Arizona Superior Court Case Summary

On October 14, 2015, I went to the Arizona Superior Court at Downtown Phoenix. I went to the room 503 in the Central Court Building, which is a family court. The judge that was in the room is Paul J McMurdie. He begin hearing at 1:30 P.M. and there are a 5 hearing during the day that I visited. One of the case that he hearing is FC2010-006759, Hall vs. Gollins. It is a case about child support, which one side of the parent owe the money and did not pay for the child support. But, by the time that he call out for hearing, Sandra Alicia Michelle Gollins did not present. So the judge issue an child support arrest warrant to her. The hearing end around 2:17 P.M. and me and my friend have a chance to talk with judge McMurdie. We ask him to explain about the case and the process

She argued that what is going on inside the temple is not a prostitution, but it is a religious practice. She call herself as a “mystic mother”. She said that her religion use sexual healer to heal the body and soul of the people. The money that people give to the sexual healer is an alms that people will to give similar to what people give offering in the church. She tried to use the First Amendment, freedom of religion to protect herself. She also cross-examine the undercover cop that went into the Goddess Temple as a women who looking to join their spiritual group. She ask the undercover cop a question like how long did you stay in the temple and what did you see in the temple. But some of her question went off topic. So Judge have to tell her what is a process of cross-examination and what limit can she ask the undercover cop. After that the judge stop the hearing and ask for 10-15 minutes recess, then she come to talk to us. We ask her what this case is about. The judge is very friendly and she ask us back where are we from and then she tell us about the case. We left the court room around 3:40