Recently, the St. Louis Post Dispatch had an article which caught my eye.
John E. Street asked for my help, but I turned him down.
It was late 2020 or early 2021, during the pandemic. Street had read some of my columns about people struggling with the criminal justice system, which can make things more difficult for people living in poverty.
Street, 45, has bounced around doing odd jobs — working at Walmart, hauling scrap, working construction. He’s spent much of his life in Dent and Osage counties. If you look at his court records, you’ll see a series of charges for driving with a suspended license. They stem from a modification to a child custody agreement in late 2012. Those two words — child custody — are what scared me away from Street’s dilemma.
Custody battles are notorious for being he-said, she-said affairs. Getting to the truth is often next to impossible. I asked Street to keep me informed of his progress but told him I didn’t plan to write about his case. I sent him the names of some attorneys who might be able to help. They turned him down, too.
The columnist goes on to describe how Mr. Street represented himself to victory, causing the columnist to break his own rule about covering custody cases because in his words they, “are notorious for being he-said, she-said affairs. Getting to the truth is often next to impossible.”
This is not the first time a member of the media has used this reason- or some say excuse- to explain why this part of our society should not receive media coverage.
Curt Autry, an anchor from Virginia put something similar on his Facebook page.
After he was taken to task, he followed up with another post.
These cases are complicated, difficult to decipher, and primarily he said/she said: this is what most media will tell litigants about why they pass on these stories.
It’s accurate to some degree, but the reason- some will say excuse- is also convenient.
It’s even more convenient when you consider how opportunistic the media is when it comes to reporting on these so-called, he said/she said cases.
For instance, Barack Obama may not have become president if not for revelations from divorces which would normally be considered he said/she said.
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