By Families vs. DHR Editorial Team

In courtrooms across America, there exists a belief that has been passed down through generations, codified into oaths, and echoed through marble halls. Judges are seen as the guardians of justice: impartial, incorruptible, and a steady hand in the chaos. But in communities where the system disproportionately targets the poor, silences the unheard, and misunderstands the marginalized, that belief is beginning to crack.

We do not question whether judges can be guardians of justice. We ask whether they still are.

⚖️ The Role We Were Taught

In theory, a judge serves as the ultimate check on government power. When law enforcement overreaches, when agencies violate rights, when the truth is buried under red tape and retaliation, the judge is supposed to be the one who stops the clock, demands facts, and restores order.

They are not prosecutors. They are not agents of the state. They are supposed to be neutral arbiters. They are protectors of due process, stewards of the Constitution, a parent’s last hope, and a child’s silent safeguard.

So what happens when the person behind the bench stops asking questions?

🔍 Rubber Stamps and Closed Doors

Across Alabama and beyond, parents report the same chilling experience. Hearings that last minutes. Judges who barely look up. Social workers who are never questioned. Families are separated based on hearsay, outdated allegations, or vague claims of concern.

Once the robe becomes a rubber stamp, justice is no longer served. It is signed, sealed, and delivered to the most powerful voice in the room. Far too often, that voice does not belong to the family.

We have seen mothers silenced mid-testimony. Fathers cut off before they can present evidence. Grandparents denied guardianship because they asked too many questions. Judges should be the shield. Too many have become the sword.

🛑 When Judges Forget Who They Serve

It is not a radical position to say that judges are failing when they:

• Ignore perjury on the stand
• Allow DHR to remove children without verifying claims
• Overrule safe kinship options for political convenience
• Treat trauma as disruption and poverty as neglect

This is not just judicial error. It is judicial abandonment. In family court, that abandonment does not just cost money or time. It costs childhoods. It fractures homes.

When a child is removed without credible evidence, that is not just a bureaucratic decision. It is a theft sanctioned by the state.

📜 Guardianship Demands Courage

Being a true guardian of justice is not about wearing a robe or reciting Latin phrases. It is about courage.

• It takes courage to stand up to a state agency.
• It takes courage to demand evidence, not just emotion.
• It takes courage to look a scared parent in the eye and say, “I will hear you. I will see you. I will protect your rights.”

Not all judges have failed. But too many have forgotten what the robe is supposed to represent.

📣 The People Are Watching

If a judge cannot protect the vulnerable, they do not deserve the title guardian of justice. And if they refuse to change, they will no longer sit unchallenged.

One system. Under secrecy. Dividing families with no liberty and no justice at all.