Opinion ID: 1225076
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Children's Preference

Text: The children of David Koresh felt safe with him. While this dissent does not seek to compare Mr. S. with David Koresh, it implores judges to see that family relationships wherein one person has all the power (frequently not only through the pursestrings, but also as a result of both learned and socially-imposed helplessness) are also abusive. These children learned from their father that their mother did not have even sufficient authority to purchase a package of Oreo cookies for them, that it was okay to demean, disobey, and verbally abuse her, and that physical violence awaited those who did not do as he said. The mother reacted with anger, and the father by word, deed, and dollar delivered the message that mommy's crazy and mommy's contemptible. Jason was twelve years old at the time of the hearings before the family law master and thirteen by the time of the divorce. Thus, he was only thirteen at the time he last expressed a preference on the record in this case (not fourteen, as the majority indicates). We have said that a child has a right to nominate his own guardian at age fourteen, and that his preference can be accorded deference even before fourteen, depending on his age and maturity. See David M., 182 W.Va. at 64, 385 S.E.2d at 920. Consequently, even though the mother was the primary caretaker, the circuit court cannot be said to have abused its discretion in giving weight to Jason's preference and placing him in the custody of his father. In all likelihood, and by all the evidence, this young man has already demonstrated a propensity to act out anger with violence, and we can only hope we do not see him in court in another generation. Justin was ten years old and Jennifer six years old at the time their preferences were expressed. Although it could be argued that a ten-year-old's preference could be given some weight, Jennifer at six was too young to express a meaningful preference. Furthermore, a reading of the record makes it quite clear that Jennifer was spirited off to see psychologists by her father and instructed rather specifically on the way by her father and older brother regarding what to say. She related to her mother after-the-fact that she told lies and even Dr. Yeargan discerned that she had been coached. Justin and Jennifer should have been placed in the custody of their mother. The majority wreaks further havoc on this family (especially Jennifer) by a remand for further evidence. It appears that anxiety and manipulation will again be the order of the day for this little girl, and life's most basic uncertainties will resume as the family is figuratively killed with due process. This case as written will have little impact on anyone's lives other than the parties themselves. But what it should have is a very clear, bright line syllabus point that domestic violence is a very important consideration in determining child custody. So long as this Court sends a different signal to family law masters, magistrates and circuit judges, the response of the judicial system to family violence will continue to be inadequate. The judicial system in this country is the last bastion of almost total male domination. Judges bring to their work all their social, cultural, personal values and experiences. In 1971, two white male law professors studied the response of American judges to sex discrimination cases up to that time and wrote: Our conclusion, independently reached, but completely shared, is that by and large the performance of American judges in the area of sex discrimination can be succinctly described as ranging from poor to abominable. With some notable exceptions, they have failed to bring to sex discrimination cases those judicial virtues of detachment, reflection and critical analysis which have served them so well with respect to other sensitive social issues.... Judges have largely freed themselves from patterns of thought that can be stigmatized as racist... [but] sexismthe making of unjustified (or at least unsupported) assumptions about individual capabilities, interests, goals and social roles solely on the basis of sex differencesis as easily discernible in contemporary judicial opinions as racism ever was. L. Crites, A Judicial Guide to Understanding Wife Abuse, The Judges' Journal, 5, 7 (Summer 1985). In 1977, Beverly Cook of the University of Wisconsin in Milwaukee analyzed the United States Supreme Court cases affecting woman from 1971 to 1977, and concluded that members of the Court were more influenced by their personal values than by legal principles. See Crites, supra, at 7. Obviously, gender bias continues to exist in the court system in many contexts, pointing up not only the need for judicial education on gender-related issues, but also for larger numbers of women in the judiciary. Since the majority has directed that this case be remanded on the best interests of Jennifer, the family law master and circuit court should permit evidence on family violence and should appoint an expert who knows something about this issue, for both evaluation and counselling. Carlotta Smith, the director of the Women's Resource Center in Beckley, West Virginia, who is a master's level counsellor and works daily with families whose lives have been disrupted by abusive relationships or someone with similar expertise should be considered. Lastly, this Supreme Court in its administrative capacity should not only continue to develop training for judges, family law masters and magistrates on domestic violence, but should also get in touch with the fact that the members of this Court need such training as well.