The Women of CourtWatch : Reforming a Corrupt Family Court System

founder and director of Justice for Children, was extraordinarily generous with his time and sent valuable material from his personal fi les. Howard Kusnetz was helpful many, many times in many ways since the outset of this work. These people are the story of CourtWatch; it couldn't possibly have been told without them. Thanks also to two accomplished writers and biographers who are good friends as well. Gerald Sorin and Robert Polito read early drafts of the manuscript and gave sound advice as well as much-appreciated encouragement. Ellen James, a retired attorney and former teacher of legal writing who, I'm happy to say, is a new friend, read drafts and offered important corrections as well as suggestions. My lifelong friend Marjorie Osman, a gifted writer and storyteller, helped me solve a particularly vexing structural problem. And I want to thank my son, Gregg Isaacson, for helping in so many ways with photos and data and fi xing dozens of annoying computer glitches. Myra Sorin read and edited the fi rst draft of the manuscript with enthusiasm and unfailing sensitivity to nuance. Most times she sits on my shoulder when I'm writing, pointing out sentence fragments. Or worse-"Jargon!" Or asks for clarity-"Huh?" But in the end, when I've been complacent since I know she will fi x it, she spots every misplaced semicolon. William Bishel, sponsoring editor at the University of Texas Press, thought this was a book worth publishing, even before it was completed. When I did fi nish the fi nal draft he passed me on to his capable Editorial Fellow Alex Barron, who quickly responded to my concerns and questions with good advice and an infectious energy. She was wonderful to work with. Finally, my sincerest thanks to my husband Steve Ford, who likes to pass himself off as an anti-intellectual. Nevertheless, he is my fi rst reader and most important, discriminating, and honest critic. "Houston was a terrible place to divorce or seek child custody in the 1980s and early 1990s. Family court judges routinely rendered verdicts that damaged the interests of women and children. In some especially shocking cases, they even granted custody to fathers who had been accused of molesting their own children. Yet despite persistent allegations of cronyism, incompetence, sexism, racism, bribery, and fraud, the judges wielded such political power and influence that removing them seemed all but impossible. The family court system was clearly broken, but there appeared to be no way to fix it. This book recounts the inspiring and courageous story of women activists who came together to oppose Houston's family court judges and whose political action committee, CourtWatch, played a crucial role in defeating five of the judges in the 1994 judicial election. Carole Bell Ford draws on extensive interviews with Florence Kusnetz, the attorney who led the reform effort, and other CourtWatch veterans, as well as news accounts, to provide a full history of the formation, struggles, and successes of a women's grassroots organization that overcame powerful political interests to improve Houston's family courts. More than just a local story, however, this history of CourtWatch provides a model that can be used by activists in other communities in which legal and social institutions have gone astray. It also honors the heroism of Florence Kusnetz, whose commitment to the Jewish concept of tikkun olam ("repairing and improving the world") brought her out of a comfortable retirement to fight for justice for women and children." . From publisher's description Before Courtwatch : A Broken System -- Florence : A Woman In Two Worlds -- Gender Bias And The Law : The Blind Maiden -- Ethical Dilemmas : Practicing Family Law -- Florence, Melanie, And Diana : Housewives Dabbling In Politics -- The Election Of 1994 : The Babes That Slew The Goliath -- Houston : After Courtwatch. Carole Bell Ford. Includes Bibliographical References (p. 219-233) And Index. The inspiring and courageous story of women activists whose grassroots campaign defeated powerful judges and brought justice to a family court system