Appearance alert: on Anomic Age

John and I spoke about the Arizona ad hoc joint legislative committee on family court orders.

Note: the video cut off on YouTube, but an audio version captured the entire conversation. Find that here. John and I spoke about the Arizona ad hoc committee for the first twenty-two minutes, and about the Hales situation after that.

I was back on the Anomic Age, and John Age and I discussed the unique opportunity presented by the Arizona ad hoc joint committee on family court orders.

Richard Luthmann and I previously interviewed the co-chairs, Republican State Senator Mark Finchem and Republican State Representative Rachel Keshel.

As I noted to State Representative Keshel, Arizona’s committee is not the first time that a state has examined the family court system, including high profile hearings.

In 2013, Connecticut held a similar set of hearings.

In 2013, the Connecticut legislature created the “Task Force to Study Legal Disputes Involving the Care and Custody of Minor Children” after numerous complaints about that state’s family court.

Minnie Gonzalez is a Democratic who is deputy majority leader in the Connecticut House of Representatives who has spoken to hundreds of parents and said that abuse continues.

“It happens a lot,” said Gonzalez, of police raids being used in her state. “It’s not about children or family here, it’s about money.

I interviewed Connecticut Democrat State Representative Minnie Gonzalez in 2019, and she was still fighting a lonely battle against the judiciary.

Kelley hasn’t seen her son since 2012, while Skipp hasn’t seen her children from her most recent marriage since 2013; Skipp has children from a previous relationship with whom she maintains regular contact.

Gonzalez is also aware of AFCC; many of these same parents testified in front of the 2013 Task Force.

“The task force also heard testimony regarding an entity called the Association of Family and Conciliation Courts (AFCC), which allegedly functions like a vendor and has had questionable practices, ties and relationships with judges, guardians and other court officials,” an article in the New Haven Register noted.

Kelley told the task force investigating corruption that AFCC is run like a racketeering criminal enterprise and should be prosecuted under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (the RICO Act), which has also been used to take down the Mafia and other organized crime.

“I told them that multiple times,” Kelley said. She has met with federal agents six times, including multiple times with members of the task force.

Skipp also met with the task force, but ultimately, no one in Connecticut was charged, let alone convicted by this task force.

While Gonzalez has made headway, her efforts have not led to sweeping reforms.

I think this moment is different, and Minnie Gonzalez has paved the way for this Arizona committee to be different.