Maine's Judiciary has Guardian ad litem Rules and Standards on their web site. They state quite clearly that the Supreme Judicial Court “has adopted Rules and Standards of Practice for Guardians ad Litem in Title 19-A and Title 22 cases.” In other words the Guardians ad litem that they roster – or give their seal of approval to, must abide by these rules and standards. Or does it?
What is the reason for posting these Rules and Standards for the public?
Although it is possible that of the three examples there have been instances where the first was actually applied – it is not known when that may have been the case. The second example like the first is non-existent. With the third example there are numerous instances that can be found dating back to 2003-04 (and possibly before) where Maine's Courts and Guardians ad litem have chosen to ignore the Rules and Standards. What does this mean to the consumer of this system that experiences a Guardian ad litem that operates outside of these rule and standards and you complain about him/ her? It means that the Judiciary has no interest in correcting the behavior of its own but will correct your behavior if you cause too much trouble. Maine's Judiciary has ignored a problem that has been around for more than a decade. How many people have been hurt by the resistance to admit there is a very real problem? That is something that we are only now just beginning to see. The current window dressing for oversight and accountability that we have seen is just that – Window Dressing – to satisfy the rank and file so that at the end of the day they – Maine's Judiciary, Judges and Guardians ad litem can path themselves on the back and say they did a great job helping out those poor consumers. Maine's Judiciary, Judges and Guardians ad litem are in need of a little reality and accountability.
If you or someone you know has been hurt in a divorce where a Guardian ad litem was involved please contact us at MeGALalert@gmail.com.
To view the current Rules and Standards published by Maine's Judiciary please follow these links:
Rules
Standards
What is the reason for posting these Rules and Standards for the public?
- They are posted to help the public understand how a Guardian ad litem is supposed to operate. They are the law in which they and the Judges that manage them must operate within.
- They are posted to help the public understand the role of the Guardian ad litem. These Rules and Standards though are applied when convenient for the courts to use them. How and when they are used is kept from the consumer as they really do not understand this type of thing.
- The Rules and Standards have been posted for the public’s benefit to give a warm and fuzzy feeling. The Rules and Standards in reality have no meaning and the court all but ignores what is written.
Although it is possible that of the three examples there have been instances where the first was actually applied – it is not known when that may have been the case. The second example like the first is non-existent. With the third example there are numerous instances that can be found dating back to 2003-04 (and possibly before) where Maine's Courts and Guardians ad litem have chosen to ignore the Rules and Standards. What does this mean to the consumer of this system that experiences a Guardian ad litem that operates outside of these rule and standards and you complain about him/ her? It means that the Judiciary has no interest in correcting the behavior of its own but will correct your behavior if you cause too much trouble. Maine's Judiciary has ignored a problem that has been around for more than a decade. How many people have been hurt by the resistance to admit there is a very real problem? That is something that we are only now just beginning to see. The current window dressing for oversight and accountability that we have seen is just that – Window Dressing – to satisfy the rank and file so that at the end of the day they – Maine's Judiciary, Judges and Guardians ad litem can path themselves on the back and say they did a great job helping out those poor consumers. Maine's Judiciary, Judges and Guardians ad litem are in need of a little reality and accountability.
If you or someone you know has been hurt in a divorce where a Guardian ad litem was involved please contact us at MeGALalert@gmail.com.
To view the current Rules and Standards published by Maine's Judiciary please follow these links:
Rules
Standards
It is remarkable that 280 or so GALs have no record of any significant "corrective action" by any segment of the JB. 2 reprimands in two years. Amazing! Are they "perfect"?
ReplyDeleteIt is even more amazing when one considers that they get no supervision. They have no oversight, and they do receive complaints. But... the record of public complaint dismissals by the JB is close to 100%.
There are no instructions for making complaints, so to do so is to play a game of 20 questions. Is it animal, vegetable or mineral? Am I cold or hot? Should I use the Rules and Regulations, or are they an optional standard?
The key question is: Does the JB want to correct malfunctioning of its "officials of the court" or not? How do they improve quality? How do they protect the public?
Thank you for the post. You are correct in your statements. Maine's Judiciary refuses to believe that there could be a problem. Well a problem that is in need of correcting. There is no consumer protection in a system that most people have trouble navigating let alone understand. It is those within the system that are pushing hard to maintain things the way they are.
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