Broken Justice: Inside America’s Family Court Failures — Part 1

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Broken Justice: Inside America’s Family Court Failures — Part 1 – Roots of Family Court Secrecy and Failure in NYC

Broken Justice: Inside America’s Family Court Failures — Part 1

Roots of Family Court Secrecy and Failure in NYC

By Yevgen Fromer – Editor, Real Divorce Stories

How secrecy became the default setting of New York’s family courts, why oversight collapsed, and who suffers in the shadows of a broken legal system.


Secrecy as the Foundation of Family Court

New York City’s Family Court was designed to be protective—but over the decades, secrecy has become a shield for systemic failure. Closed proceedings. Sealed records. Judges unaccountable to the public or press. Unlike criminal courts, where public scrutiny creates some measure of transparency, family courts exist in the shadows.

While the law intends to safeguard children’s privacy, the consequences are far-reaching. As a 2023 NYS Bar Association report warned, “the absence of meaningful oversight permits judicial overreach and erodes public confidence.” Families going through custody, abuse, or neglect proceedings often never learn the legal basis for life-altering decisions.

Judges with Too Much Power—and Too Little Oversight

In family court, a single judge’s opinion can determine where a child lives, whether a parent can visit them, or if a mother is fit to parent at all. Judges often make rulings without issuing written opinions or citing case law, creating a dangerous vacuum where discretion substitutes for due process.

The New York State Commission on Judicial Conduct has disciplined dozens of family court judges for ethical and procedural misconduct over the years. Yet few of these actions receive public scrutiny, and most sanctions are issued quietly — as explored in our in-depth report on hidden judicial misconduct.

The Forgotten Cases: When Parents Are Silenced

One mother, speaking anonymously, recounted losing custody of her daughter after a hearing that lasted less than ten minutes. “I had no lawyer. I wasn’t allowed to speak,” she told our team. “The judge said it was in my daughter’s ‘best interest.’ That’s it. That was the explanation.”

She spent the next 14 months attending parenting classes, supervised visitation, and drug testing—despite no prior history of addiction or abuse. When she finally regained partial custody, the damage to her relationship with her daughter was irreversible.

ACS and the Myth of Neutral Intervention

The Administration for Children’s Services (ACS) is the front door to family court for many families—especially in lower-income, Black, and Latino neighborhoods. Under the guise of protecting children, ACS investigators wield enormous power: to search homes, remove children, and initiate court proceedings.

Yet multiple investigations show that ACS frequently oversteps. A 2024 federal class action lawsuit filed in Manhattan alleges that ACS agents conducted thousands of illegal home entries, often pressuring parents to “consent” under duress. Children were strip-searched in schools, interviewed without consent, and even temporarily removed without court orders — as detailed in this case where a protective mother was penalized for reporting abuse.

Disproportionate Impact on Black and Brown Families

Over 85% of families involved in NYC child welfare cases are Black or Hispanic, according to statistics cited by the Center for Family Representation. Poverty, overcrowded housing, missed doctor appointments—factors of economic hardship—are frequently labeled as neglect.

One Bronx parent described being investigated because her daughter wore hand-me-downs. “They said it was a hygiene concern,” she said. “I was working two jobs, no one asked if I needed help. They just opened a case.”

Children Dying Under ACS Supervision

In 2023 and 2024 alone, at least seven children died after ACS returned them to homes previously flagged for abuse or neglect. These include:

  • Jahmeik Modlin, age 2, beaten to death after multiple hotline reports went ignored.
  • Ella Vitalis, age 6, died in a fire after being returned to a home with known hazards.
  • Brian Santiago, age 3, starved and neglected despite an active ACS case file.

Each death was ruled preventable by internal reviews. Yet no ACS official or family court judge was held publicly accountable.

⚖️ No Jury. No Presumption of Innocence.

Unlike criminal court, there is no right to a jury trial in family court. Cases can be decided based on “the best interests of the child,” a vague standard that permits a wide range of outcomes. Parents often enter proceedings without legal representation, especially in emergency removals.

The results are devastating. “Once they take your kid, you are presumed guilty,” said one Brooklyn mother. “Even if you win, you’ve lost time, trust, and in some cases, your child’s love.”

🚨 Midpoint Reminder

👉 Have a story about family court injustice? Share it with us here.

Judicial Immunity and Political Protection

Family court judges are appointed—not elected—and often remain on the bench for decades. According to watchdog reports from the Center for Judicial Accountability, New York’s judicial oversight system lacks teeth. Judges facing credible misconduct complaints are frequently shielded by confidentiality rules and resign before investigations conclude.

“There is no transparency, no accountability, and no recourse for families,” said one former family court attorney. “Even when a judge behaves abusively, there’s no mechanism for public exposure unless the media gets involved.”

The Elisa Izquierdo Case — Remembered, Then Forgotten

The 1995 murder of Elisa Izquierdo shocked the nation. After years of ignored abuse, her mother beat her to death—despite repeated warnings to ACS and family court judges. The case led to Elisa’s Law, which promised greater transparency and public access to fatal case records.

Yet today, fatality records remain redacted, investigations are buried in bureaucracy, and systemic failures repeat with haunting familiarity.

COVID-19 and the Collapse of Family Court Services

When COVID-19 shut down courts, family court in NYC was among the hardest hit. Hearings were delayed by months, virtual access was inconsistent, and many families were left in limbo. A 2021 NBC investigation revealed how these delays disproportionately affected low-income families and children in foster care.

Even now, pandemic-era backlogs persist. Over 40,000 cases remain pending in NYC’s family courts—most of them involving custody, visitation, or protection orders.

Legislative Silence, Advocacy in the Dark

Despite dozens of hearings and white papers, the New York State Legislature has yet to pass meaningful reforms to increase family court transparency or judicial accountability. Bills introduced in 2023 to create independent court monitors have languished in committee.

Organizations like NYCLU, FCLU, and Children’s Rights continue to push for reform, but progress has been slow.

Looking Ahead: What Comes Next

This is only the first part of the Broken Justice series. In the coming weeks, we’ll publish:

Conclusion

New York City’s Family Court was meant to protect children—but it has become a fortress of secrecy, unchecked power, and systemic harm. Judges operate in silence. ACS surveils the poor. And the most vulnerable families suffer in isolation.

👉 Have a story to share? Submit it here.

This article is based on publicly reported cases and investigations. All individuals are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. Citations are included for public transparency.

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