The Lion's Den

This article is the detailed summary of Matt McMaster's recount of events that inspired his candidacy to run for Cobb County Superior Court Judge against incumbent Judge Robert D. Leonard, II (a.k.a., Rob Leonard) in 2022. The original article was published on mcmasterforcobb.com in 2022 as notice to the Cobb County, GA voters of what appears to be a broken family court system.

The Lion's Den

McMasterForCobb.com

If you asked me a year ago what I would be doing in 2022, I would have said: "Who knows? But I want nothing to do with child custody cases. It tears at the heart strings, there is no winner and the children lose the most." However, an array of events that began in February 2021 and unraveled over a period of about eight (8) months caused a rewiring of my brain that, at this juncture, cannot be undone. Here is the TRUTH:

The Cobb County Family Court System Is Prone To Failure, But It Doesn't Have to Be That Way

If we were to pretend that R. Kelly and Jeffrey Epstein were simply "really good at hiding things" (until they weren't), we would be fooling ourselves. Child sexual abuse occurs when the people and safeguards in place designed to prevent and/or stop the abuse are destroyed or otherwise corrupted. These include: law enforcement, Department of Human Services, Division of Family & Child Services ("DFCS"), parents, social workers, lawyers, guardians, and judges. Unfortunately under Georgia law, not all of these protectors are created equal and, rather, the JUDGES reign supreme with the ability to dismantle the entire social structure designed to protect our children.

From the period of February 2021 through September 2021, while I represented a Father trying to get custody of his daughter from a Mother who was in and out of jail fighting drug addiction, I watched Cobb County Superior Court judges take action (or inaction) that put a 15-year-old girl (now 16) in the home of a 42-year-old single man, not blood related to her who had a history of physically abusing the Mother. Sure, the girl’s Mother had issues with drug addiction, but the Father, Aunt and Grandparents were very much involved in her life, at least before April 15, 2021. No, this 42-year-old man did not have standing to obtain custody of this child at the time even under child election laws. When I stood my ground against the judge’s decision to grant this man standing, the judge said, "Listen, Mr. McMaster, you're really getting on my nerves to be honest with you.” I responded telling the Judge that "I don’t play politics." He began yelling at me telling me to appeal his decision if that is what I wanted and when I asked why he was yelling at me he said, "Because you're driving me crazy. Okay. You're really irritating me.” I responded: "I'm a human being before I'm an attorney." This was Cobb County Superior Court Judge, Robert E. Flournoy, III, who was appointed to the bench in 2002 by the governor of Georgia at the time.

Since that April 15, 2021 hearing, Father has not been able to communicate with his only daughter while she has been in the custody of the 42 year-old-man. Because this young lady is now 16 years old, if our worst fears materialize into reality, this man cannot be prosecuted for statutory rape under Georgia law. See O.C.G.A. § 16-6-3. No, this man did not adopt her; and no, there was no emergency warranting such a placement of this child. He is merely one of at least five (5) ex-boyfriends that the Mother has had over a period of eight (8) years, with one major caveat: he was represented by Judge Flournoy's former attorney who helped Judge Flournoy gain custody of his grandson in 2010 and also happened to be Judge Flournoy's election campaign Treasurer since 2016. I later learned that this is Judge Flournoy's lame duck term, meaning he is not running for re-election in 2022. Here is an Affidavit of the child's Aunt which shows how dangerous this man and the circumstances enabled by Judge Flournoy truly are.

When I discovered the close and longtime relationship between Judge Flournoy and this man’s attorney, I motioned to have Judge Flournoy recused from the case. Recusal of Judge Flournoy was the only hope Father had to save his daughter from the lion’s den, and the decision to recuse Judge Flournoy lied in the hands of Judge Robert "Rob" D. Leonard, II. Judge Leonard denied my request for recusal and the case remained with Judge Flournoy. I came later to find out that Judge Leonard gives "sua sponte" Guardian Ad Litem appointments primarily to local attorneys and firms that donate to his re-election campaign. And, that same attorney described above, who represented Judge Flournoy in his 2010 custody case and has been Judge Flournoy’s Treasurer since 2016, was founder and partner of the highest donating family law firm of Judge Leonard’s campaign. In the month of January 2022, Judge Flournoy himself was the highest donating individual to Judge Rob Leonard's re-election campaign. On February 9, 2022, Judge Leonard announced that the founding partner of the firm of the Guardian Ad Litem in the case was named as Co-Chair to Leonard's campaign.

UPDATE: On April 18, 2022, Judge Flournoy disclosed in a hearing that his wife recently hired the same Guardian Ad Litem as her probate attorney. Judge Flournoy finally recused himself from the above described cases on April 25, 2022 upon the Father's request in light of the latest conflict with the Guardian Ad Litem. However, in his recusal orders Judge Flournoy blamed this mcmasterforcobb.com website for his need to recuse himself without mentioning his conflict of interests with the opposing attorney and the Guardian Ad Litem. The Father still has not seen his only daughter in over a year as the case now hangs in limbo. This is all the tip of the iceberg. If you want to know more about Cobb County court corruption, visit thewikilaw.org.

The young lady is still in the lion’s den because the Cobb County court system failed.

Now ask yourself: What if this was your child?

The Powers That Be in Cobb County will not like what I have stated herein. But I would be lying if I worded it in any manner they approve. That is why I am running and why you should vote for me.

Matthew D. McMaster, Esq.

Candidate for Cobb County Superior Court Judge

“The first step in solving any problem is acknowledging that the problem exists.” - Unknown

The Cover Up

On July 13, 2022, the Flournoy family probate attorney, Leslee Hungerford who is also partners with Judge Rob Leonard's campaign chair Justin O'Dell, filed a motion to seal the records of The Lion's Den case on grounds of "embarrassment" to the child. Despite her connections to Judge Leonard and Judge Flournoy who has since recused himself from that case, Hungerford continues to act as Guardian Ad Litem in The Lion's Den. It has been over a year since the father has seen his only daughter. This matter is still pending in Cobb County Superior Court, Case No. 21-1-01795.

Response from McMaster For Cobb LLC:

Hungerford created the sexual abuse narrative she alleges in her motion to seal. If you review the entire record of that case, you will see that at no point, not even in any transcript created after any hearing, did I nor my client make an accusation of child sexual abuse. However, Hungerford both in her motion to seal AND at her alleged "emergency" hearing to change visitation accuses the Father of making those allegations against the Mother's ex-boyfriend. The People of Cobb County need to know the truth and that's not going to come from a Guardian so personally and politically connected to the judges at fault here. Regardless, removing the situation from the public view is the most dangerous precedent a court could do under these circumstances. God save The Children of Cobb County.

Matthew D. McMaster, Esq.

Father's Response:

On August 15, 2022, the Father of the minor child in The Lion's Den case filed his response and objections to the sealing of its records.

On Social Media:

The official Facebook page for McMaster For Cobb was quick to post the following meme on July 26, 2022 in response to the matter:

GoFundMe Campaign

In May of 2023, a GoFundMe campaign was started by the Father's former attorney to raise money for the Father's legal fees. The description stated:

Hi,
I’m Matt McMaster, attorney in Cobb County, GA, and I am raising money to help fund a Father’s fight to get his daughter away from the home of a 43 year old man who leveraged a corrupt court system to gain custody of the Father’s 15 year old daughter (she is now 17). This 43 year old man is very dangerous as he used to beat up on the Mother of the child. Here is an affidavit of the child’s aunt which shows how dangerous this man is: Affidavit of Aunt Jackie. I ran in the 2022 election against one of the judges who enabled the situation but was unsuccessful. A new judge has been assigned to the case so there is hope that these wrongs will be made right. However, the Father will be up against two attorneys and a Guardian Ad Litem who were all part of the corruption and he can’t afford an attorney. It would be inappropriate for me to attempt to represent the Father again in this matter in light of my political efforts, or else I would otherwise assist pro bono. We have found a well qualified attorney up to the task, but we need $4,000 to afford her. Please help.