According to Chief Justice Chase T. Rogers, "If members of the public want to see where some of the most difficult court cases in Connecticut are handled, they need only to visit Family Court, where painful and heart wrenching scenarios unfold every day. These cases, by their very nature, involve the breakdown of a relationship between two adults, the custody of their children and the division of their finances.
Quite simply, it does not get more personal than that.
So, it's not surprising that dissatisfaction with the outcome of some high-conflict Family Court cases has made its way to the General Assembly. As a result, lawmakers and the Judicial Branch are now considering possible changes to the guardian ad litem process used by Family Court judges in highly contested custody cases. The Judicial Branch will continue to work with the legislature to make improvements to the system — among them, the addition of family relations counselors dedicated to mediating higher conflict cases."
To read more of Chief Justice Roger's remarks, please click on the link below:
http://articles.courant.com/2014-03-07/news/hc-op-rogers-connecticut-family-courts-conflict-re-20140307_1_family-court-mediation-cases
After reading this, I wonder when the last time Chief Justice Rogers observed a family court proceeding in Stamford Family Court. There, the same judges appoint the same small group of attorneys as guardian ad litems (GAL's) and attorneys (AMC's) for the minor children of parents going through divorce.
ReplyDeleteThese court-appointed attorneys routinely bill $500 per hour. Once introduced, every case becomes "high conflict" -- because at $500 per hour these individuals have every incentive to keep a case going, sometimes for years. The math is shocking: $500/hour x 40/hours per week x 50 weeks = a potential annual compensation of $4 Million.
There is zero oversight and, having immunity from lawsuit, the results are as to be expected: parents are billed tens and sometimes hundreds of thousands of dollars by unscrupulous but well-connected court pets who sometimes do not even bother to meet the children they are appointed to represent.
Its time to stop blaming the taxpayers, and place the blame for this scandal squarely where it belongs: on the unscrupulous GAL's and AMC's who operate with impunity; and on the judges who appoint them and rubber-stamp their outrageous fees.