Spokane Superior Court Judge Paul Bastine (RPCV Brazil) has apparently decided there are enough bastards in the world and ruled that when Hughes' baby is born, it should be to a married woman.



Spokane Superior Court Judge Paul Bastine (RPCV Brazil) has apparently decided there are enough bastards in the world and ruled that when Hughes' baby is born, it should be to a married woman.

Appearance can't mask reality

Nicole Brodeur / Times staff columnist

If you think your family dynamics were chaotic over the holidays, consider the case of Shawnna Hughes.

She's the Spokane woman who was refused a divorce because she's pregnant by a man who is not her husband.

Spokane Superior Court Judge Paul Bastine has apparently decided there are enough bastards in the world and ruled that when Hughes' baby is born, it should be to a married woman.

No matter that Hughes' estranged husband, Carlos, was jailed in 2002 for beating her.

No matter that Hughes filed for divorce — uncontested — last April.

No matter that the baby belongs to the boyfriend Hughes hopes to marry before she gives birth in March.

Bastine doesn't want anything cut before the umbilical cord.

Hughes' lawyer, Terri Sloyer, is appealing.

It's an interesting case with which to kick off the new year, when polls are showing we are sick of the love 'em-and-sleaze 'em of Britney and Paris.

Are we so sick of it, though, that we are going back to a Culture of Appearances?
(Mom may have a couple of black eyes, sure. But in the eyes of the law, her baby will be legitimate.)

Bastine believes the rights of the unborn override a woman's right to divorce; a 1981 state Supreme Court decision allowed courts to put a divorce on hold until issues of child custody are resolved.

"It's not the child's fault that mom got pregnant," Bastine said at a November hearing after which he rescinded Hughes' divorce. "The answer is, you don't go around doing that when you're not divorced."

So does that mean that when you're married, you go around letting your husband beat the crap out of you?

I understand Bastine's trying to put the brakes on a society that would rather keep driving than pull over and think, much less glance in the rearview mirror.

There were 27,205 divorces in Washington state in 2002. (There were also 39,518 marriages, so hope officially springs eternal.)

Here is a judge using one divorce to say enough is enough.

But he couldn't have chosen a worse one for making his pious point.

Sure, it would have been nice if Hughes had waited until her first family was legally, properly dispensed with before starting another.

But "properly" goes out the window when that woman is being physically abused.

So I wonder: Is Bastine really looking out for the baby? Because it doesn't seem smart to give a wife-beater any kind of rights or access to mother and child.

Hughes may not have made the best choice before, or even this time.

She stated in court records that her boyfriend, Chauncey Jacques, pleaded guilty to a gang-related shooting that blinded an elderly man.

But she is choosing to start over. To stop her in the name of appearances, well, that we can see right through.

Reach Nicole Brodeur at 206-464-2334 or nbrodeur@seattletimes.com.

She'd stick with her sock monkey.

Copyright © 2005 The Seattle Times Company

When this story was posted in January 2005, this was on the front page of PCOL:

Coleman: Peace Corps mission and expansion Senator Norm Coleman, Chairman of the Senate Subcommittee that oversees the Peace Corps, says in an op-ed, A chance to show the world America at its best: "Even as that worthy agency mobilizes a "Crisis Corps" of former Peace Corps volunteers to assist with tsunami relief, I believe an opportunity exists to rededicate ourselves to the mission of the Peace Corps and its expansion to touch more and more lives."

RPCVs active in new session of Congress In the new session of Congress that begins this week, RPCV Congressman Tom Petri has a proposal to bolster Social Security, Sam Farr supported the objection to the Electoral College count, James Walsh has asked for a waiver to continue heading a powerful Appropriations subcommittee, Chris Shays will no longer be vice chairman of the Budget Committee, and Mike Honda spoke on the floor honoring late Congressman Robert Matsui.

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January 8, 2005: This Week's Top Stories Zambia RPCV Karla Berg interviews 1,374 people on Peace 7 Jan Breaking Taboo, Mandela Says Son Died of AIDS 6 Jan Dreadlocked PCV raises eyebrows in Africa 6 Jan RPCV Jose Ravano directs CARE's efforts in Sri Lanka 6 Jan Persuading Retiring Baby Boomers to Volunteer 6 Jan Inventor of "Drown Proofing" retires 6 Jan NPCA Membership approves Board Changes 5 Jan Timothy Shriver announces "Rebuild Hope Fund" 5 Jan More Water Bottles, Fewer Bullets 4 Jan Poland RPCV Rebecca Parker runs Solterra Books 2 Jan Peace Corps Fund plans event for September 30 Dec RPCV Carmen Bailey recounts bout with cerebral malaria 28 Dec more top stories...

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Latest: RPCVs and Peace Corps provide aid Peace Corps made an appeal last week to all Thailand RPCV's to consider serving again through the Crisis Corps and more than 30 RPCVs have responded so far. RPCVs: Read what an RPCV-led NGO is doing about the crisis an how one RPCV is headed for Sri Lanka to help a nation he grew to love. Question: Is Crisis Corps going to send RPCVs to India, Indonesia and nine other countries that need help?

The World's Broken Promise to our Children Former Director Carol Bellamy, now head of Unicef, says that the appalling conditions endured today by half the world's children speak to a broken promise. Too many governments are doing worse than neglecting children -- they are making deliberate, informed choices that hurt children. Read her op-ed and Unicef's report on the State of the World's Children 2005.

Changing of the Guard With Lloyd Pierson's departure, Marie Wheat has been named acting Chief of Staff and Chief of Operations responsible for the day-to-day management of the Peace Corps. Although Wheat is not an RPCV and has limited overseas experience, in her two years at the agency she has come to be respected as someone with good political skills who listens and delegates authority and we wish her the best in her new position.

Our debt to Bill Moyers Former Peace Corps Deputy Director Bill Moyers leaves PBS next week to begin writing his memoir of Lyndon Baines Johnson. Read what Moyers says about journalism under fire, the value of a free press, and the yearning for democracy. "We have got to nurture the spirit of independent journalism in this country," he warns, "or we'll not save capitalism from its own excesses, and we'll not save democracy from its own inertia."

RPCV safe after Terrorist Attack RPCV Gina Abercrombie-Winstanley, the U.S. consul general in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia survived Monday's attack on the consulate without injury. Five consular employees and four others were killed. Abercrombie-Winstanley, the first woman to hold the position, has been an outspoken advocate of rights for Arab women and has met with Saudi reformers despite efforts by Saudi leaders to block the discussions.

Is Gaddi Leaving? Rumors are swirling that Peace Corps Director Vasquez may be leaving the administration. We think Director Vasquez has been doing a good job and if he decides to stay to the end of the administration, he could possibly have the same sort of impact as a Loret Ruppe Miller. If Vasquez has decided to leave, then Bob Taft, Peter McPherson, Chris Shays, or Jody Olsen would be good candidates to run the agency. Latest: For the record, Peace Corps has no comment on the rumors.

The Birth of the Peace Corps UMBC's Shriver Center and the Maryland Returned Volunteers hosted Scott Stossel, biographer of Sargent Shriver, who spoke on the Birth of the Peace Corps. This is the second annual Peace Corps History series - last year's speaker was Peace Corps Director Jack Vaughn.

Read the stories and leave your comments.