03767nam 22006014a 450 991080814680332120200520144314.00-292-79671-410.7560/706828(CKB)1000000000457699(OCoLC)191662161(CaPaEBR)ebrary10190633(SSID)ssj0000273377(PQKBManifestationID)11221450(PQKBTitleCode)TC0000273377(PQKBWorkID)10313052(PQKB)10773287(MiAaPQ)EBC3443052(Au-PeEL)EBL3443052(CaPaEBR)ebr10190633(DE-B1597)588274(DE-B1597)9780292796713(EXLCZ)99100000000045769920041029d2005 uy 0engurcn|||||||||txtccrThe women of CourtWatch reforming a corrupt family court system /Carole Bell Ford1st ed.Austin University of Texas Press20051 online resource (255 p.) Bibliographic Level Mode of Issuance: Monograph0-292-70682-0 Includes bibliographical references (p. [217]-233) and index.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.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.LawyersTexasBiographyJudicial corruptionTexasHarris CountyDomestic relations courtsTexasHarris CountyLawyersJudicial corruptionDomestic relations courts346.764/141015/0269Ford Carole Bell1934-1654219MiAaPQMiAaPQMiAaPQBOOK9910808146803321The women of CourtWatch4005921UNINA