Feb. 6, 2013

“Panic provides a rationale for action, sometimes overreaction or even manipulation. As such, it is the subject of heated accusation and denial that can create a swirl of confusion and frustration.

“Nonetheless, some lessons stand out in the long history of panic. There is no basis for imagining that the frenzied 19th century reactions to disease are a slumbering beast waiting to be roused. Too much government infrastructure and information stand between populations and unfettered panic….”

– From “A Brief History of Panic” by Amy L. Fairchild, David Merritt Johns and Kavita Sivara Makrishnan, public health researchers at Columbia University  (the New York Times, January 28, 2013)

“Frenzied…. reactions” to disease epidemics may have subsided since the 19th century, but they were crucial in animating the day-care ritual-abuse prosecutions of the 1980s and ’90s. And “government infrastructure” – that is, district attorneys’ offices – wasn’t a deterrent but an accelerant!

Nov. 2, 2014

“For District Attorney – Nancy Lamb: Two equally motivated and capable candidates, Democrat Nancy Lamb and Republican Andrew Womble, have mounted compelling political campaigns to claim the job of district attorney of the 1st Prosecutorial District.

“While both have strong credentials for practicing law and for public service, they are nevertheless significantly divided by experience. Lamb’s three decades as a practicing prosecutor is an overwhelming advantage for ensuring that the office of district attorney is guided with seasoned wisdom and trade knowledge.

“Additionally, Lamb’s long trial experience and prosecutorial insight is critically important to lead an office of assistant DAs….”

– From “Our View: TDA endorses Lamb….” in the Elizabeth City Daily Advance (Nov. 1, paywalled)

Although The Daily Advance gushes over Nancy Lamb’s “long trial experience and prosecutorial insight” and her “seasoned wisdom and trade knowledge,” the paper somehow neglects to offer even a single example.

How about the Little Rascals Day Care case?

But TDA apparently doesn’t consider Lamb’s nationally-notorious  courtroom star turn worthy of even a mention, either in its endorsement or – this belongs in journalism’s “Believe It or Not!” – in the 17 news stories it wrote about her campaign.

Feb. 26, 2016

“What a waste it would be to force Bucks County (Pa.) Judge Alan Rubenstein from the bench. At 70, he remains sharp and vibrant, a jurist of impeccable credentials with vast institutional knowledge of Bucks County, not to mention historic accomplishments.

“As district attorney, Rubenstein tried more cases than any prosecutor in county history. And he was the only county DA to be elected four times, a measure of how well he did the job and how much voters trusted and appreciated him. Indeed, they rewarded him with a seat on the county bench, a post Rubenstein continues to relish and is in no hurry to relinquish.

“Yet, Rubenstein and every judge across the state faces mandatory retirement at age 70… unless voters extend the mandatory retirement age (to 75)….”

– From “Sound judgment: Too soon to retire,” editorial in the Bucks County Courier Times (Feb. 23) cached here

“No tribute to Judge Alan Rubenstein is complete without mentioning his wise and courageous decision not to pursue charges in the Breezy Point Day School case in 1990…. Countless other prosecutors across the nation fell hard for the ‘satanic ritual abuse’ moral panic, but Judge Rubenstein kept his head, investigated thoroughly and protected Bucks County from the nightmare that befell towns such as Manhattan Beach, Calif., and Edenton, N.C.”

— From my letter to the editor of the Courier Times (Feb. 26)

Unless Pennsylvania voters approve that referendum on the April 26 ballot, Rubenstein’s valuable service will be limited to fill-in duty.

Some septuagenarian judges, of course, should stay retired.

Oct. 5, 2016

Richard Wexler’s unequivocal recollection of how the American Professional Society on the Abuse of Children promoted the “satanic ritual abuse” day-care panic made me curious about what APSAC might have to say about the subject today.

I was startled to see this description of a presentation at the organization’s most recent (June 21-25) annual colloquium in New Orleans:

“From disco to pet rocks, our past is littered with things which make us wonder, what in the world were we thinking? The field of child maltreatment and interpersonal violence has certainly had its share of misguided ideas, from satanic ritual abuse hysteria to multiple personality disorder treatment centers.  How did this field get so many things so wrong?”

Sorry I missed such a provocative self-examination! [I’ll post APSAC’s video soon.]

I asked Wexler, executive director of the National Coalition for Child Protection Reform, whether sanctioning the pet rock analogy might signify APSAC’s tacit disowning of  the “satanic ritual abuse” myth.

“I wouldn’t call it disowning,” he said. “Over the years their position seems to have evolved into ‘Well, yes, some people may have been a little overzealous, but…’  At one point, even Roland Summit, in his ‘Tunnels’ article, no less, tried to cast himself as falling between two extremes in the debate.

“What they have not done, of course, is apologize to the children victimized by the McMartin madness, and withdraw the awards given to Summit and [Kee] MacFarlane.”

Nor, of course, have they apologized to the wrongfully prosecuted defendants in cases such as McMartin and Little Rascals.