Resources for fighting back in family court

"There is a national crisis for women and their children in the family law courts of this country. Affirmed by experts and leaders in the women’s movement, the existence of this crisis is verified by women in every state who report injustice in their family law cases, especially battered mothers trying to protect their children from abusive fathers who aggressively litigate against them, using family court to stalk, harass, punish, and impoverish their former partners and children. NOW recognizes this crisis for women and their children and seeks to address discrimination against women in family courts.

The information presented here has been compiled by the National NOW Family Law Advisory Ad Hoc Committee. Created in April 2004, this all-volunteer committee is comprised of parents, grandparents, activists, paralegals, organizers, attorneys, and advocates from across the nation devoting their collective experience and expertise in family law and navigating the family court system to NOW’s work in promoting justice and equality for women."


Click here to access resources available from the National Organization for Women. 

Click here to join the N.O.W. Shreveport-Bossier Chapter.

Louisiana: 49th among all fifty states in litigation fairness

Art installation "Judge Not" dedicated to the officers of the court
who stole my children:  Woodrow "Woody" Nesbitt,
Ron Miciotto, Charles "Pete" Kammer III, Shelley Booker (LCSW),
and Judges Frances J. Pitman & Robert P. Waddell
of the 1st Judicial Court in Caddo Parish, LA

Louisiana's Overall Ranking: 49

Judges' Impartiality: 48

Judges' Competence: 48

Timeliness of Summary Judgment or Dismissal: 50

Discovery: 46

Scientific and Technical Evidence: 49

Juries’ Fairness: 48 

(Source: US Chamber of Commerce — 2012 State Liability Systems Ranking Study/Sept. 10, 2012)

• The ranking marks Louisiana’s third consecutive year in that position and the state has never ranked higher than 47 since the survey’s inception in 2002.

• Seven in 10 business leaders say lawsuit climate ‘significant factor’ in determining where to expand & grow.

• “...Louisiana is still notorious for excessive verdicts, loose class-certification standards, and an unfair judiciary,” said Lisa A. Rickard, president of the U.S. Chamber Institute for Legal Reform.

• According to the study, Creating Conditions for Economic Growth: The Role of the Legal Environment, completed for ILR by NERA Economic Consulting in 2011, Louisiana could save up to $1.1 billion in tort costs and increase employment between 1.03 – 2.79% by improving its legal environment.

See the entire 50-state list and read a full copy of Lawsuit Climate 2012: Ranking the States online at: www.instituteforlegalreform.com/states

(Source:  USCOfC Institute for Legal Reform.  ILR seeks to promote civil justice reform through legislative, political, judicial, and educational activities at the national, state, and local levels. Contact: Mike Lepage @ 202-463-5554.)