Misguided Notions Around “Impartiality” & “Objectivity”, Combined With A Lack of Critical Analysis, Has Meant Poor Judicial Decision Making For Too Long — If theres one thing I know all judges pride themselves on, it’s their purported ‘impartiality’ or ‘objectivity. These were the buzzwords of law school; the so-called bread and butter of what was going to make us great lawyers. We never actually analysed what the words meant. There was no analysis…

It is impossible for change to occur in the family court, because there are few mechanisms for gaining insight into what occurs there. Parents (usually mothers) who have experienced family or sexual violence or abuse (either in relation to themselves or against their children), are afraid to speak out for fear of losing their children. — I made a mistake last week: I published an article that, while I had taken great care to mask any personal details of the mum mentioned in it, ultimately left this mum feeling distressed and fearful of a backlash from the family court judge that had recently separated her and…

I have this annoying troll that pops up whenever I post an article on some of the family court pages I subscribe to on Facebook. He reminds me terribly of the many awful and often seemingly pointless debates I’ve had with too many lawyers and judges over the years. The…

There is an abusive family court judge now ‘educating’ on family violence & abuse. Principal Family Court Judge, Jacqueline Moran, apparently doesn’t think that’s a problem I practiced as a lawyer until 2016. In the last few years of practice, this was in a regional court, where everyone knew everyone. That also meant I appeared regularly in front of one of the resident judges there: Stephen Coyle.

I was once not as articulate and resolute as I am today; I was once a young vulnerable teenage girl who foolishly got involved with a significantly older man who preyed upon my vulnerabilities. While I was ultimately able to leave that relationship, the two children I had tied me…