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This story is about two fathers who have gone into Hummer's courtroom time and time again to ask to be involved in their children's life. Time and time again, Hummer has turned a blind eye to Flanders' false allegations of abuse; which he then uses those false allegations to deny the fathers' time with their children. Time after time, Hummer has ignored or hidden expert's opinions who have contradicted his "fatherly" treatment of Flanders.

Read Our Series on Child Custody in TheCourtOfPublicOpinion.com

Judge Hummer's "Adopted Daughter": "prone to exaggerate situations and may over-dramatize them"
He ignores everything and "father's" from the bench

October 25, 2005

Editor's note: "Every time that a woman is allowed to file false and bogus Protection from Abuse orders and violations of the same, real domestic violence is not taken seriously by the thousands of people who have witnessed or been a victim to the false ones."

That's what Licensed Psychologist Dr. Arnold T. Shienvold, of Riegler Shienvold & Associates, says about Wendy Flanders, the subject of 5thEstate.com's story entitled, " Hummer: A Humdinger of a Judge!". And just like before, when Judge Hummer didn't like the video that vindicated Flanders' ex-lover, Hummer ordered that the psychological report be buried which shows that the woman he has been enabling has great emotional problems! (Ooops…sorry Judge but we also had the report before you buried it!)

Why wouldn’t a judge want on public record a court-ordered "Custody Evaluation" done by an "expert" in the field? Maybe the fact that Hummer then ignored the doctor's recommendations because he didn't want evidence that Flanders has some serious mental and physical conditions? After reading the Hummer-spiked "Custody Evaluation" report, Wendy Flanders is to be pitied, but not believed!

Here is what Dr. Arnold Shienvold said about Flanders:

"She has a very high score with respect to the denial of common human faults. Her scores exceed those that are common for custody litigants who are, as a group, more defensive. Women with this profile tend to be lacking in insight and awareness with respect to their own behavior and motivations. In general, women with this profile try to over-control their emotional responses. That may lead to excessive tension and a generalized feeling of stress and anxiety. They may not recognize as their emotional level increases and they may experience sudden surges of emotion. These women tend to be naively trusting and then disappointment in relationships. There is a tendency towards exaggeration and a hysteroid adjustment."
Another part:
Wendy "...should examine the reality of some of her perceptions with respect to Ben and discuss strategies of more effectively dealing with some of his behavior"
"Due to her prior brain injury Wendy experienced irritability, poor cognitive processing and misperception regarding Ben and his behavior. Some of those mis-perceptions seem to have continued into the present.
Wendy's psychological testing tends to suggest that she prone to exaggerate situations and may over-dramatize them as a function of the way she perceives them. ... The current situation seems to include the possibility that Wendy has presented her perceptions to individuals upon whom she has developed some dependency. Those individuals may inadvertently reinforce some of the perceptions and mis- perceptions thus leading to an escalation of the overall level of hostility and conflict in the situation."!

But this is not the first time that Hummer has heard about Wendy Flanders' mental and emotional problems. As we stated in our previous story, Flanders has had three children to three men. The first man is dead but the second man, or victim in this case, is John Harris.

We told you about Ben Vonderheide, but before Ben - there was John Harris. He was the father of Flanders' second child and currently lives in Reading. Thanks to Flanders and her "father" Judge Hummer,Harris hasn't seen his daughter in over 6 months! Here is what Peggy Cunha, MSW, LSW Family Therapist said in a court-ordered therapy session in 2001, about the then 9 year old daughter and her relationship with her mother:

"There are problems with appropriate parent-child boundaries and enmeshment with the mother."

("enmeshment in the parent-child relationship is believed to be central to the development of borderline personality disorder, a syndrome characterized by the inability to preserve a cohesive sense of self and to maintain emotional boundaries between the self and other." (Click here to read more)

Because of the enmeshment issue, "…loyalty issues towards her parents would prohibit further growth"

"Children need to have both parents in their lives unless there is overwhelming reasons not to be present. In this case, I believe (name deleted) needs to have both mother and father in her life. Plus this child needs to be a child and not expected to behave as a grown-up"

Does Hummer read or take into consideration what these professionals say? Time and time again, these professionals have warned the judge about Flanders' real and serious problems.

Psychotherapist Deidre J. Young, M. C. A. T. had four court-ordered "Anger Management" classes with Harris and determined that the problem was Flanders not Harris! "…it is the evaluator's opinion that John does not have difficulty with anger management in any area of his life except in response to incidents that occur with Wendy."! And why might Harris have anger toward Flanders? "On several occasions, Wendy has presented severe accusations, including sexual abuse, against John. These accusations have been embarrassing, hurtful, humiliating, time-consuming and expensive."

And after years of this, here is what the evaluator said about Harris, "John has persevered in complying with all court orders and in remaining consistent contact in his daughter's life"! (emphasis ours). Does that sound like someone the judge should keep from seeing his daughter?

So what did this Psychotherapist recommend happen with Flanders? "…it is recommended that Wendy Flanders receive extensive psychotherapy to address her difficulties with interpersonal relationships such as manipulation and other passive-aggressive maneuvers." (emphasis ours)

So why does Hummer continue to allow this woman with diagnosed problems to stop these fathers from seeing their kids? According to court documents, Flanders, a college-dropout, (but claims however to have graduated from Elizabethtown College), once worked as a psychological assistant at Pennhurst. Claiming "harassment" by her co-workers, Flanders transferred to Wernersville State Hospital after less than 18 months where she was fired "…from this position due to destroying state property."

Later, a brain injury from an auto accident is why she received disability benefit, but it's also the cause of real problems that Hummer routinely ignores! Here is what Cherly Walters, M.S. Psychologist said in 1996 about Flanders, "reveal her profile to be extremely defensive, biased to appear psychologically healthy"! She is faking her mental healthiness!

Further, "…results of the present evaluation continue to reveal difficulty with impulse control with Wendy having a tendency to act out tension and conflict. " According to the report, Flanders, after a "verbal outburst, Wendy banged her head on a window, breaking the glass!"

This professional WARNED the judge of what was going to happen if Flanders didn't get help:

"Until Wendy resolves these issues, there is potential she will continue to become involved in conflictual relationships, thus exposing her children to further stress. There is also reason to believe that Wendy has difficulty sifting through her own emotional responses and those of her children."

At this point, Flanders' next victim, Ben Vonderheide, hadn't met her. Soon, the two would meet and Flanders would find a new "knight in shining armor" to rescue her from her problems. Vonderheide would soon learn, like Harris and just like Flanders' other boyfriend before him, those sets of three letters - PFA (protection from abuse) and ICC (indirect criminal complaint) will result in jail time, lawyer fees and an emotional roller-coaster as these fathers struggle to see their children. Along the way they will have to fight police, sheriff-deputies, assistant district attorneys and the financial stress that comes with the fight to see their children.

And yet who allows this madness to continue? Judge Wayne Hummer.

Next: Inside Hummer's Head