How Spousal Support Entitles People and Stifles Personal Growth

Everyone should read the story of a Navy Lieutenant Commander who after joining the military in her teens and working hard to advance herself finds herself having to forfeit a percentage of her military retirement to her ex-husband. She was married for eight years and they had no kids.

This is pathetic and just as pathetic if the genders were reversed.

State Of Georgia Sues Carl Malamud For Publishing The State's Own Laws

In an amazing move, the state of Georgia has sued Carl Malamud for copyright infringement for publishing the state's own laws. As Slashdot points out the TechDirt article went easy on legislatures as they only used the word "ridiculous" 10 times.

Although Georgia does publish its basic law, the issue here is the annotated law which the state charges money to get. The important point is that in Georgia the annotated law is the official law.

So in Georgia, you have to pay money to find out what the laws are that you are supposed to follow. I suppose that is better than Minnesota where the laws are freely available but just ignored as DivorceInjustice.org demonstrates.

Families Civil Liberties Union (FCLU)

The Families Civil Liberties Union (FCLU) is a national organization based in New York.  their mission statement:

Our mission is the education and promotion of equalized gender rights, fair and standardized laws and practices nationally in relation to Family and Domestic Relations Law. We believe no child should be without either parent, except in rare cases of abuse, and the laws need to reflect that belief. We believe matrimonial attorneys and the judicial system enforcing Family and Domestic Relations Law should be held accountable to providing a system that is fair, unbiased and benefits the family as a whole.

is hard to argue with yet the reality is that many of those who benefit from a an unjust judicial system work every day to thwart FCLU's goals.

I am amazed that I have not stumbled across them earlier as they appear to be a large active organization and I do not think I disagree with a single one of their key issues.

The Divorce Industry Requires Oversight and Reform

• Divorce Is Just A Breakup. It Shouldn’t Cost Your Life Savings And Destroy Your Children’s Future.

• Divorce Has No Place In Court. Divorcing Couples Are Not Criminals Yet Are Treated Like It Every Day.

• Divorce Has Become A $100 Billion Dollar Business That Feeds Off Our Life Savings, College Funds And Children’s Mental Health And Future

• President Of The United States Must Create A Special Commission To Conduct A National Review Of The Divorce Process

• Protection Of Pre-Marital Assets Must Be Standard Rule in all States.  The Current Need For Pre-Nuptial Agreements Is One More System Created Trap Designed For Attorney Revenue.  Change The Laws And Assets Are Automatically Protected – For Men AND Women.  And Tens Of Thousands Of Legal Fee Dollars Stay In Your Children’s College Funds.

• Financial Caps On Litigation Costs Must Be Established – Fixed Fee, Lump Sum Contracts Based On Percent Of Salary

• Divorce Process Must Have Term Limit – 3-6 Months Maximum.  You can buy or sell a million dollar home in 30

• days with complete protection due to regulations and reform.

• Judges Must Be Barred From Court Appointing Vendors

• Judges Must Not Act As Tax Payer Funded Collection Agents For Their Preferred, Court Appointed Vendors

• Attorney Ethics Violation Review Boards Must Not Be Run By Attorneys

• Attorney Ethics Certification Program Must Be Made Industry Standard – See CEMA™ Program

Child Custody Must Be Shared Physical Custody

• Equal Legal & Physical Custody Must Become Standard Rule

• Court Created Custody Disputes Fuel The $100 Billion Industry

• It Is Not The Government’s Place To Subjectively Judge Our Private Family Affairs From The Opaque View Of The Stand

• Primary Caregiver Concept Must Be Abolished – Does Not Reflect this Century.  Whether Working At Home Or The Office, It All Counts As Primary Caregiver Time.

Gender Neutrality Is Law And Must Be Upheld

• Discrimination Is Illegal In All 50 States Except Family Court

• Gender Bias Must be Eliminated

Pendente Lite Support IS Alimony

• Clock Starts Day One Of Divorce Filing

• PL Support Must Count Dollar For Dollar Towards Alimony

• Lack Of Rules Encourages Divorce Delays And False Accusations

Alimony Must Reflect This Century

• Women Are Well Educated And Capable – The Damaging System is Reversing

• Alimony Must Be Based On Equal Rights

• System Must Be Fair With Clear Guidelines On The Award Of Spousal Support

Corruption in Connecticut

Some good news. The DOJ has created a task force to investigate corruption in Connecticut.

[There were] nearly 100 parents with open family court cases who courageously testified before the legislature that they were victimized by predatory court professionals, many of whom were AFCC affiliates allegedly engaged in case rigging, healthcare scams, false billing scams, mortgage fraud, extortion, and other types of misconduct through the State’s publicly funded programs and services.

State Representative and Majority Whip Mimmie Gonzalez has posted more on her website.

We can only hope the task force brings real reform to the justice system in Connecticut and eventually other states as well.

The Fraternity: Lawyers and Judges in Collusion by Justice John F. Molloy

The late Justice John F. Molloy had an illustrious career serving on the Arizona Superior Court bench as well as the Chief Justice to Court of Appeals for the State of Arizona.

“The once honorable profession of law now fully functions as a bottom-line business, driven by greed and the pursuit of power and wealth, even shaping the laws of the United States outside the elected Congress and state legislatures.”
-- Justice John F. Molloy

A few years before he died in 2008 he published The Fraternity: Lawyers and Judges in Collusion which exposed wide spread unethical actions and criminal corruption within the legal system.

There are ethical lawyers and judges but very few of them are willing to speak out on corruption within the legal system. John Molloy was one who did and will be forever be remembered as true advocate for justice.

The book can be purchased at Amazon (non affiliate link) - Be sure to read the comments.

New York Makes Some Progress on Alimony Reform.

The New York State Legislature has passed significant revisions to the state's alimony laws. The revisions are modest but at least they seem to be moving in the right direction.

Ta-Nehisi Coates On Police Brutality

Fresh Air has an interview today with The Atlantic magazine's national corespondent Ta-Nehisi Coates on growing up black and in fear of the police. As with lawyers there are many fine police officers but the culture too often tends to protect the bad ones. Often with devastating results.

According to Coates, despite the media's recent attention to police violence against black men, he does not believe such incidents are on the rise; rather, he says, injustices have been occurring for years — and many of them can be traced to America's flawed judicial system.

As a non-minority (although as an Irish Catholic American from Minnesota I have about the same loathing for institutions such as the Klu Klux Klan and confederate symbols as most blacks), I'll admit that in the past I may not have had as much sympathy for allegations of discrimination and brutality by public officials as I now have after seeing just how dysfunctional and often criminal the justice system can be.

When you experience injustice yourself, it binds you in a deep way to others who have also experienced injustice.