Special Commission on the Future of the New York State Courts

visits with my daughter, but I missed out on more than two-anda-half
crucial years of her life before that.
. . .
“If I had had the opportunity to have one judge hear all
parts of this case, I firmly believe that we would not have spent
nearly as much time and money to resolve it. Under a
consolidated court system, I would have had to take less time off
of work, pay fewer attorneys fees (or require less of the Legal
Aid attorneys who helped me), avoided endless paper work, and
most importantly, been able to get to know my daughter before
her third birthday.”
* * * *
The testimonial of Jacklyn M. presents another example
of a victim of domestic violence becoming tangled in our
complicated web of courts.
“My name is Jacklyn M. I am the mother of two children,
I live in Brooklyn, New York, and I am a victim of domestic
violence. Although both of my parents were born in Puerto Rico,
my parents met here in New York, and I was born in this country.
My father was an abuser and when I became an adult, I married
an abuser. My ex-husband also abused and molested the oldest
of our two children.
“In 2001, I left my husband and sought a restraining
order against him in Brooklyn Family Court. At that time, I
sought a divorce as well as custody of our two children. There
was also a criminal case pending against him in Criminal Court,
and while our divorce was executed in Supreme Court, custody
and visitation proceedings continued in Family Court.
“At the same time, in 2001, I applied for welfare benefits
so that I could support my two children after separating from my
ex-husband.
. . .
“Because of my money troubles, I was also a defendant
for some time in NYC Housing Court. I was not able to pay my
portion of rent (some portion of my rent was supposed to be paid
A Court System for the Future, February 2007 41