4 Policies to Fix Missouri Family Courts
To safeguard kids and shut down money laundering, here's what I would do
Family courts all over America are corrupt. Missouri’s could be the worst. Fixing the whole thing wouldn’t be hard. Here’s what I would do from a Federal level.
Policy #1: Secure database for all documents
The Department of Justice should manage the database that houses all documents and all official communications for the state courts. The budget should be Federal, not state.
This new system would feature biometric security to log each person who has access to any part of the database, but especially examination and filing of documents. That would go for court employees, attorneys, and pro se litigants alike.
Signing documents would be done through biometrics as well. No more impersonation of judges, and no messy prosecutions!
Any alteration or destruction of records would produce court-ready evidence for criminal prosecution or civil rights suits.
Policy #2: Federal database of all court personnel
St. Louis City courts just admitted that more than 10% of their sheriff’s deputies were not employees and had never been hired. They execute arrest warrants and evictions. Obviously, someone pays them, and it’s likely organized crime.
That won’t do.
Easy fix though. The U.S. Government should administer, maintain, and finance a central database of all court employees, bailiffs, clerks, judges, and other staff. The Feds can do the background checks and warn you if, perchance, you might be employing a soldier from the Sinaloa Cartel.
Easy, and important.
Policy #3: Run divorces through Federal agencies
Divorces are legal affairs, so we are told. You need to be legally married, and thus legally divorced. But really, these are financial affairs, and the state courts needn’t concern themselves.
Every state has a de facto 50/50 split of marital assets. For that matter, spousal support and child support are decided as a proportion of income and assets. Those are all dealt with every year by the United States Department of the Treasury when people file tax returns. The state courts should not have to litigate such issues, since accountants need to swear that they’re providing true information to Uncle Sam on the regular.
Healthcare simply needs to be Federalized to get the Mob out of its various siphoning rackets. Medicare for All would take that off families’ backs and remove that as a court issue.
For child custody, abuse and neglect can be raised as issues, and 50/50 parenting might not be appropriate for every family; active duty military personnel have to do uneven parenting splits all the time. That said, state courts are so corrupt, allowing foster kids to get sex trafficked, they cannot be trusted to handle this business.
Thus, a new, hybrid agency running under Health & Human Services—with help from the U.S. Department of the Treasury—should handle the legal aspects of divorce.
There will be naysayers around this policy. The Mob especially needs dirty family and probate courts to cover up their crooked books—but we really don’t have time for their problems any more.
Policy #4: Run IOLTA accounts through Federal agencies
Law firms use their IOLTA accounts to launder money for drug trafficking organizations.
That won’t do.
The U.S. Department of the Treasury should set up free bank accounts for use by attorneys for safeguarding their clients’ property and information. Have the Feds safeguard both. And if a client should happen to be the front for a drug trafficking organization, FinCEN can helpfully let the attorneys know.
Quick and easy fixes—and they’ll save the states money! Let those rich “blue states” foot the tab! Happy taxpayers, fewer trafficked kids, and no more drug cartels using state courts.
Let’s get it done.