If you’re unfamiliar with family court, you might assume that it’s a place where the truth matters, where judges are eager to get to the heart of a dispute involving parents and children. But step inside any family courtroom in New York, and you’ll quickly discover that truth often takes a backseat to something far more sinister: procedural weaponization.

In family court, justice doesn’t move slowly. It doesn’t move at all. It spins in place, caught in an endless tangle of missed deadlines, docket mislabeling, and bureaucratic deflection. The result is paralysis by procedure—and the consequences can be devastating.

Marc Fishman’s Legal Loop

Consider the case of Marc Fishman, a New York father who’s spent nearly a decade trying to restore access to his children after a contentious divorce. His filings have been dismissed not because the facts are wrong, but because the format is.

One order to show cause was rejected because it was submitted under the wrong docket number. Another motion was tossed out because it referenced prior allegations—even though those allegations formed the very basis of his request. He’s been told to file in one court, only to be told later that court lacks jurisdiction. Meanwhile, his children wait. Time passes. Nothing changes.

Res Judicata, Calendar Rules, and the Art of Silencing

The doctrines used to dismiss Fishman’s claims—like res judicata, law of the case, and calendar scheduling rules—may sound dry, but their impact is anything but. When judges rely on these doctrines to avoid hearings, they are not promoting efficiency. They are dodging accountability.

And these doctrines are rarely applied evenly. Parents with attorneys often get leeway. Parents without one, like Fishman, are punished for trying to figure it out on their own. When they ask questions or challenge inconsistencies, they are labeled vexatious, aggressive, or manipulative.

Court by Kafka

The logic of family court is often circular. You need a hearing to request access. But you can’t get a hearing because you didn’t have access. You’re told to comply with an order you were never allowed to contest. When you seek a remedy, you’re accused of re-litigating old issues. And when you cite constitutional violations? You’re met with blank stares.

This is not an accident. It is a design. A court that cannot be challenged is a court that cannot be corrected. That is precisely what family court has become.

A System in Need of Triage

The solution isn’t just reform—it’s emergency surgery. Family court needs real rules of evidence. It needs judges trained in constitutional law and trauma. It needs to abandon the culture of gatekeeping and embrace the culture of access.

Litigants should not be punished for filing. They should not be denied hearings because a clerk made a mistake on a form. The system must treat every parent as if their case matters—because it does.

Conclusion: The Cost of Technical Tyranny

Marc Fishman isn’t just stuck in family court. He’s being held there. Not by facts or findings, but by a system that prefers to avoid messy truths by hiding behind red tape. His story is a warning to every parent: if it can happen to him, it can happen to you.

Procedure is not justice. And when procedure becomes the priority, justice disappears.

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