Complacency in the Family Court System

Note to the reader:The genders used in this article are not necessarily the reality. I have used them as male and female only for clarification of roles. If the genders where reversed, the outcome would be the same. This is an actual case. Although it took place in James City County, Virginia, it happens in courtrooms across America. And the judges allow it to continue. I allow the reader to draw their own conclusions as to why it is being allowed.

He sits high above the people. He is the very picture of decorum, dressed in his black robes, gavel in hand. He is ready to strike down anything that he considers to be detrimental to one side.

Beside him sits his clerk, ready to advise. She leans toward him and whispers as the parties to the case take their respective places. The Judge listens intently while staring at the people involved. A slight shake of his head indicates recognition the message conveyed by his clerk.

And so begins another case in Family Court. A case that will drag on for months, even though the outcome is already known to all parties. All parties accept the person who will loose.

The child, whose life will be effected the rulings of the judge, is used as a tool. The person with the most money to spend on lawyers is instructed on how to use him. The judge even assigns a book for the parties to read. The book is viewed by one side on what not to do, while the other, uses it as a manual for their own monetary gain.

And make no mistake; the outcome is all about money, not happiness or fairness. Least of all, the welfare of the child.