Public Demand for Presidential Campaign Debates Regarding the Need for Judicial Accountability and Legal Ethics Enforcement

The germ of the destruction of our nation is in the power of the judiciary.
Thomas Jefferson, 1821

I know no safe depository of the ultimate powers of society but the people themselves; and if we think them not enlightened enough to exercise their control with a wholesome discretion, the remedy is not to take it from them, but to inform their discretion.
Thomas Jefferson, 1820


The 1.1 million web sites and countless task forces (some federally funded) calling for judicial accountability and legal reform prove the need for immediate and sustained presidential review of our legal system. The law is a noble calling; many lawyers and judges practice with the highest level of ethics and competence. Unfortunately, the efforts of these professionals to maintain integrity in the legal system are increasingly undermined by the actions of unethical attorneys, judges, and others within the system.

Unfettered, rampant litigation, wildly excessive damage awards, inequitable divorces, and egregious custody decisions that ignore childrens safety are destroying our nation and negatively impact our economy. Preposterous outcomes where one spouse is impoverished relative to the other and/or where an impoverished non-custodial parent is first bankrupted by the system and then threatened with jail for non-payment of child support to a wealthy ex-spouse (sometimes a known abuser), must be investigated and remedied. Domestic and juvenile cases where children have been taken from loving, competent parents only to be placed in the custody of suspected abusers or in dangerous foster homes, demand immediate nationwide review. How can we Leave No Child Behind or promote democracy otherwise?

Do YOU realize that a vicious cycle exists on many fronts in our legal system? Fearful of lawsuits, the media are reluctant to air films such as Bad Judgment and Small Justice which document judicial abuses. In one Maryland case reported in Bad Judgment, a judge required 39 women to give him oral sex or else lose custody of their children. His penalty? A 25-year sentence reduced to 2 years. Other cases are worse- worse offenses, no sentences at all. Are you outraged yet? I am; we all should be. I am petrified for the future of my 3 sons and 2 stepsons and for your children, too. Are you now, also?

Why am I presenting this petition as my opinion (even though I recently initiated the new advisory board to the National Coalition for Family Justice* to create public outcry for national legal reform, have decades of personal experience, a masters degree in advocacy, and tons of documentation)? Because, if it was written by an organization, most would be fearful of getting sued, just as doctors and others are. Guess who told me that to avoid getting sued when going public I needed to insert my opinion beside my name? A very sharp attorney, my ex! We, the public, must INSIST on becoming informed. Isnt that our civil right, even our civil duty? Isnt it necessary for our very survival?

YOUR signing this petition and sending it to everyone you know will document public demand for PRESIDENTIAL CAMPAIGN DEBATES and PUBLIC HEARINGS regarding MANDATORY judicial accountability and legal ethics enforcement. However, only compassionate, constructive solutions must be created.

We all wonder, Why are we here? Could the lesson be that we must learn to cooperate? Our demand that the Federal government take immediate steps to enforce accountability and professional ethics for anyone in the legal field is an initial step.

* Founded in 1988, the National Coalition for Family Justice is a non-partisan, gender neutral 501(c)3 which helps families in distress (but is often thwarted by the system).