Judge Points Finger at 10-Year-Old's iPhone, Likens It To a Spy Tool for One of Two Warring Parents
Blaming a 10-year-old’s iPhone for creating further problems in a hard-fought child custody case, a New York judge has likened it to a spy tool for the noncustodial parent and called for it to be replaced with an ordinary cell phone.
Saying that the boy uses it to make photos of his dad, with whom he lives, Brooklyn Supreme Court Justice Jeffrey Sunshine called it “too much of an intrusion” into the life of the father, John Hannigan, reports the New York Daily News.
He also said during an emergency hearing today that the boy should continue to live with Hannigan, who won custody under a temporary 2007 order, even though he wants to be with his mother and has reportedly threatened suicide if he is forced to continue living with his dad.
His mother, Fordham University adjunct law professor Annemarie McAvoy, called the judge’s decision “ridiculous” and “out of touch.” She said her son uses the iPhone to video-chat with her and do his homework.
An earlier Daily News article provides additional details about the custody case, and notes that a claimed suicide threat by the boy led to a change of judge, although neither side asked for it, and an emergency custody trial that is now ongoing.
Updated at 6:40 p.m. to include information about McAvoy’s legal background and link to earlier Daily News article.
