Karen Read: Massachusetts Corruption and Analysis: Plummeting Trust in Our Justice System and the Devastating Impacts on our Well Being

Abuse in The Massachusetts Family Court System. The Karen Read murder case put a spotlight on corruption in Massachusetts. There's opportunity right now to have open dialogue to make positive change.

The Unbalanced Scales of Justice

Massachusetts State Supreme Judicial Court Chief Justice Kimberly Budd recently acknowledged plummeting trust in our courts via her annual State of the Judiciary speech.

Allow me to illustrate one division.

In a contentious divorce, it goes beyond the problem that the parent with greater financial means and right connections has essentially an insurmountable advantage, acknowledged by Budd stating "many believe two systems of justice exist. There is one system for those with influence, connections, and power, and another one for everyone else."

Clearly true, but why and how to address? Bad behavior is enabled and rewarded, while the well-being of children is not the primary driver; it's the career/financial well-being of everyone involved where children/parents are used as pawns.

While hinting the general public has input, Budd stresses "we actively solicit input from attorneys and other court users, as well as court employees, about what we can do better." People who've been abused via the nightmare of a contentious process could provide actual solutions but aren't sought by those who're great at saying the right thing but will primarily seek input from people who play the courts, similar to other closed loop clubs that have no real transparency such as our Statehouse.

State of the Judiciary Address by Supreme Judicial Court Chief Justice Kimberly S. Budd: https://www.mass.gov/news/2024-state-of-the-judiciary-address-by-supreme-judicial-court-chief-justice-kimberly-s-budd

What chance does a person with modest means have against not only an ex who is well off financially but is also skilled at working a system that bends over and enables conniving behavior within a swarming sea of "expert" therapists, lawyers, and finally judges facing mile-high piles of paperwork/cases? Everyone smells opportunity from hapless well-intentioned participants in this coldest of games.

Small example: court will treat a missed phone call with the same intensity as actual child abuse, quibbling over toddler-like squabbles and completely contradictory rules/norms, in the process losing any sense of justice and common-sense and detaching from realities of family life. One solution is standard simple divorce agreements automatically enforced from the start.

Deviations from simplicity should be hard but we have it the other way around where freshly scorned ex's and their hungry lawyers try working out endless details, in the process cataloging why the other side is wrong/bad and when the "agreement" inevitably collapses under its own weight in can take years and piles of money to sometimes make the tiniest change. If one side plays games, both sides are automatically considered at fault.

It's a heavenly system for gaslighting, narcissistic behavior, and bureaucracy.

The reforms that are desperately needed to improve our lives cannot occur via the route of establishment Democrats or Republicans. Thus, both political parties need to be relentlessly exposed for their insider games and hypocrisy. However, on an even deeper level, it is even more important to fully expose how the lawyer-driven culture has completely taken over society, with immense consequences. There really is only one political party in Massachusetts, with attorneys significantly overrepresented in the Statehouse, as well as other state institutions. The devil has found the perfect playground, as the law allows him to quietly have his hands on every single facet of life for adults and children.

As everyone knows, divorce rates have skyrocketed the past couple of decades, with significantly more children now being raised in split households. Divorce in and of itself is not necessarily a problem, especially if we lived in a world where common sense and decency ruled. However, this is not the world we live in. The business of divorce is huge and whenever money is the driving force for decision-making, look out.

There has rightly been growing awareness about the negative consequences regarding the medical-industrial complex on our health. Our health care system has essentially become one giant drug dealer. In addition, it has been good to see the hard work that has been put into raising awareness by many organizations about the problem of domestic violence. As a result, the courts and attorney-class are more aware of this issue. However, whether willfully or because of institutional ignorance, our court system is woefully unprepared in dealing with mental abuse, which is not as obvious to detect compared to physical abuse.

Not only is our system tragically unprepared with dealing with our growing, more white-collar style of narcissistic and sociopathic mental abuse, the court system, as it is set up, actively encourages this type of behavior, which is devastating families and children. If you have never experienced the court system and you go into the process naively thinking that there is an actual common set of basic rules—rules in which doing what is just and morally right are followed—you will experience the mother of all slaps to the face. Even further, if you are principally a heart-driven person who has not been trained since birth that life is one constant game of screwing over your fellow man, here comes another monster slap across your other cheek.

The unfortunate truth is that there is a growing population and epidemic of robotic-like, head-driven people who cannot be reasoned with and have quickly realized that the courts are on their side. In a dog and pony show such as family and probate courts, there is a complex labyrinth of completely contradictory rules and regulations that an army of high-powered judges, attorneys, GALS, parenting coordinators, psychologists, sociologists, etc. are all tripping over themselves trying to decipher and enforce. It is a nightmare world for the typical person who must enter.

Then, when all is said and done, after years of battles and tens of thousands of dollars spent, most, if not all the actual evidence, is not even looked through or considered in a final ruling. This is because the judge, who is facing a mile-high pile of cases and is months behind on making an actual decision on each case, makes sweeping rulings based on a completely random and innocuous strand of information. True justice is not really the goal of this system, but rather the implementation of a robot-like way of thinking for life.

Thus, at the end of the day, after a parent has been absolutely raked over the coals by everyone involved, drained of life savings, and is then left with a judgement that only makes things worse for them and their children, you are left powerless and with no recourse. All the professionals involved, many who are public servants who are supposed to be accountable to taxpayers, are completely insulated from their decision-making. There is an incestuous relationship between the lawyers, GALS, parenting coordinators, and judges.

If you are a good parent, you will constantly be made to look like a criminal. The biggest lie you will continually hear is that the decisions are being done in the best interest of the children. Nothing can be further from the truth. The decisions are being done in the best interests of the unaccountable law firms and GALS that are making out like bandits. In addition, power in the divorcing relationship will be given to the individuals who know how to work the system. Also, it is heavily tilted to the side that has the financial means to more fully satisfy the hungry appetite of the court system. This is not a male vs. female situation. Loving mothers and fathers are both being throttled by a system that is enabling nonsensical bullying behavior by ex’s (male and female alike). It does not reward those parents who are concerned with being the best possible parents first and foremost and raising healthy-minded children, but instead emboldens a type of parenting that uses the children as mere pawns in a game.

In a lot of ways, this is reflective of our society in general beyond the court system. In the world that is now dominated by heartless, bottom-line corporate style thinking, it should be no surprise that this type of philosophy is being forced into our home lives, with devastating consequences on our mental well-being. More than ever, our children’s sphere is being surrounded and crashed by the cold adult world. This rapidly growing trend, aided by rising divorce rates, is coming down on kids and adding much undue stress to them and their families. Entities like the Massachusetts Probate and Family Court are leading the charge.