Corrupt Lawyers, Corrupt Process, or Both?....Sean Delevan

I have often blogged and advocated against corruption that is rampant within the family courts. When taking a closer look at what actually transpires inside the walls of family court buildings worldwide, I have to consider who is ultimately responsible.

This leads me to the question of whether the family court process corrupts the lawyers, or the lawyers corrupt the process. Then again, is it both, or is it possible that it is neither?

This question depends upon how you view and perceive things. In the Parental Alienation classes that I teach to both children and adults, I often give an example of how different people will view the same situation.

For example: At the scene of a bad car crash that possibly involved fatalities, how you process the scene will almost certainly depend upon what your profession or personal beliefs are.

If you are a priest, you may be looking to administer last rites if necessary.

If you are a police officer, you are looking to see what safety issues are currently present and what actions need to be taken.

If you are a teenager, you amy be marveling at the destruction (Ok that is my sick teenage years coming out)

If you are a detective, you will be looking to see if there is criminal activity and if there are surveillance cameras present to gather evidence.

If you are an injury lawyer, you amy see an opportunity to obtain a client.

And lastly, if you are a parent, you are praying that no children were hurt or killed.

It is a very simple and powerful point that can be applied to almsot any situation. People see things differently, depending on their values, profession, and beliefs. Because I am not a big fan of family court, I cannot simply dismiss this logic.

It is important to note that all lawyers are not the same. at least in my experience anyway. I have dealt with many lawyers in my life.

When I was a derelict to society, I often needed and depended on good legal representation to maintain my freedom in the criminal court system.

When I became injured, I had to seek legal representation to ensure that I received the benefits that I paid into (SSI, SSD).

And of course, when I entered the family court process, I needed to obtain legal representation.

In all three circumstances, things that truly mattered and would greatly affect my life were in the hands of lawyers. Unless I am mistaken, these lawyers all had to study, take, and pass the saem bar exam to get their law degree.

But yet, the horror stories that I heard from so many parents from all over the world, were always involving lawyers, judges, law guardians, and Magistrates from the family court process. My personal experience also validated many of the stories that I heard.

So many parents simply could not grasp how such atrocities and perversions of justice were allowed to continue. Making matters even worse was the fact that every avenue of relief (Appellate, Judicial Review, Bar Association) would not only ignore what was transpiring, they would actually be complicit in concealing the abuses.

Make no mistakes, I have met lawyers who practice in the family court system who are good people. They have worked hard, have strong morals, and openly acknowledge that the family court process is not made to benefit the family.

But their admissions are usually limited to personal conversations and they will never fully challenge the corruption that is taking place. Those who were stupid enough to try were blackballed, fined, disbarred, and starved for work.

This brings us back to the question of whether it is the family court lawyers that are the source of dysfunction and corruption, or if it is the process. This is a question that will never be answered fully.

Like many of our politicians and governmental bureaucracies, the laws and rules that society must pay by do not apply to themselves. There is never a fingerprint left on the crimes scene of family court that points to one individual.

No one, and everyone, is responsible for the destruction, cronyism, and blatant corruption that takes place. The most common example of this is the triangulation method that is used to strip a parent of a child. This method is so common and widely abused, that it has literally become standard operating procedure.

It goes like this:

• A parent goes before the court because they are being denied or have no access to their child because of the non-custodial parent
• The judge assigns a law guardian
• The law guardian asks for a forensic evaluation and to suspend or ask for supervised visits 
• The forensic evaluation recommends limit contact with the other parent
• The judge makes a ruling based upon the law guardians recommendation, which is based upon the forensic evaluator, whom bases some of their evaluation upon the opinion of the law guardian, as well as the parent who is engaging in the abusive behavior to begin with.

And there you go. Who is responsible?

The judge says I based my decision upon the forensic and the law guardian.

The law guardian says they based their opinion on the forensic.

The forensic says they simply based their decision on what they witnessed and heard from 3 to 6 1 hour visits  as well as the opinions of the law guardian.

So what was supposed to be a simple process to re-instate your rights, has actually become nothing more than a totally legal and well-oiled money making machine. Everyone that was listed in this process has been generating revenue as a result of your misery.

The law guardian would not receive revenue if she was not handed a case from the Judge or Magistrate.

The forensic evaluator would not receive revenue if it was not for the referral from the Judge or Magistrate.

The lawyers representing both parents would not be guaranteed to collect massive revenues if the process was streamlined and did not get delayed for 2-5 years while the evaluation process occurs.

And in the end, after all the money is counted, and the ruling is handed down, everyone who had a role in the destruction of the family involved can simply say: " I only acted upon what I had before me".

In the meantime, the parents have been put through hell, their lives are upended and hanging onto the false pretense that they will find relief in the next court hearing, and no one wins.

That is except the lawyers and court professionals.

So again, where does the problem lie?

Is it the lawyers who knowingly allow this to happen and profit from it, or is it the process itself?

I can say without hesitation that there is no other setting where lawyers run rampant and engage in conduct like they do in the family court system. While there may be some bad lawyers in the worker compensation and criminal court system, I have had nothing but either decent or extraordinary experiences with them.

Maybe it was simply because I was use to so much abuse and corruption from being in family court for 11+ years.

Or perhaps it was simply because they worked and practiced in a a system that actually follows laws, rights, and ethics.

Either way, I have seen good lawyers who really want to make a change within the family court, eventually concede that their hands are tied. I have even met with and worked with family court lawyers who openly admitted that if they pushed too hard on the system, the system would push back 100 times harder.

So do I believe that there is an answer to where the problem lies?

If I walk into a store with my sanity and well being intact, and come out dysfunctional, emotionally distraught, and financially devastated, I may think twice about entering that store again.

If thousands, if not millions, have also walked into that store normal and have come out in a similar state that I did, perhaps it is the store that is the problem, and not the worker behind the counter.

In short, stay the hell out of the store. 

That goes for good lawyers, parents, and everyone alike.

Sean Delevan

ps:  

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