Family Matters?
Terry Carson: Court struggles to stand tall in a community where family matters
5:00AM Wednesday August 22, 2007
The Family Court Matters Bill before Parliament is apparently designed to improve the standing of the Family Court in the eyes of the community……………………
While much of our family law legislation continues to lack any connection with the values still held in most parts of our community, the Family Court is likely to continue to struggle to attain the respect it should have.
* Terry Carson is a South Auckland lawyer, with more than 35 years practising in the Family Court
Terry Carson may be stating the obvious, but at least he’s saying it and getting it published.
It’s remarkable to me that others would seriously think that dressing for the part is how one gets respect. It’s good for creating a first impression, but respect?
The common wisdom has always been that respect is earned.
If the FC wants respect, it needs to listen to its critics with its ears open. It could start by publicly recognising Terry Carson’s common-sense observations.
Comment by Rob Case — Wed 22nd August 2007 @ 11:25 pm
With legal workers, always check the fine print. Trust your own lawyer, less than the other side.
Have a look at how long Terry Carson has been working in the familycaught, established in 1980!
(I’m told there are alternative answers too!)
Comment by MurrayBacon — Thu 23rd August 2007 @ 8:07 am
Terry Carson made some revealing criticisims of the Court regarding the way it administers the Domestic Violence Act, back in 2001 in an piece titled: Fiction in the Family Court.
The original article was available on Brookers until recently (the link is still visible in the Google cache), but it seems to have been mysteriously removed.
Comment by JohnP — Thu 23rd August 2007 @ 9:48 am
Terry Carson’s article about 5 years ago “fiction in the family court” was more relevant to the operation of the family court, but this is an apology for failed lawyers judges, and registrars. Our family court operates in a void alright, “a legaler than thou void”
If Joe citizen, did some of the things that these people have done, and appeared in the criminal court they would go to jail – which is where some of these chameleons should be. They are an incompetent corrupt bunch of legal perverts that have undermined the integrity of our law, and our court system. How they can believe, that through legalising the past by new law, will gain them respect, is an indication of their capacity for rational and reasonable thought.
Compensatory legislation will only do to our parliament what their incompetence has done to the family court, notwithstanding that there are many people who have formed that opinion already.
Comment by Bevan Berg — Thu 23rd August 2007 @ 9:56 am