HOME | POLITICS | SPORTS | LIFE | SCI/TECH | OPEDS | HELPFUL TIPS
|
June 13, 2006 The particular area of law that I worked in was Domestic (Family) Relations. It was a war zone at the best of times and very frightening most of the time. When I worked in a law office I was confronted by an irate husband and father brandishing a rifle (we represented his wife), threatening me over the custody issues that we had gotten a Judge to agree to earlier that day, a woman who threatened to "go postal" on all of us in the office if we didn't get her the exact amount of alimony that she was seeking (an absurd amount that her husband couldn't have possibly paid) another man who barged in and swept everything off of my desk with one thrust of his arm, as well as dealing with several other angry, emotional and over-wrought individuals. Unfortunately, this behavior was not infrequent or rare. It became necessary to hire security to check people entering our office for weapons and we began to feel as if we were in an armed conflict on certain days. When we and our clients went to the courthouse where the majority of our cases were adjudicated we had to pass through security and it's very much like being in an airport. I never expected to have to go through that at my place of work but it became necessary in order to function in a safe environment. Yesterday, Judge Charles Weller, a Domestic Relations Judge in Reno, NV. was shot by a sniper through his office window and is in the hospital as I type this. I don't know what is condition is but I DO know how he must have felt and how he must have been aware of the dangers he faced every single day. The "person of interest" wanted by the Reno, NV police is named Darren Mack. He is a businessman who is alleged to have killed his estranged wife prior to shooting Judge Weller. Mack went to a Reno reporter prior to this and attempted to expose Weller for being "on the take" and accepting campaign contributions from various lawyers in his community. Mack felt that Weller's decisions were based on who donated to his campaigns and that he favored those individuals when handing down his decisions. He asked the reporter to begin an investigation into the Judge's alleged misconduct. It is not known if any ongoing investigation was taking place. The Reno police are asking for the public's help in locating Mr.Mack. Mr. Mack and his wife's divorce and monetary settlement had been resolved in Judge Weller's court but custody of their children was still pending at the time of the above shootings. Judge Weller was outspoken regarding domestic abuse and there is a strong "Father's Rights" group active in Reno so it may have some connection to the motive for the shooting Unfortunately, it is not necessary to be known as "outspoken" or a proponent of any particular mindset when it comes to divorce and child custody issues. They are all an emotional rollercoaster and people who are normally mild-mannered and calm can turn into dangerous thugs due to decisions handed down by Domestic Relations Courts. I wish the Judge well in his recovery and I also hope that the man who shot him can be caught before he harms anyone else or himself. I stopped working in that field of law because I got tired of spending my days not only listening to tales of abuse, unfaithful spouses and other real and exaggerated stories from the home front; I also got tired of being afraid to go to work. I guess that nothing in life comes without risk, but one has to choose whether or not the risks are worth the rewards. I saw few rewards for my clients and lots of anger, bitterness and sadness. I have no regrets that I left to pursue other interests. Doing research and an occasional blog from the quiet and solitude of one's own home beats facing the barrel of a gun any day!! ------------ About the author: Meri has a Medical/Legal background and is a former forensic researcher specializing in psychological profiling. https://www2.xlibris.com/bookstore/bookdisplay.asp?bookid=27335 Email: writers2@cox.net Comment on this article here! ------------ All articles are EXCLUSIVE to Useless-Knowledge.com. Please link to this article rather than copying and pasting it onto your site (which would be unauthorized and illegal). |
||||||
|
|
|||||||
|
