When people get married, they do not imagine that their union will end in divorce, however, this is the harsh reality for many of today’s marriages. It is a well-known public opinion that one-half of marriages will end in divorce. This division of the familial unit is a very difficult obstacle for everyone to overcome but especially children. Children are in a vulnerable state because they are still learning about themselves and their place in the world and it has been proven that they can suffer from long-term mental impairments. Oklahoma courts are required to adhere to statute 43 OK Stat § 43-112 (2016) when determining the custody and care of the child; however, there is room for improvement among these laws. It is essential that we explore
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The GAL is an individual who is appointed by the court to help the judge get a better sense of the child’s home life with both parents and they should act as a third party indiscriminate individual to help determine which parent will offer the better home environment. They are a volunteer helper and suffer no consequences for any inaccurate information that they provide (Bright et al. 230). The GAL has proven to be one of the most discriminatory efforts of the court because the GAL often times favors the father over the mother and because they face no legal ramifications, they can falsify testimonies, which leaves the child in the hands of the lesser parental guardian (Neustein et al. 88). In Brisco v LaHue, it was determined that the GAL is guaranteed absolute immunity in the judicial process (Briscoe v. LaHue, 460 U.S. 325 (1983)). In Bright, Shovali, and Cooper’s article, they argue that if the usage of GAL continues, then the inexperienced GALs should be paired with experienced ones to help guide them through the process and that there should be more than one individual overseeing the case (Bright et al. 236). These stipulations seem to theoretically solve some of the issues at hand, but enforcing legal punishments for false testimonies would help force the GALs to be less discriminatory and focus more on the child. This is not to say that third-party information is not extremely valuable in some cases, but rather we need to revisit the guidelines and procedures it takes to become a guardian ad litem and we need to put in place harsh consequences should they choose to provide falsified
The GAL is an individual who is appointed by the court to help the judge get a better sense of the child’s home life with both parents and they should act as a third party indiscriminate individual to help determine which parent will offer the better home environment. They are a volunteer helper and suffer no consequences for any inaccurate information that they provide (Bright et al. 230). The GAL has proven to be one of the most discriminatory efforts of the court because the GAL often times favors the father over the mother and because they face no legal ramifications, they can falsify testimonies, which leaves the child in the hands of the lesser parental guardian (Neustein et al. 88). In Brisco v LaHue, it was determined that the GAL is guaranteed absolute immunity in the judicial process (Briscoe v. LaHue, 460 U.S. 325 (1983)). In Bright, Shovali, and Cooper’s article, they argue that if the usage of GAL continues, then the inexperienced GALs should be paired with experienced ones to help guide them through the process and that there should be more than one individual overseeing the case (Bright et al. 236). These stipulations seem to theoretically solve some of the issues at hand, but enforcing legal punishments for false testimonies would help force the GALs to be less discriminatory and focus more on the child. This is not to say that third-party information is not extremely valuable in some cases, but rather we need to revisit the guidelines and procedures it takes to become a guardian ad litem and we need to put in place harsh consequences should they choose to provide falsified