LEADER 03794nam 22006014a 450 001 9910777574803321 005 20230617040013.0 010 $a0-292-79671-4 024 7 $a10.7560/706828 035 $a(CKB)1000000000457699 035 $a(OCoLC)191662161 035 $a(CaPaEBR)ebrary10190633 035 $a(SSID)ssj0000273377 035 $a(PQKBManifestationID)11221450 035 $a(PQKBTitleCode)TC0000273377 035 $a(PQKBWorkID)10313052 035 $a(PQKB)10773287 035 $a(MiAaPQ)EBC3443052 035 $a(Au-PeEL)EBL3443052 035 $a(CaPaEBR)ebr10190633 035 $a(DE-B1597)588274 035 $a(DE-B1597)9780292796713 035 $a(EXLCZ)991000000000457699 100 $a20041029d2005 uy 0 101 0 $aeng 135 $aurcn||||||||| 181 $ctxt 182 $cc 183 $acr 200 14$aThe women of CourtWatch$b[electronic resource] $ereforming a corrupt family court system /$fCarole Bell Ford 205 $a1st ed. 210 $aAustin $cUniversity of Texas Press$d2005 215 $a1 online resource (255 p.) 300 $aBibliographic Level Mode of Issuance: Monograph 311 $a0-292-70682-0 320 $aIncludes bibliographical references (p. [217]-233) and index. 327 $aBefore 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. 330 $aHouston 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. 606 $aLawyers$zTexas$vBiography 606 $aJudicial corruption$zTexas$zHarris County 606 $aDomestic relations courts$zTexas$zHarris County 615 0$aLawyers 615 0$aJudicial corruption 615 0$aDomestic relations courts 676 $a346.764/141015/0269 700 $aFord$b Carole Bell$f1934-$01483604 801 0$bMiAaPQ 801 1$bMiAaPQ 801 2$bMiAaPQ 906 $aBOOK 912 $a9910777574803321 996 $aThe women of CourtWatch$93701787 997 $aUNINA