Consistency
We expect Consistency in the things around us. We expect
that our fast-food hamburger will be the same from day to day, with different
restaurants within the same chain; and that our morning coffee at the local
shop with be consistent with what was sold the day before. We expect that
favorite meal cooked at home or in a local restaurant to be consistent. We
expect consistency 
in clothing items when
we shop as to size quality and pricing within a name brand. The same holds for
our autos and the tires that we drive on.
We expect Consistency within the legal system. In criminal law or with major torts we can be judged on the merits of a case by a jury of our peers or by a high standard of law.
Unfortunately, that high standard does not exist in the one area that is of the most importance to families and society, Family Law. With the lowest standard of review in law and a nonexistent default standard, the consistency we expect is impossible.
“I think so” can never replace “I know so” when making any decision, especially one that will affect a child’s life.
Ohio does allow this to happen and it is unnecessary and wrong to the State of Ohio. The simple change from a “preponderance” standard that we use now in family law to a “clear and convincing evidence” standard assures all parties that the best decision is made while protecting the best interests of that family. That switch would protect our most innocent and assure that the false allegations that permeate many of the cases within the family court are not available to use.
I
made a quip recently and referred to the Ohio family law system as Calvinball. For those not
familiar with Ohioan Bill Watterson’s Calvin and Hobbes cartoon that appeared
in newspapers nationwide, Calvinball was a game that Calvin and Hobbes played
where the rules changed depending on who had the ball. It combined football,
baseball, and numerous other sports into one game where the holder of whatever
ball they had changed to suit that player’s desires. While I was half-joking
when I said it, it is closer to the truth than many within the family law
systems of Ohio and other states will admit. The inconsistency of the ever-changing
rules of the family law system has caused far too much harm for it to continue
any longer.
The consistent inconsistency has caused cases involving children to drag on for far longer than they should have gone and increased costs of operation in every courthouse throughout the state while attorneys, caseworkers, and Guardian Ad Litems change the rules without notice. In the end, it is the children who pay the ultimate price as their relationship with fit and loving parents is eroded, while the legal system makes up the new rule of the day. Many a future paid college education has been wasted away in a senseless game of Calvinball that can easily be prevented.
The last session’s SB144/HB253 would have brought consistency to the process by setting a clear default standard for custody arrangements between two fit parents. The introduced legislation would have brought a strict standard of review that protected every family member involved thus assuring that Calvinball was not the game of the day that adults were playing with the lives and futures of children.
Isn’t it time for the legislature to stop playing Calvinball and start thinking and acting like adults, with common sense? Reforming family law will do that and in turn, save the state and it is family the funds that can be used to create the future that we have always hoped the American Dream would bring.
Ray R. Lautenschlager
Legislative Director
