Matthew D. McMaster
If you asked me in January of 2021 what I would be doing in a year I would have said anything but practicing family law. It tears at the heart strings, there is no winner and the children lose the most, every time. However, an array of events that began in February 2021 and unraveled over a period of about nine 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 Designed For 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 child sexual abuse from occurring are destroyed or otherwise corrupted. These include: (i) law enforcement, (ii) Department of Human Services, Division of Family & Child Services ("DFCS"), (iii) parents, (iv) social workers, (v) lawyers, (vi) judges, and (vii) Guardians. 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 April 2021 through September 2021, I watched Cobb County Superior Court judges take action that put a 15 year old girl (now 16) in the hands of a 42 year old man, not blood related to her in any way, giving him full domain and control over her with no legal authority to do so. The Guardian recommended this--simply alleging that this is what the girl wanted. Now ask yourself: If your 15 year old daughter wanted to live with a 42 year old man, would you as a parent be okay with it? That man was the Mother's abusive ex-boyfriend claiming to be a "father figure" to the girl. It is important to know that the Mother had a total of at least 5 ex-boyfriends (that we know of) over the previous 8-year period, and I represented the girl's actual Father in the case.
Now, it is logical to ask yourself: How does this even happen? As I conducted my own investigation over a period of 8 months, the picture became clearer. Here is what I discovered:
1. Under Georgia law, the Mother's Ex-Boyfriend could not bring such a petition for custody if there is an open DFCS case.
2. There was an open DFCS case on April 15, 2021 when the assigned Judge, Robert E. Flournoy III, ordered partial custodial rights to the Ex-Boyfriend.
3. The Guardian Ad Litem in the case assisted DFCS with closing the DFCS case on April 20, 2021 without notifying Father or the Court that the DFCS case was open.
4. The Guardian authorized the Ex-Boyfriend to take the Daughter to Orlando, FL for a cheerleading competition where they shared a hotel room. When I expressed concern over these circumstances the Guardian accused me of conveying some sort of sexual abuse narrative. The Guardian refused to acknowledge a distinction between actual sexual abuse and potential grooming. I was not alleging actual abuse but was and will ALWAYS be concerned that opportunity provided to this 42-year-old man by the Guardian, which was also ordered by the Court.
5. For a period of about one month, from April to May, the Guardian conducted regular communications with the Ex-Boyfriend and none with the Mother and Father. I also came to find out that the Ex-Boyfriend was paying 2/3 of the Guardian's fees.
6. The Mother's 42-year-old Ex-Boyfriend that now has full custody of the 16-year-old girl hired the Judge's campaign treasurer who was also the Judge's attorney in 2010.
7. The Ex-Boyfriend's attorney represented Judge Flournoy in the Judge's own legal action against his daughter in 2010 so the Judge could obtain custody of his grandchild.
Based on the above, two things were clear: (1) the Guardian was catering to the Ex-Boyfriend and putting the child at risk; and (2) Judge Flournoy was going to order whatever the Guardian recommended so long as it favored the Ex-Boyfriend. Under Georgia law, the Judge was required to recuse himself at the outset of the case, but did not. The remedy for the circumstances was to have the Judge recused by another Superior Court Judge. I filed a motion for recusal of Judge Flournoy and the events that followed showed how deeply flawed our Cobb County Superior Court is.
Judge Robert D. Leonard's War On Recusals and Pay-to-Play System for Soliciting Campaign Funds
The Cobb County Superior Court Enables the Occurrence of Child Abuse, And By Doing Nothing I Would Be Part of the Problem.