Families are coming forward saying they don't trust the state's Guardian ad Litem Program. Soon, a survey will be out for those in the system to share concerns and ideas to make it better. The State Guardian ad Litem Board defines the role as, "an objective adult to provide independent information about the best interests of the child." That person is a volunteer or state employee who acts … [Read more...]

NYC paid millions for flawed mental health reports. Family court judges relied on them routinely. Parents and children lived with the consequences.  THE YOUNG MOTHER was in danger of losing her child when she met with a psychologist in May of 2014. She had been living in a Manhattan shelter for victims of domestic violence, and New York City’s child welfare agency was considering taking … [Read more...]

For years, friends said, Tara O’Shea-Watson had been a victim of domestic violence. She had shown up on their doorsteps, battered and bloodied after alleged violent encounters with her estranged husband, they said. She had talked to them about taking her children and fleeing from their home in Commercial Township, N.J., but the courts reportedly would not let her move … [Read more...]

VICTORVILLE — The 38-year-old Apple Valley man accused of killing his 8-year-old son pleaded not guilty to murder Tuesday morning, court records show. Shakir Omari Nunn appeared in a Victorville courtroom. Nunn was arrested last week after Dominic Nunn was pronounced dead at Desert Valley Hospital on Jan. 5. Judge Cara Hutson set Nunn’s bail at $1 million after he was previously ineligible for … [Read more...]

The campaign working to unseat Santa Clara County Judge Aaron Persky, sparked by his sentencing of former Stanford University student Brock Turner to six months in county jail, released this weekend a detailed statement criticizing a state judicial commission that recently cleared him of any misconduct. The seven-page response calls the Commission on Judicial Performance's December report … [Read more...]