PONTIAC, Mich. – Two cases are before Michigan judges, hearing testimony from divorced parents regarding their rights to decide if their child should be vaccinated.
Rebecca Bredow and her former husband James Horne were in court Wednesday. Bredow spent nearly a week in jail for refusing a judge’s order to vaccinate her 9-year-old son and lost primary custody.
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Today, Lori Ann Matheson was in court with her former husband for a similar hearing. Matheson has religious objections to vaccinations and does not want their 2-year-old daughter vaccinated.
The judge heard testimony last week and was forced to stop the mother from testifying about expert medical needs. The case continued Wednesday with testimony derailing from the focus of custody.
Matheson’s attorney called a surprise “expert” witness to the stand, giving only 24 hours of notice.
Dr. Toni Lynn Bark took the stand and Matheson’s attorney attempted to qualify her as an expert witness in vaccine injuries and the adverse reactions of vaccines. Horne’s attorney objected because she is not an immunologist. Matheson’s attorney resorted to qualifing the doctor as an expert in general medicine.
Judge Karen McDonald tried giving Matheson’s attorney opportunities to follow the proper procedures in qualifying an expert witness. She lost her patience after several attempts of laying foundation and even had to tell Bark how to behave on the stand.
“The proper court procedure is not being followed. I can go in the back and do the research myself and I have, and it takes not a lot of time to learn how to introduce an expert witness. It hasn’t been done. Read the case law,” McDonald said. “There’s a way to do this and I can’t do your job for you.”
Court was adjourned and the hearing will continue Nov. 14.
Watch the courtroom frustration below:
Click here for more information about vaccines from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
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