Protecting Vulnerable Children During the Legal Process by Sonya Fischer, OTLA Guardian The fact is, as lawyers, we are in the role of advocating positions and perspectives in an adversarial construct that actually is harmful to children. I think of Jacob who lived in Israel with his father. After a visit home to Oregon to see his mother, she refused to send him back. Jacob was 15 years old. His whole life and future was in Israel. As his father’s lawyer, we got a writ of assistance and police officers removed Jacob from his mother’s apartment while she visibly demonstrated her despair. Jacob met his father at the airport and returned to Israel with him. I think of four-year-old Jesus who watched his father kidnap his mother, tie her up, put in the back of a van, rape her and drive toward Mexico where he later told me she expected his father to kill her. Fortunately, there was a restraining order in place and Jesus’s mother was able to communicate to the gas station attendant that she was kidnapped. Law enforcement was called, his father was arrested and later sentenced to 30 years in prison. I think of Julie, 14, who, having spent her time during the COVID-19 pandemic isolated and disconnected from friends, went back into school, discovered fentanyl and can’t seem to stop. Her parents sent her to a therapeutic boarding school outside of Oregon. Now her father doesn’t want to pay and her mother is sure she will die if she comes home as they will not be able to keep her from the drugs. The family is broken and Julie may not survive without continued intense intervention. I think of Timmy, whose parents’ relationship fell apart due to a polyamorous relationship that brought jealousy and resentment. Timmy’s father never recovered and has depended on Timmy for his emotional support. Now Timmy is 15 years old and struggles to gain his own independence. Carrying all of his dad’s emotional needs has become a burden for him. While his father tries to gain increased control through the legal system, having an attorney appointed for Timmy did eventually result in his voice being heard and he was finally able to make his own choices. Josh, a seven year old who lights up a room with his exuberant smile and incessant chatter, had two parents who were very invested in him. His mother took every recommendation from therapists to help him overcome challenges related to autism and his father just wanted to play, have fun and spend more time with him. The biggest challenge was his mother’s over communication with his father, especially when Josh was with him, interfering with his father’s ability to spend quality time with their son. One-year-old Sally’s mother would drink until blacking out. Sally’s father loved her mother so much he looked the other way until he couldn’t any longer. One day, her mother took Sally to visit friends where she drank excessively, got in the car and drove home. They made it home in time for her mother to pass out in the car with Sally in her car seat. When the neighbors found them the next day, Sally crying in her car seat and her mother unable to respond, they called 911. Her father went to court and got an emergency custody order due to immediate danger, taking custody of Sally. Children get caught between parents who don’t want to be with one another, fighting for legal positioning, promoting and pushing their position to solidify their place in their children’s lives. Even in the best of cases where parents are really focused on what is best for their kids, they can’t help but hold onto the attachment they have with their children and protect it. Is positioning best for kids? Usually never. SONYA FISCHER practices family law and is the owner of Fischer Family Law PC. Fischer contributes to the OTLA Guardians of Civil Justice at the Sustaining Member level. Her firm is at 385 1st St., Ste. 221, Lake Oswego, OR 97034. You can contact her at 503-635-3548 or sonya@fischerfamilylaw.com. See Protecting Vulnerable Children p. 44 43 Trial Lawyer | Summer 2024
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