- Judge Susan B. Carbon
Kudos to Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) for smashing down the roadblocks to the confirmation of New Hampshire Judge Susan B. Carbon as the new director of the Department of Justice’s Office of Violence Against Women.
Sue Else, president of the National Network to End Domestic Violence (NNEDV), said in a press release:
We could not be happier to have such a dedicated leader as Judge Carbon to help create a society where violence against women is not tolerated and perpetrators are held accountable.
When I first heard about Judge Carbon’s nomination, I was ecstatic. She and I graduated from DePaul University’s law school. And, y’all know how I feel about litigation abuse.
This afternoon I’m doing a happy dance after reading Sen. Shaheen’s endorsement of Judge Carbon in the February 11, 2010 Congressional Record:
Every 2 minutes, someone in this country is a victim of sexual violence. Every 52 seconds, a woman is victimized by a spouse or a partner. These crimes devastate victims’ lives. They shatter families. They often create fear in whole communities. The Office of Violence Against Women leads our Nation’s efforts to prevent these deadly crimes and to identify, capture, and punish the perpetrators. . .
Yet despite a unanimous vote by the Judiciary Committee back on December 3 of last year that recommended Susan Carbon’s confirmation, unnamed Senators have blocked her confirmation for 2 months.
. . .it was JUDD GREGG, the senior Republican Senator from New Hampshire, who first recognized Susan’s capabilities and potential. In 1991, then-Governor GREGG appointed Susan Carbon to be a part-time district court judge. After I became Governor, I appointed Susan to be a full-time judge. Because of her commitment to ending domestic violence and her expertise in family law, she was named the supervisory judge of the family division in New Hampshire, a position she still holds.
Susan Carbon is exceptionally qualified to serve. . .leading voice in New Hampshire on domestic violence and family law, and she has been the driving force behind so many of New Hampshire’s efforts to strengthen legal protections for victims of domestic violence.
. . .frequently serves as a faculty member of the National Judicial Institute on Domestic Violence. . .
This morning I read a heart-breaking post on RightsforMothers about Judge Robert Lemkau, a clueless twit of a judge in California. On January 14, he told a mother who was trying desperately to protect her child from his abusive father:
One of you is lying, and I think it’s you.
A few days later, her son’s father killed her baby and himself.
I’m hoping one of Judge Carbon’s first priorities will be to put a stop to the manipulation of the legal system as an instrument of abuse. There are way too many Judge Lemkaus on the bench and too many judges on the bench who abuse their own loved ones behind closed doors.
Bravo, Senator Shaheen!
Congratulations, Judge Carbon!
Update: Nancy Carroll, who writes the Rights for Mothers blog, discovered Judge Carbon taught other judges that PAS is bogus. Great work, Nancy!
Anne Caroline Drake 
Thank you for covering Judge Lemkau’s horrendous behavior. I am running against Judge Lemkau – to get him off the bench. My website has all the info – http://www.electhosking.org
Good luck, James. How soon is your election?
If you have the luxury of time, it would be good if you could balance your credentials working on DV issues to balance out your expertise in fighting narcotics.
For example, you might be able to tap into the National Judicial Institute on Domestic Violence which is a strategic partnership with the Family Violence Prevention Fund based in San Francisco. Judge Carbon did serious work with this group.
Alternatively, if you can cost-effectively participate in the ABA, they have a committee on DV.
My most popular posts are about judges who allow their courts to be manipulated as an instrument of abuse. You’ve picked a good issue because people are really fired up about this.
Judge Susan Carbon is a biased Judge and all of her decision are against men that have done nothing wrong, but a woman gets to claim DV to gain Susan’s pity.
It’s hard to believe that this is how she was, I’ve never seen someone against woman’s violence be so pro abusers to continue to abuse. Thanks to her I still get to be manipulatedone by my abuser of 6 years. As hard as I’ve tried to get away from him I cannot and I have to pay out of my budget for him to do this. Sad day when a woman’s activist turns pro abuse.
I can tell you that Judge Susan Carbon called it right in my case. I do however wish that instead of restraining orders being doled out…there should be mandatory pre-divorce, whole family psychological assessments to get to thwart false accusations. If need be, brain scans; as these do tell a lot about a person’s mental health using empirical evidence…vs subjective evidence. Lawyers should not be working beyond the scope of their professional licenses, and subsequently trampling on and making a mockery of other professional licenses. This is a shame that children are being afforded the right to an attorney, but not the right to mental health care in divorce crises.
Mr. Rambow,
Thank you for this thought-provoking comment.
My point of view on custody cases is constantly evolving. The only thing I know for sure is that the courtroom isn’t a good place to resolve custody issues. You are correct. Attorneys and judges know very little about mental health issues. Quite frankly, too many of them have their own mental health issues.
I had hoped when ObamaCares mandated DV screening that the medical community would step up to the plate, but they haven’t. They have far more expertise to deal with the DV dynamic than anyone in the criminal “justice” system, and they can intervene before there’s blood on the floor. Yet, I am well-aware that most therapists, etc. don’t get it either.
This is an issue which deserves significantly more professional expertise and advocacy that it has ever gotten.
Respectfully,
Anne Caroline