To the Editor:
I am writing to thank Steve Coulter and The Trumbull Times for the thoroughly researched and written piece which appeared in the May 12th print edition, as well as online, about the General Assembly’s recent decision to overturn an unjust decision by our former Claims Commissioner. My thanks also to Trumbull State Representative Dave Rutigliano, and all the other courageous members of the House, Senate, and Judiciary Committee, who took a bold step to vote in support of justice.
This relatively rare reversal enables me to pursue recovery for damages by state actors (employees), without them hiding behind the protection of sovereign immunity.
Divorce and other flavors of court fraud are real and impact everyone. I sincerely doubt there is anyone reading this letter that is not personally connected to divorce (and therefore family court). Either themselves, their siblings, parents, children or close friends – it sadly touches us all.
The fraud which is widely known, but has been allowed to continue for decades, is a multi-billion dollar industry in the United States. In some cases, it is even fueled by federal funding. This fraud impacts a far greater number of people and businesses, many of whom you might not realize. In my case, it impacted not only family and friends, but also hard-working local doctors whose bills went unpaid, a local landlord with a good heart who couldn’t collect rent, an elderly neighbor who no longer had someone to check in on him daily, a long-time local fuel oil company who repeatedly delivered fuel oil without being paid . . . and the list goes on. Even our town tax collector, as well as state and federal tax agencies is left chase payment for legitimate tax receipts long past due.
Why? Because some Superior Court Judges are more interested in protecting each other and protecting the Bar than they are in doing the jobs they took a sworn oath to do. Instead, they hide behind judicial discretion and judicial immunity, issuing orders and threats of incarceration (at taxpayer expense) to be certain that attorneys are getting paid, even while they watch funds evaporate that were intended for college funding of the children innocently trapped in this perverse business they call ‘family court.’
There’s another group of individuals that are also hurt – true victims of domestic violence. Sadly, far too many divorce attorneys coach clients on just the right phrases that can be placed on the court record or in a police report to win an upper hand in litigation. In the end, there are so many claims or suggestions of domestic violence, that police and judges become desensitized. Then, when a true victim seeks protection, it places them at risk of having the merits of their legitimate cries falling on deaf ears.
I proudly lived in Trumbull from 1994 through my 2009 divorce without any police involvement in my life. Only after challenging a dishonest attorney and judge did they begin to manufacturer a record to systematically silence and destroy me. My hats off to the many smart, respectful, and personable members of the Trumbull Police Department, most of whom it seemed could see right through the smoke screen, but still had a job to do. In my experience, they did it with respect and always treated me with dignity, and for that I am forever grateful.
If you think this issue doesn’t impact you, think again. We should all be outraged. Now. Not only after it happens to us. Or our sister. Or our brother. Or our son or daughter. People have remained silent for decades because this fraud occurs during one of the most emotionally difficult times of their lives, but also one of the most embarrassing. Divorce is a personal failure, but also a very public one.
I applaud Steve Coulter for dedicating the time he did to call, research, and write about an ordeal that, were it not mine, I might not believe it.
Dan Lynch