Judging the Other: The Intersection of Race, Gender, and Class in Family Court

Abstract

This critical ethnographic study of family court child maltreatment proceedings describes and illuminates the ways in which racial, gender, and class disadvantages can manifest on the ground as judges, attorneys, social service workers, and parents—joined often by gender but split by race and class—adjudicate cases. The findings suggest that intersectionality worked in ways that exponentially marginalized poor mothers of color in the courtroom. They were marginalized both through the rules of the adversarial process (which silenced their voices) and through the construction of narratives (which emphasized individual weakness) over structural obstacles as well as personal irresponsibility over expressions of maternal care and concern. Standard due process courtroom practices also communicated bias or social exclusion, especially in a courtroom split by race and class.

The View from the Other Side: How Parents and their Representatives View Family Court

“…Studies of TJ principles in action in the Family Court context are rare. The three studies that were identified include observations in traditional family courts during child abuse and neglect proceedings (Lens, 2016(Lens, , 2017(Lens, , 2019, a family drug treatment court (Fay-Ramirez, 2015), and in a traditional family court during custody and visitation proceedings (Dollar, 2020). These studies collectively suggest that Family Court environments can be home to both therapeutically just and unjust practices.…”

“…These courtrooms were more adversarial and formal. Parents were spoken about, not to, as the traditional attorney-judge dyad relationship was prioritized, and parents were sometimes silenced when they tried to speak (Fay-Ramirez, 2015;Lens, 2016Lens, , 2017Lens, , 2019. The emphasis, by judges or others, was on parental compliance rather than treatment, with judges sometimes chastising and admonishing parents (Fay-Ramirez, 2015;Lens, 2016Lens, , 2017.…”

“…The emphasis, by judges or others, was on parental compliance rather than treatment, with judges sometimes chastising and admonishing parents (Fay-Ramirez, 2015;Lens, 2016Lens, , 2017. Parents' individual weaknesses and personal irresponsibility were emphasized over structural obstacles and parental care (Lens, 2019).…”

“…Judges play a pivotal role in the Family Court system (Lens, 2019). The judge determines the pace of the proceeding, its tone and tenor, and of course its outcome.…”

Race and Ethnicity in the Lives of LGBTQ Parents and Their Children: Perspectives from and Beyond North America

“…For example, among trans people who have separated from a partner or spouse, 29% of Black parents report that courts or judges have limited or terminated their relationships with their children on the basis of their transgender identity or gender nonconformity; the same is true for 20% of multiracial, 17% of American Indian, 12% of White, and 9% of Latinx NTDS respondents (Grant et al, 2011; of note is that the Asian sample size for this question was too low to report). Such decisions unjustly sever parent-child bonds, with lasting consequences for these children and families (see Lens, 2019;Roberts, 2009). The healthcare system is another site of struggle for many trans parents and prospective parents, with implications for parent and child wellness and for trans people's pathways to parenthood.…”