Welcome Michigan Legislators!
We look forward to working with you on legislative initiatives to solve the systemic problems that plague our family law courts.
Alert: The Family Law Section of the State Bar of Michigan is working on legislation that would improve the decisions of the family courts in Michigan.
Click the button below to learn more!
First.
You should listen and engage when the Family Law Section of the State Bar of Michigan brings proposed legislation to you implementing systemic change. You likely know our lobbyist, Stephanie Johnson of Khoury Johnson & Leavitt. She is well informed on the issues facing family law attorneys and our clients. The Family Law Section has been working on modifying the legislation that created the family division, because the existing legislation has not worked out as intended. We are proposing that we change how judges are appointed elected, or assigned to the family law bench, imposing requirements on family law judges to have experience in family law cases or to obtain appropriate training, making changes so that the judges actually sit one judge for one family, and requiring family court plans that put judges with family law experience in the family law seat. We need your help to accomplish these tasks!
Click the button below to keep up with the various projects that the Family Law Section is working on!
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Stay tuned for an introductory comment by the Family Law Section on the significance and goal of the Dedicated Family Court legislation.
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Stay tuned to see some statistics about the legal background of judges whose cases are highlighted in Kids Caught in the Middle.
Second.
Educate yourself and your colleagues on problems that arise in family law cases. One way to do that is by reading Kids Caught in the Middle. You have a hard job, and very few of you have been legally trained. This is why it is even more important for you to engage with the Family Law Section.
Third.
Critically analyze proposals coming to you from legislative sponsors based on a single case. We have a saying in the appellate courts that “bad facts make bad law.” The same is true with family law legislation. Legislation written to solve a bad outcome in one person’s case will typically create broader problems for families.
Fourth.
Vote in favor of legislation that improves the family law bench and system. Broad-based family law organizations, like the Family Law Section and the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers, put a lot of thought and work into any legislation it proposes or supports. Proposed legislation is carefully vetted and debated by members of these organizations. These members are not just vested in one type of client (mother or father) or one type of issue. Instead, when the Family Law Section proposes legislation, you know it has been thought through on how it will work from many different angles, and more importantly, it will have the best interests of the child as its core goal.
Bad results when judges don’t follow the law do exist.
The petition “Stop Michigan Family Courts From Enabling Child Abuse” is currently live on change.org. It highlights a few cases (out of thousands reviewed with the similar results just in Oakland County, Michigan) that illustrate Court bias against mothers in custody cases involving domestic abuse and/or sexual abuse—and their heartbreaking results.