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Two years of litigation in the FL courts has taught me so much. I always believed the courts were usually fair and at least followed the law. However, my case, as shocking as it is, has not only shown how the judges make their own rules, but also that due process is not a right for Floridians.
(k) The birth parent, the prospective adoptive parent, and the minor receive, at a minimum, the safeguards, guidance, counseling, and supervision required in this chapter. (FL Statutes)
After all we did to prepare for trial, the experts and documents, all the time and money, and we lost due to conflicts of interest. Our appeal was blocked as well. Florida is one of the few states that allows judges to issue PCAs and does not require an opinion.
The PCA was denounced as a "deplorable miscarriage of justice", especially where it can be used by the district courts to prevent further review by the Florida Supreme Court.
Judicial Accountability
Of course, when there are issues with the law being debated, an opinion is expected. When cases involve children, they are to be expedited. Neither happened in my case.
Florida is typical of the legal system throughout the country. Although the judiciary asserts immense power over the lives of individuals and the conduct of businesses, they have rendered themselves totally unaccountable to the public or to any other branch of government.
The judges and lawyers maintain their stronghold on the legal system on the myth that they are the guardians of the constitutional rights of the people and that the lawyers champion these rights in a court of law that is just and fair. [MORE]
Further, in FL, when a PCA is issued without an opinion, the petitioner is not allowed to be heard by the state Supreme  Court. This is truly ironic as a few weeks before my case was decided, a case with similar issues, was overturned. The child was returned to the father.
Let us not be content to wait and see what will happen, but give us the determination to make the right things happen. Peter Marshall
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