Allegation 5: Denial of Due Process and Wrongful Imprisonment

Summary:

I believe Judge Longsworth improperly took my children from me, took my home and all personal belongings, and imprisoned me for civil contempt after denying my right to an evidentiary hearing in said matter. My lawyer told Judge Longsworth I had evidence to share and that I wished to call a witness to testify in my defense. She did not care.

She heard my testimony and mischaracterized my statements (I believe she outright lied about my sworn testimony), despite clarification from my lawyer and the ability to consult transcripts.

She denied me the right to properly defend myself against accusations made against me, then proceeded to find me guilty and imposed an overly harsh sentence (not allowable by law) which included an indefinite jail term, a 90-day minimum no-contact order with my kids, banned me from my home, and fined me.

She did so despite the order in question having been complied with, after a delay on both the part of the defendant and myself. The defendant’s delay was voluntary, while my delay was not. I had no practical ability to avoid the delay I experienced.

Therefore, my understanding of the Civil Contempt is that a non-willful delay is NOT considered a violation as we cannot be held responsible for things outside our control. The only way that Longsworth was able to conclude I was guilty was, in my opinion, by lying about my testimony.

I have no criminal history, this being a first-time civil contempt matter in a divorce proceeding. I had already informed the court of my inability to immediately comply via an objection to the order. Less than one month later, as soon as I had the ability to do so, I fully complied with the order.

This order was due 6/30/2025, and was fully complied with on 7/22/2025, PRIOR to my even being served with the Show Cause papers.

Judge Longsworth entertained this minor, frivolous complaint then denied me the right to effectively defend myself. She mischaracterized my testimony and applied a bias in holding me accountable for a delay while condoning the defendant’s delay (which was voluntary). She found me guilty, taunted me with this for almost a full year, reminding me often that she had found me guilty and the sentence was still in the air. When she finally got around to sentencing me, she imposed an excessively harsh sentence in a most humiliating manner.

During my sentencing, she went on an uncontrolled tirade full of slanderous and prejudicing statements. All this was somehow justified by a 3-week delay which was not in my power to avoid. For reunification therapy that the defendant proceeded to brush off.

Her sentence itself was far outside allowable guidelines for civil contempt. Her sentence put my children’s safety at risk, and I will demonstrate in this document that she was well aware that my children were being abused by the defendant, and one child had fresh injuries even as she imposed this sentence. Yet Judge Longsworth sent them to the person that was hurting them, and took away any hope of rescue by their mom.

There is now an NA Case and a criminal Gun Storage Case[1]associated with what my kids endured at the hands of the defendant during the time I was in jail.

As evidence of her unrestrained derangement, this case was sent to a chief judge for review. That chief judge immediately rescinded my entire sentence. CPS, initially having listed me as a respondent in an NA case due to my incarceration, upon learning why I was in jail, requested I be removed from the petition and have my children returned to me.

This happened within one day of the chief judge and CPS reviewing my case. That is how obvious it was, how easy it was for unbiased others to recognize what was really going on here. I am not a criminal. I am not a danger to my kids.

Details of What Happened:

On 6/25/2024, I was ordered to secure an intake appointment with reunification therapist Michelle Sunny within 5 days[2].

On 6/28/2024, well within the 5 day window, I called LifeStance (the therapy practice at which Ms. Sunny was employed) and requested an intake appointment. I was informed that Ms. Sunny was not accepting new patients, and that I would be contacted directly as soon as an opening was available[3].

I informed my lawyer, and filed an objection to the order. In the objection, we asked the court to assign a different therapist as Ms. Sunny was not available. In the meantime, I completed all intake paperwork with LifeStance, in anticipation of an opening with Ms. Sunny.

I followed up with LifeStance on 7/17/2024, and was told that the situation was unchanged and Ms. Sunny was still not accepting new patients, and I should continue waiting for a call back.

I received a text message from Ms. Sunny on 7/22/2024[4], offering an appointment. I immediately accepted that appointment, scheduled for 7/30/2024. The kids and I completed a series of appointments to conclude intake on 8/5/2024. As of 7/22/2024, I was in compliance with the order.

After making the appointment with Ms. Sunny on 7/22/2024, I received notice of a Show Cause for having not scheduled an intake with Ms. Sunny. The date for the hearing was 8/22/2024.

Believing this to be a simple misunderstanding, and having evidence to prove that I made every attempt to comply with the order, I showed up at the Show Cause hearing on 8/22/2024 and did my best to explain. It was then that I discovered Judge Longsworth was not interested in truth, not interested in understanding, but was rather interested in how to twist the narrative to justify her predetermined outcome.

Judge Longsworth concluded that I had testified I did not comply with the order because I said I did not have Ms. Sunny’s contact information[6].

"...I just find her ex-, explanation for why she didn’t to be the most significant piece of evidence in this case to demonstrate that she did fail to comply with the court order and that was that she didn’t have Ms. Sunny’s contact information."

Just for fun, maybe we should look back at my actual testimony, see if I claimed that I failed to call Ms. Sunny due to a lack of contact information.[7]

(Q): "Okay. The order required that you, you contact her within five days. Did you do that?"

(A): "Yes, I did."

Hmmm. That’s weird. It looks like I clearly said I did contact Ms. Sunny within 5 days, not that I claimed I did not have her phone number.

Maybe we should double check. Let’s refer back to the point in my actual testimony[8] where it was first suggested that I had said I called the wrong number.

(Q): And it’s your testimony that you think you called a wrong number?

(A) No. No, not at all. I Googled Ms. Sunny’s name. In the court order there was no phone number, no contact information so I Googled her name and discovered that she works for LifeStance and I called LifeStance.

(Q) Okay. Do you have any phone records to verify that you actually made these contacts?

(A) I absolutely do.

(Q) With you?

(A) I believe Mr. Literski has them.

That’s really weird, isn’t it? I make it clear, again, that I called Ms. Sunny. I even claim that my lawyer is holding relevant records.

In fact, nowhere in the transcript can I find any statement wherein I said I had not called Ms. Sunny. I only see that I stated several times that I had called her, within the 5 day window.

Despite this, when Judge Longsworth said that I had testified that I did not comply with the order because I lacked contact information. Unfortunately for her, the transcripts show that this is not even remotely what I said. My lawyer, Mr. Literski, tried again to save the situation,[9] to no avail.

“That was not the testimony that was presented today” - Judge Longsworth

REALLY? I’m pretty sure it was. In fact, I’m positive. I did testify that I had called Michelle Sunny at LifeStance within the five days. As a smaller point, I did also testify that I had completed paperwork, but that is a small detail. Just in case, I’ll include that here, too[10].

In case it is not crystal clear to all: within the correct timeframe, I called the correct number for the correct practice at which the correct Ms. Sunny was employed. There was no phone number listed in the order, so I used google to find the number and was then very careful to confirm with LifeStance that I was calling the correct place. That’s what I said. If LifeStance would have said that I had the wrong place, I would have called FOC for help. But LifeStance confirmed I was calling the right place, and indeed I was. I stated this, and I never claimed anything different. The transcripts prove this.

Judge Longsworth could have easily checked the transcripts herself, but why let the truth get in her way?

Incidentally, as with most transcripts referenced in this complaint, the full documents are available if needed. I am happy to provide them in their entirety.

When it was suggested that I was being untruthful, I requested the ability to subpoena Ms. Sunny to testify, and I was denied this right. I was also denied the right to admit exhibits into evidence. No evidentiary hearing was scheduled. I was simply found guilty with accusations based on false assertions regarding my testimony, without benefit of the testimony of the therapist, therapy practice, or presentation of critical evidence, which I had available and attached to my response to the Show Cause Motion. I had a letter from Ms. Sunny herself[11], confirming what I said happened was true. I was not allowed to present this letter, as it was deemed hearsay. However, Ms. Sunny told me that her letters had previously been admitted and used in other cases. It seems the standards for me are different.

It is relevant to note that the defendant’s counsel stated that defendant failed to even call to schedule an intake within the 5 day window[12], which was certainly within his power to do so. She stated that he called on day 7, which I dispute, but it doesn’t really matter. The point is, he was voluntarily in violation of this order himself. Judge Longsworth did not hold him accountable for this, and excused his voluntary failure. Personally, I don’t find this to be a big deal, which is why I never filed a motion about it. I am not looking to argue and bicker over a slight delay, I’m looking to resolve and move forward. It is, however, relevant to note the difference in the way we were treated, especially as the defendant was voluntarily in violation of this order (and many others, as will be outlined in this document).

Judge Longsworth’s response to the defendant missing the 5 day window[13] (she says he was incapable of contacting Ms. Sudds, but I think she meant to say Ms. Sunny, not Ms. Sudds. I am Ms. Sudds, although I am trying very hard to not be).

Since I have also been to jail now, courtesy of Judge Longsworth, I can confirm that there are in fact phones there. So, I assume that when she said he was “not capable of contacting…” she meant that he was not physically capable, as in, he did not have access to a phone. But this is simply untrue. As a judge, former prosecutor and criminal defense attorney, she would know this.

He also had access to the internet, and had means to communicate with his lawyer, if he didn’t have Ms. Sunny’s contact information. I seem to recall Judge Longsworth stating something to that effect, as it related to me. So, I’m not sure why Judge Longsworth lies to get me into trouble while lying to get the defendant out of trouble, but maybe that’s something you can figure out.

I’ll beat the dead horse and say it one last time. I called the right number within the required timeframe and couldn’t get an appointment, I notified the court about this via an objection, I followed up to check availability and took the first appointment when it was offered, and completed intake as quickly as possible. In the meantime, the defendant disregarded the timeframe, and that was just fine.

Ignoring all noise and details, I now realize the situation boils down to this simple, innocent description- which lends itself to no wrongdoing: the therapist simply returned the defendant’s call before returning mine. It is a simple as that. She was not under a court order to return my call, much less to return my call in the order in which it was received.

I have no way of knowing why this happened- maybe LifeStance forgot to add me to the wait list until I called the second time, maybe Ms. Sunny accidentally took her list in reverse order, maybe she intentionally took us out of order to get the defendant’s side of the story first, maybe this, maybe that, maybe the other…who knows. All I know is that I did nothing wrong, and whatever went wrong, if indeed anything even did go wrong, was outside my purview.

Why Did This Happen

Please recognize the truth of this situation. What happened to me was not about this order. It was not because of this delay that I went to jail. I believe Judge Longsworth capitalized on an unjustified, minor accusation against me, irresponsibly mischaracterized my testimony, prevented me from mounting a proper defense, pronounced me guilty, then taunted me for a year, before finally sentencing me beyond allowable guidelines.

She did this in family court, a court involving non-criminals going through the most stressful time of their lives. She did this in detriment of the very same kids she accused me of not caring about.

The real question is not ‘what actually happened with this order to schedule an intake appointment?’- because nothing particularly nefarious happened with regard to the scheduling, not from the defendant, not from the therapist, not from the therapy practice and certainly not from me. This issue raised was a whole lot of nothing. A complete waste of time.

And Judge Longsworth is smart enough to know this.

The real question is: What will you do about this? Will you allow Judge Longsworth to behave in this manner?

Summary of dates:

6/25/24- Order for Reunification therapy issued, need to schedule intake with Ms. Sunny within 5 days

6/28/24- I call Lifestance, the practice at which Ms. Sunny is employed. I complete intake paperwork, but am unable to obtain an appointment as she is not taking new patients. I am told she will call me directly when she is able to get me in. I inform my lawyer, who begins preparing an objection to the order, requesting a different therapist. The objection is filed on time and a hearing is set.

6/30/24- Due date for intake appointment

~7/2/24- Defendant calls Ms. Sunny to secure an appointment, he is two days late. Or is he? He was in jail till 7/4. Somehow, he is offered an appointment before I am.

7/11/24- Defendant starts intake with Ms. Sunny

7/17/24- I call Lifestance for second time, and am told Ms. Sunny is still full and she will call me directly when she has an opening. I request they provide me with a letter proving I have called them, but they cannot provide me with anything as I am not a patient yet. Their policy is to write notes for patients only.

7/18/24- Defendant completes intake with Ms. Sunny

7/22/24- Ms. Sunny texts me and offers an appointment for 7/30/24, which I immediately accept. I inform her that I had filed an objection and requested a different therapist.

7/22/24- I receive paperwork for Show Cause accusing me of not complying with order for reunification therapy. I call LifeStance and request any evidence that I did call them, they provide me with a copy of our call log, which I forward to my lawyer.

I ask Ms. Sunny to write a letter confirming the history of our interactions, she does so, and I forward that to my lawyer as well, along with copies of our text messages.

7/30/24- I start the intake process with Ms. Sunny

8/5/24- Intake process is completed

8/22/24- Show cause hearing, I have the call log from LifeStance, the texts with Ms. Sunny, and the letter written by her. When that is not admitted, we request to bring Ms. Sunny in to testify herself, that request is denied. No evidentiary hearing is granted to me, I am prevented from properly defending myself, I am accused of having called the wrong number for Ms. Sunny, without any evidence of this. I’m found guilty, but not sentenced.

7/18/25- After being taunted by Judge Longsworth with this for the past year, I am finally sentenced to jail (during a hearing which had nothing to do with this) with no release date. I lose my freedom, lose custody of my kids, lose my home, am fined and ordered to pay defendants legal fees

Did this 3 week delay cause irreparable harm to the reunification?:

After completing intake, the first reunification session was scheduled to take place the week of 9/1/2024. The defendant skipped this session without any notice. The kids and I went to the appointment and sat there, he simply didn’t show up[14]. After Ms. Sunny was able to reach him, the defendant informed the therapist that he was vacationing out of state. Judge Longsworth did nothing about this.

The second attempt at a first reunification session was scheduled for 9/13/2024. This time the defendant showed up, only to intimidate and scare the therapist into quitting. The therapist’s resignation letter[15] was provided to Judge Longsworth, who, once again, declined to take any action against the defendant.

Michelle Sunny also testified about the defendant’s behavior.

Ultimately, Judge Longsworth found me guilty[16] for a three-week, unavoidable delay in intake, for an attempt at reunification therapy that the defendant proceeded to completely blow off.

[1] Exhibit 4- List of Associated Cases

[2] Exhibit 7- FIGC Orders

[3] Exhibit 21- Lifestance Call Log showing the date I spoke to them

[4] Exhibit 23- Michelle Sunny Text Messages

[5] Exhibit 24- My response to Defendant’s Show Cause for not scheduling complying with reunification therapy. I can’t locate Defendant’s Show Cause in my records

[6] Exhibit 26: 8/22/24 Transcript, pages 57-58

[7] Exhibit 26: 8/22/2024 Transcript, page 15

[8] Exhibit 26: 8/22/2024 Transcript, page 36

[9] Exhibit 26: 8/22/2024 Transcript, page 59

[10] Exhibit 26: 8/22/2024, page 11

[11] Exhibit 25- Michelle Sunny letter confirming requests for service

[12] Exhibit 26- Transcripts for 8/22/2024, page 4

[13] Exhibit 26: 8/22/24 Transcript, page 57

[14] Exhibit 27- Michelle Sunny email confirming appointment was skipped and not canceled. This was also charged to my insurance company as a skipped appointment.

[15] Exhibit 28- Michelle Sunny resignation letter

[16] Exhibit 26- 8/22/2024 Transcripts, pages 61-62