Jennifer Muller
Welcome to season 6! Our guest today is Jennifer Muller, who was the subject of our very first (and very popular) podcast episode, “It Couldn’t Happen to Me,” in September 2017, when she described running out of funds and being forced to represent herself in a custody trial in 2009.
In conversation with Julie, Jennifer describes her experience of returning to court, ten years after she first represented herself. Jennifer agonized about returning, but eventually felt she had no choice but to deal with many unresolved co-parenting issues as her daughter grew up. Unable to face the idea of representing herself this time – as she tells Julie, she now knows what this entails – Jennifer took out a bank loan and hired legal counsel. At the time of this recording, Jennifer had spent $100,000. We ask: how is this a functional family justice system?
Jennifer is a Schools Counsellor with the North Vancouver school district. She is an active advocate for access to justice. She is a member of the NSRLP Advisory Board, and the Executive Group of the Access to Justice BC initiative.
In Other News
Ali Tejani
This episode features the welcome return of Ali Tejani as guest news correspondent! A former NSRLP research assistant, Ali is now with the Ontario Ministry of the Attorney-General. There continue to be significant changes to courts across the country, with courts slowly adjusting to creating a more accessible process, for example by conducting virtual hearings, and being more accommodating to litigants; Ali provides some interesting examples and articles on the topic. In addition, Ali recaps some of NSRLP’s recent exciting news, including winning the prestigious Fodden Award!
News roundup:
NSRLP roundup:
NSRLP receives 2020 Fodden Award from the Canadian Law Blog Awards
“Enhancing A2J at the Immigration Appeal Tribunal: Addressing User Needs” (NSRLP)
Jeff Rose-Martland: “Whose law is it anyway?” (The Lawyer’s Daily)
“What’s happening out west? NSRLP West checks in from BC” (NSRLP)
Jumping Off the Ivory Tower is produced and hosted by Julie Macfarlane and Dayna Cornwall; production and editing by Brauntë Petric; Other News produced and hosted by Ali Tejani, with assistance from Katie Pfaff; promotion by Moya McAlister and the NSRLP team.
any legal proceeding that requires you to bankrupt yourself. is not functional. 100.000 thousand dollars to resolve parenting issues is kinda small compared to how long the truely difficult situation of self represented can lead you into. If i had not stepped up, and did it myself, i would have have ended up on the street, and still had no justice. That is the sad thing,, no justice, no matter how much money you spend, because the courts refuse to allow us to do what needs to be done. In my case, i requested full disclosure of the files, and i needed and booked an examination of that evidence. Because there are forensics involved, and i am not a forensics expert, i would need to find one to provide their services AT A TREMENDOUS COST. As it turned out, this industry, like the medical industry does not testify against one another. So finding someone to help, could not be done. So,, if the courts expect to use dna testing in family matters, but no one will be available to examine the work of another,, how do you proceed?? answer,, you can’t!!!