fact recuse herself as she waits for a recommendation from the Ohio Supreme Court. In the meantime, Grayson needs to be where he is safe - not next week or next year, but right now, TODAY.