There is a pattern in most domestic violence custody cases that would help courts understand child custody disputes better and avoid mistakes that place children in jeopardy. In most cases, during the relationship the father wanted or demanded the mother provide most of the child care. In any other type of litigation, this pattern would be recognized as an admission by the father that the mother … [Read more...]
Our Justice System Must Become More Victim-Centric – Opinion by Retired Judge Eugene M. Hyman
If the pandemic has had any kind of benefit, it’s that it has raised awareness of the functions and dysfunctions of our courts and our prisons. But if the actions we’re taking to correct these problems aren’t considered thoroughly and acted on properly, the cost will likely come at the expense of children and victims of domestic violence and other violent crimes. Read more here. Judge … [Read more...]
He Beat Her Repeatedly. Family Court Tried to Give Him Joint Custody of Their Children.
Jennifer Moston was about seven months pregnant when, she said, her husband grabbed her by the arms, picked her up and threw her against the staircase. Each time she tried to get up, he pushed her down again. Such abusive episodes continued for several years, she said, until 2016, when he allegedly tried to strangle her. She went to the police and filed for divorce. It seemed obvious to … [Read more...]
‘Women Are Routinely Discredited’: How Courts Fail Mothers and Children Who Have Survived Abuse
This report from The Fuller Project, in partnership with the Guardian, details the routine family court failure to believe and protect mothers and children who have survived abuse and how abusive partners using the courts to control and harass their current and former partners. “I’m losing everything,” says Marissa, who learned last September, in the middle of an already contentious custody … [Read more...]
7-Year-Old Julissia Batties Killed Inside Mom’s Bronx Apartment, Despite History of Abuse Detailed in Court Papers
The long and ultimately fatal custody battle lost by a devastated Bronx grandmother forced to return a 7-year-old girl to her mother and the apartment where the child was fatally beaten is detailed in court documents. Little Julissia Batties, removed from the custody of doting grandmother Yolanda Davis in April 2020, was punched eight times early Tuesday morning by a teenage half-brother, … [Read more...]