Montgomery, Alabama- I have been blessed during my travels throughout Alabama with this campaign by meeting some incredible citizens of this state. Such hope and optimism are expressed. I find myself uplifted by their stories and words of encouragement. However, when discussing our courts, one problem comes up more than any other– people are feeling victimized by our domestic/family court system.
This is not some minor issue either. Sadly, people who have had to deal with the domestic/family court arena are troubled by their experience. While it is one thing for people to feel disappointed with a judge’s decision; it is another issue entirely to feel victimized.
Some say the trouble is domestic courts deal with raw personal issues and no one can ever be fully vindicated no matter what the outcome. While that is true to some extent it does not minimize the repeated nightmares that people have expressed to me concerning their court experiences. Mothers, fathers and children feel harmed by our domestic courts.
Something seems to be inherently wrong and I suspect the system must bear some responsibility. I discussed this matter with several leading divorce/domestic law attorneys and they too are frustrated with our system. Again something seems to be systematically wrong in this area of the law.
During my first 10 years of law practice I handled a large number of divorces, child custody and child support modification matters. During that time I noticed a lot of appeal court decisions that did not make sense. These decisions often created a tension between the parties that did not need to be there. It seemed as if the will of the appellate courts was being forcibly imposed on families without the benefit of a clear understanding of the entire dynamic.
Many people do not realize that most divorce and domestic law is what we call “judge law” and not statutory law written by the legislature. For the most part, written opinions of the Court of Civil Appeals and the Alabama Supreme Court are the body of legal authority governing divorces and child custody matters.
Trial judges must follow appellate decisions to guide the trial court rulings. If appellate opinions are unworkable then trial courts are adversely restricted and limited in their legal decisions. Frankly, one size does not fit all and no two family situations are alike.
The Supreme Court is the state’s highest court and it must shoulder much of the criticism for this problem. It is here that the systemic problems with our domestic and family courts are to be found. Several leading divorce/domestic attorneys believe that one of the biggest problems with the appeals courts is that no judge or justice has any real life legal experience in this area of the law. We could not think of a single judge or justice who has actually tried a divorce case or child custody matter or a child support modification. (However, I have not fully investigated this understanding.) Consequently, it is no surprise that unworkable and potentially harmful rules of law govern this area.
Appeals judges only see black and white typewritten transcripts of judicial proceedings under appellate review. They are not in the trial courtroom. They do not see any of the emotion or other unspoken mannerisms used to evaluate people and surmise the truth about a given situation. They miss the sarcasm in the voice, they do not see the pregnant pauses, rolling of eyes, the flashes of anger, and they do not see the innocent fear of children’s faces. They miss all of this and yet it is the Appeals Court Judges that establish the law based only on reviews of trial court proceedings.
In fact even trial court judges only see a small portion of the story due to restrictions on admissibility of evidence and time restraints. However, attorneys with courtroom experience see much more of the whole picture. They have lived with the case for months and spent untold hours meeting with clients and witnesses along with discussions with opposing counsel and mediators.
Those of us who practice domestic law know first hand the complex human drama that surrounds a domestic law case. Accomplished trial lawyers are much more involved than could reasonably be expected of a trial judge. My election to the Supreme Court would bring much needed insight and first hand professional knowledge to this area of the law. I will clearly be the voice of fathers, mothers and children in a way that has been grossly ignored. You cannot expect people to know something if they have never experienced it.
My election may not fix every problem with the Domestic Family court system but at least we would have an accomplished courtroom lawyer who has real life experience in this area of the law on our State’s Highest Court.
