02261996 - News Article - Judge wants complaints resolved

Judge wants complaints resolved
NWI Times
Feb 26, 1996
http://www.nwitimes.com/uncategorized/judge-wants-complaints-resolved/article_cd973cb9-b81e-5633-b262-952948e4cdc3.html
What is a guardian ad litem?
Indiana law allows family court judges to appoint a guardian ad litem to "represent and protect the best interests of the child" in divorce and custody proceedings.

A guardian ad litem may:
* subpoena witnesses
* present evidence
* perform investigations
* prepare reports for the court

Although many of Indiana's guardians ad litem are lawyers, state law does not specify any educational requirements. Porter Superior Court Judge Thomas W. Webber Sr. wants the sheriff to figure out whether complaints against a prominent court volunteer have merit or are the by-product of bitter divorces.

In recent weeks, complaints about the performance of Beatrice Lightfoot, who volunteers her services to family court, have come to the attention of all six county judges.

Lightfoot, a wealthy Portage area landowner, has served for a number of years as a court-appointed guardian ad litem to protect the interests of children in divorce and custody proceedings. Lightfoot is the benefactor who in 1992 contributed $60,000 to the court to provide services to the same children.

Most recently, Lightfoot opened the Children/Parent Center in Chesterton, where children may visit with non-custodial parents.

The judges do not know the sources of the allegations, which range from providing false information to the court to her request for county funds for a children's center.

Lightfoot said on Saturday she believes the criticism is coming from parents who have misdirected their anger at losing custody of their children.

"I have no authority to take children away from their parents," Lightfoot said. "When you get a divorce case and you get a custody battle, I'll investigate. That's all I do."

Lightfoot said her accusers need "to go to the judge" and prove their complaints.

"What bothers me is that they think a woman who just does investigations can take their children away," she said.

"Some of the allegations go beyond sour grapes," Webber said last week. "They go to ethical and legal allegations."

Webber said he is asking the sheriff's department "to investigate the accusations and take action if warranted."

Webber said he suspects the complaints are groundless, the product of people intimately involved in divorce cases and not an unbiased citizens' watch group.

The sheriff could have problems with an investigation because Webber says he doesn't know who the actual complainants are.

Lightfoot is the only guardian ad litem among the county's estimated half-dozen such officers of the court who is not an attorney. Complaints against her performance came to the judges' attention through the intercession of a Dune Acres woman, Helen Boothe. Her hand-carried letter told the judges the information came to her through "friends of friends over the last 18
months."

Boothe submitted to the judges a 13-point statement outlining alleged misconduct by Lightfoot in her role as guardian ad litem.

Among other complaints, the statement alleges that Lightfoot presented "an exaggerated/distorted account of reality to the court."

Boothe also provided judges an eight-point petition objecting to the potential impact of Lightfoot's activities on the county budget. The petition, signed by some 35 area individuals, says Lightfoot's new center duplicates existing services offered by Valparaiso's Family House, which is already supported by county funds.

Within recent weeks, Lightfoot has written the Porter County Council asking how to apply for county funds to help defray the costs of operating the Children/Parent Center.

The petition also questions the "neutrality" of Lightfoot referring her own cases to the center and the lack of an entity to supervise the operation.

But Webber claims the group is "mixing apples and oranges." Webber says the two centers address families with different dynamics.

Lightfoot's center deals exclusively with children whose parents are fighting each other, and Family House deals with parents who are fighting the child welfare department.

Porter Superior Court Judge Jeffrey L. Thode, who until the last election served as a court commissioner in family court, said he had no reason to doubt Lightfoot.

Thode believes there are safeguards against abuse by a guardian ad litem because the judge has the final call. He has ruled against Lightfoot on occasion, he said.

The bigger problem, according to Thode, are the dynamics of divorce.

"Divorce is a creature of statute," Thode said, "and everybody who gets divorced wants to erase all those years. The problem is you can't pretend you were never married."

Even with the safeguards, the guardian ad litem is not a perfect approach to the results of a bitter divorce, Thode said. "But I'd like to hear a better approach if someone's got one."

Porter Superior Court Judge Nancy Vaidik said the judges discussed the complaints at the judges' last monthly meeting.

"We have agreed as judges that (the complaints) need to be looked into,"

Vaidik said. "That's not saying there's anything wrong, but we're going to look into them to see."

Porter Superior Court Judge Mary Harper said: "This is a good opportunity to look at the overall organization and ensure we don't have duplication of services and unnecessary allocation of funds. It's good this whole area is being reviewed."

"I know there are complaints," Porter Superior Court Judge Roger Bradford said. "I think if there's something lacking, it would be training. There is no specific guardian ad litem training. That's why it's mostly attorneys."