Angry dad tries to oust judge who denied him custody of his kids

MOSCOW, Idaho – An irate self-employed carpet cleaner has launched a one-man campaign to oust the magistrate who denied him custody of his children.

For the past two weeks, Darrell Frink, 40, has been posting signs around Latah County calling for voters to oppose retention of Magistrate William Hamlett. Frink claims Hamlett represents the biggest thing wrong with the court system – that people have to spend all their money on attorneys just to defend their rights and families.

“How do you get your constitutional rights when you don’t have the money?” Frink asked.

Hamlett, who has been on the bench for 19 years, admitted Frink’s campaign has voters around the county asking him about the signs, but he said “you don’t know what to respond to.”

The magistrate flatly denied Frink’s charge that he is biased toward women in domestic cases.

Like all other magistrates, Hamlett is on the Nov. 2 ballot in a retention election. Voters either support or oppose another four-year term. If a majority opposes him, the judicial district magistrate commission will appoint a successor, who will stand for retention at the next election.

Hamlett presided over Frink’s child custody petition following his divorce. According to court records, Frink owes back child support.

When he appeared in court without an attorney, Hamlett said he advised Frink he needed representation. Frink asked for a court-appointed attorney, but state law does not allow that in civil cases.

He ultimately lost custody of his children and has since been lambasting the courts as a system that fails to put children first and focus on the real issues in custody cases without forcing parents to mortgage their lives.