GAETANO FERRO ON CONNECTICUT DIVORCE IN 1990!

In 1990 Carolyn Battista of "The New York" times discussed Divorce in Connecticut with Attorney Gaetano Ferro!  Here we can see the seeds of today's divorce conflicts in yesterday's demands that people--women?-- "be reasonable." 

"CHANGES in society and in the law have brought changes in divorce, says Gaetano Ferro, a lawyer in Westport. Reasons for divorce as well as settlements and child-custody arrangements are changing, he said, yet many people are still dissatisfied with the process of of dissolving a marriage. 

Courts in the state deal reasonably well with divorce, and couples can minimize its trauma, said Mr. Ferro, who wrote and published ''The Divorce Book, A Step-by-Step Guide to Separation or Divorce in Connecticut.'' The Wilton resident is the chairman of the family-law section of the Connecticut Bar Association and a fellow of the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers..."

READ MORE:

http://www.nytimes.com/1990/08/26/nyregion/connecticut-q-a-gaetano-ferro-contemplating-divorce-be-reasonable.html?pagewanted=all

"HISTORY OF FAMILY COURT" BY EFFIE BELOU!

By Effie Belou

"Although the precursor of family court was really child or juvenile court, the framers of family court probably could not have fathomed it would become a tribunal for every family related dispute as it exists today.

The concept actually arose in the late nineteenth century when the first separate juvenile court was established in Chicago.  Massachusetts, Rhode Island and Indiana, under the auspices of the "common law doctrine" also established a separate court to try children.  It is here where the seeds of parens patriae, or protection for children against themselves or their parents began. With the common law system, the law is made not by legislators but by the courts and the judges.  It is often referred to as the "unwritten law."  In substance, common law lies in the published court decisions.  This offered judges within this system wide discretion to shape family law.

By the 1960s, Family Court became firmly established and as Justice Potter Stewart stated in Parham v. J.R. (1979) "issues involving the family are the most difficult that the courts have to face." Hence, it is no surprise that family law cases are some of the most disputable.  Family cases actually placed state and federal regulations against disputes brought by fathers, mothers, husbands, wives and children.  Consequently, some intricate legal doctrines have arisen trying to define the responsibilities of the family.  Ironically, these same doctrines have been controversial and given way to deep disagreements..."

For more information on Belou's History of Family Court, click on the link below:

http://www.parentsinaction.net/english/Family_Court/History%20of%20Family%20Court.htm