13 Comments

Family court judges have the power to endanger children. Mothers cannot protect their children in family court. New laws won't protect children. Male entitlement dominates family court. Fathers that request child custody usually get it. Judicial training won't protect children. Family court judges knowingly give custody to abusive males. Children are considered male property. Family court judges abuse their power. They face no consequences for their actions. Women must continue to unite and fight for a new system. Children deserve to be safe. Family court judges must lose their power. Family court must end.

Expand full comment

Jason’s mom DID seek support from the Family Court and was denied assistance. Once Jaxon was shot, they sealed the case.

Expand full comment

Thanks for letting us know. All of these cases have been sealed to cover up the judges' culpability.

Expand full comment

Agreed, judicial discretion must go. It’s a failure. The question is how to defeat it. It will take joining with and working organizations across the country to endorse and sign petitions— are you willing to do that?? Given that this is a huge lift, there should be simultaneous efforts to force legislators to fund longitudinal studies of the impact of judicial discretion on the actual bests interests of children, to collect and publish data in the costs of court processes to children and families, and to subpoena directives from court administrators to trial court judges. We can also try sting type operations to record what is happening off the court record— usually through court appointees and “referees”. Maybe approach retiree judges and other industry insiders whose consciences perhaps weigh on them (one can dream) to make statements supporting abolition of judicial discretion and restoration of rule of law.

Expand full comment

Sorry but there is no way to defeat judicial discretion as you put it. It is the foundation of Family Court. And there are other things baked into that system which deprive us of due process as well. The entire system needs to be shut down and our cases heard in a real court with juries where we will get more fair treatment.

Expand full comment

Completely agree with everything you say, except that even abolishing family courts and moving to civil courts isn't enough. As I said, litigation abuse in civil courts for years and years caused my grandfather's fatal heart attack, my father's fatal cancer (two separate cases), and also my grandmother's cancer and the stroke from which my mom never recovered.

Institutionalized misogyny in the family courts is the reality. And yes, the courts should be abolished. But it won't fix the problem, because the legal industry exercises massive undue influence on legislation and judicial process. They have replaced the law with discretion and right to litigate. They have convinced legislators that "due process" means that either party gets to litigate as long as they want, or at least far far beyond the capability of most Americans to physically, mentally, emotionally, socially, financially and in every other way to afford and endure the process.

I'm not a lawyer or an expert by any means-- but I believe that there is precedent that says that an undue and/or unequal burden of due process is unconstitutional. In any court- we should be suing. Because I've seen too many women (including myself) unable to afford an attorney to protect their kids or themselves. And the process is driving murder and suicide.

Just my opinion. Takes nothing away from the fact that family courts have institutionalized misogyny, routinely endanger and destroy children, and should be abolished.

Expand full comment

p.s. I don't think we will ever changes or abolish the system until court reform advocates across the country set aside what differences they can (temporarily) and join forces. The legal industry and courts are fantastic at blaming warring sexes to deflect from their own culpability. Legislators pretend to believe it and parrot it every single day.

Funding is needed from women's rights groups (who knows Melinda French Gates?) to run PSA ads.

Expand full comment

I attended Joan Meier’s session at the AFCC conference in Boston last Friday on Kayden’s Law. She presented plenty of data and evidence showing that the mistreatment of sexual abuse victims in family court already has a well documented history with our government.

She basically invited the family court judges and profiteers in attendance to please only rely on people who have real clinical experience with victims of abuse and not the forensic only practitioners of the reunification/education cartel.

Some attendees seemed openly very defensive of their golden goose, but it seems the data is already there that the family court crisis represents a dire public health emergency.

They knowingly prioritize parental contact over child safety because as we all know children are men’s property under the law.

I like Marlowe’s suggestions above to get insiders to come forward. I know Deann Salcido is a former CA judge and now whistleblower willing to talk about the biased training judges are subjected to that makes them less likely to believe abuse victims and mothers.

William James College has known financial conflicts with Overcoming Barriers and has been allowed to create a monopoly with former Judge Christina Harms to silence sex abuse victims all over Massachusetts and exploit them in reunification/victim economy related profits.

I hope to see you all at the next SIS forum!

Expand full comment

FYI the AFCC is an arm of the OBN. Dithering with them is performative. Begging judges to appoint people with training won’t amount to anything. Judges are not prioritizing “parental” contact over safety. That is another red herring. They are entitling Fathers because they are Men. The silencing of sex abuse victims is one entitlement. See you Saturday!

Expand full comment

need for training is a disingenuous, bullshit excuse

Expand full comment

What about creating a national “tipline” akin to those run by police? Not for use by litigants but only by insiders (court reporters, “good” appointees and attys, maybe retired judges, etc). Would need some legal advice on that.

Expand full comment

Has anyone studied the incidence of post-separation violence according to WHEN it occurs? Families go to courts for help. And we know the courts deliberately prolong litigation to coerce “settlements” under extraordinary duress— ratcheting up the tension on families already in crisis. Instead of helping, they deliberately turn the screws on parents and kids.

So does the data show an increase in violence the longer a family is in court??? I ask because if this is true—

1) we can show damages inflicted by denial of due process (since judicial process imposes and unequal and unbearable burden of process) and this can be used in class action suits

2) we can apply political pressure on legislators to enforce expedient child custody determinations and thus hopefully reduce violence.

I come at all this from the perspective of litigation abuse because (although I have experience with DV), it was civil litigation abuse that directly led to the deaths of both my father and grandfather, and it was litigation abuse in matrimonial courts that led to my child almost taking his life. In my view, and actually Joan Meier has said this too, litigation abuse is DV— and it is in every way incentivized, enabled, rewarded, and covered up for in every aspect of judicial procedure. It enormously profits fhe predatory legal industry and enables our courts to avoid accountability and administrative hassle of trials and appeals.

Expand full comment

The litigation abuse women face and the profiteering you talk about are two results of the agenda to entitle and empower men post-separation. Expedient litigation will not solve the problem. We are attacking the Core Cause of the Custody Crisis, not the symptoms as that will make no real difference and diverts from the real problem.

See: Down the Gender Neutral Rabbit and Money Rabbit Hole articles: https://womenscoalition.substack.com/s/rabbit-holes-of-the-post-separation

Expand full comment