OC Bar Association says “I just want to protect my children” means “I just want to screw my ex”
Orange County Family Court Crisis
Originally published on Newsbreak, October 2024.
The Orange County Bar Association (OCBA) recently hosted an instructional webinar titled Child Custody Solutions: Options Available & When to Use Them, the slideshow for which can be viewed here. Documents obtained from the 2021 webinar reveal that the OC Bar instructs attorneys, court professionals, and judges to disregard parents reporting child abuse. The documents show a longstanding practice of funneling protective parents and children to reunification therapists like Jessica St. Clair. According to these materials, court professionals are instructed to view reports of abuse from protective or "safe" parents as vengeful and untruthful.
One slide features a satirical heading: “Reunification Therapy for Dummies”
Beneath it, a mock “Webster’s Family Law” dictionary entry redefines the phrase:
“I just want to protect my children. Translation? I just want to screw my ex.”
Another slide acknowledges that “reunification services are prohibited in Family Court under Family Code 3026.”
Despite this acknowledgment, the OC Bar and the speakers—practicing officers of the OC family court—continue to follow a directive that includes ordering reunification therapy. This practice involves removing children from protective parents, typically mothers, and placing them with alleged or documented abusers. Mothers have often been subjected to monitored visitation for extended periods or indefinitely, with their reports of abuse being dismissed as false. This system, including the flipping of custody to alleged abusers, persisted both before and after 2021.
In 2023, this practice was further outlawed with the passage of Piqui’s Law.
The webinar featured OC family court professionals as speakers, including Nicole Schmidt, CFLS (Bremer Whyte Brown & O'Meara, LLP), Kristen Przeklasa, Esq. (OC Child & Family Formation Law Group, LLP), Dr. Linda Grossman (The Center for Positive Solutions), Dr. Sue Tonkins (Creative Custody Solutions), and Stacey White Kinney, MS, LMFT.
Jessica St. Clair, who recently resigned from all OC family court cases (read the article here), and was later exposed for misleading the court about her credentials (see the article here), was a partner of Dr. Sue Tonkins in the Reunification Specialty Team of OC and Creative Custody Solutions.
Sample legal documents provided by Newport Beach law firm Minyard Morris, are attached to the end of the slide show document to assist family court professionals in directing parents to engage various court professional or to stipulations on custody and co-parenting agreements.
When searching for “Webster’s Family Law,” the only result found was from Merriam-Webster's legal dictionary. Searching the phrase “I just want to protect my children” produced the result: “Sorry, the word you’re looking for can’t be found in the dictionary.”
The time for action is now. Let's ensure that justice and protection for our children are not just ideals but realities.
This ongoing series on the OC family court crisis aims to bring national attention to these systemic issues, advocating for immediate reform and accountability. The time for action is now. It is imperative that lawmakers, the media, and the public unite to demand justice and protection for all families involved. Whistleblowers and victims of family court, CPS, probate court, foster care corruption within the US, please contact this reporter at juliea005@proton.me.
What are California legislators and authorities doing about this crisis?
Are you for protecting American children and ensuring justice within our legal system?
Contact your legislative representatives, reach out to media outlets, and remember to vote.
Together, we can spark a national movement and bring about massive positive change.
Julie M. Anderson-Holburn is a California-based investigative journalist reporting on family court corruption, judicial abuse, and systemic failures. Her work is published on NewsBreak, Substack, and The Family Court Circus, and has been featured by the Center for Judicial Excellence and National Safe Parents. Julie believes that exposing the truth is the first step toward meaningful reform.
This article was made possible by the support of readers like you. Thank you.
Related coverage from California and Arizona:
Whistleblowers Reveal Corruption in Orange County Family Courts and Beyond
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OC Court Delays for 10 Months—Then Demands $4,240 for One Public Record
Keshel threatens to investigate judge over pending family-court cases
04/14/2025 - Joint Legislative Ad Hoc Committee on Family Court Orders
EXCLUSIVE: The Paralegal Pretenders of Orange County — A Hidden Threat in Family Court
Orange County’s Justice Meltdown: Judge Carmen Luege’s Unlawful Orders and Due Process Violations
OC Man Charged with 5 Felony Counts of Molestation: Family Court and CPS Ignored Reports for Years
OCDA Ignores Good Cause Law, Family Court Violates Due Process in Tawny Minna Grossman Case
Judicial Misconduct in OC? Judge’s Threats Against Mother Over Media Coverage Become Reality
Weaponized Gag Orders: How an OC Judge Is Silencing a Quadriplegic Mother’s Fight for Justice
Orange County Judges Block Public and Media from Court Hearings
Update: “Tar’s Road to Recovery” Mom Bullied by OC Minors’ Counsel in Fight Over Special Needs Trust
Injustice in OC: mom of tar's road to recovery faces unjust & prolonged separation from her kids
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Welcome to Unveiled and Uncensored: Investigating Family Court Corruption
Links to other OC prominent cases and additional reading:
State of the Nation 2012 Report
OC Supervisors Settle Lawsuit Alleging Social Services Did Not Report Child Sex Abuse
U.S. SUPREME COURT RE‐ JECTS ORANGE COUNTY’S CHALLENGE TO $4.9 MILLION LAWSUIT
Fox 11 Reporter, Producer Mar‐ tin Burns Dies in Hiking Accident
OC Weekly: LAWMAKERS OK CHILD PROTECTIVE SER‐ VICES AUDIT REQUEST PARTLY SPARKED BY OC CASE: UPDATE
OC Weekly’s Coverage on Ruby Dillon’s Custody Battle
Filed 6/14/10 Fogarty-Hardwick v. County of Orange CA G039045
Attorney Unveils Suit Alleging Cover-up of Disgusting Child Abuse by DA, County Agency
Voice of OC: Problems in OC Child Welfare System Get Statewide Scrutiny
Voice of OC: OC Child Protec‐ tion Agency Under Fire
Lexi Dillion Case: What Caused an Expert To Change His Mind?
Court Trafficking of Jonah Reef & Lexi Dillion gets national at‐ tention, exposes corruption
JUDGES REJECT ORANGE COUNTY’S CLAIM THAT SO‐ CIAL WORKERS DIDN’T KNOW LYING IN COURT WAS WRONG
Having lived the horrors of family court corruption, bias and pure evil, here in OC with these professionals, this article makes me nauseous because its sickening true. What also makes me sick is the ignorant ridiculous comments on here by men blaming women for this. Did they fail to see most these court professionals here are actually women? The devil comes disguised as both men and women. This isn't a gender thing, this is good vs evil. These sadistic court professionals and abusive parents getting together using the legal abuse to target their victims and innocent children are demonic, pure evil. Thats it. The rest are ignorant and overwhelmed new judges foolishly relying on a system like many lay people who think family court protects domestic violence victims and children. Any reasonable person who never witnessed fan court corruption would think these court professionals are trained and make the best decisions for children. It's absolutely disgusting and unthought of what these "professionals" are doing, telling judges absolute BS lies based on nonsense like its actual evidence they take it. Mark my words, one day everyone will know the truth and these demonic professionals attorneys judges and abusers will pay the price, for all eternity.
Thank you Julie for being a defender of the good, a true angel fighting evil. Thank you for all your work bringing these evil crimes to light!!!!!!
Also, some women do fight wars and men are exempt.