STG35-Love and Tyranny With Author Dean Pappas - Slam The Gavel

Marianne Petri sits down with author Dean Pappas, whose memoir *Love and Tyranny* chronicles the loss of his teenage daughter to a family‑court system he describes as profit‑driven and corrupt. Pappas details how a guardian ad litem’s back‑room arbitration branded him an abuser, how therapists and GALs turned child custody into a lucrative cottage industry, and how judges and lawyers protect each other in venues like the Obsidian bar.The conversation pulls back the curtain on parental alienation, revealing how the system weaponizes vague diagnoses, high‑priced therapy, and biased home‑visit practices to sever fathers from their children. Pappas recounts Judge Sandbroke’s courtroom tactics, the financial incentives that drive lawyers to settle for cash rather than truth, and the way legislative attempts such as Caden’s Law aim to curb these abuses—only to be stymied by entrenched interests.Listeners hear vivid anecdotes: a father who built a sports program for his daughter, only to watch her talent erased as the court redirected custody; the sudden disappearance of a family dog as a symbolic loss; and the stark reality that once a child turns 18, the system’s scrutiny vanishes, leaving a generation of disrupted lives.Through Pappas’s personal story and Petri’s probing questions, the episode maps the network of guardians, therapists, and judges that profit from family conflict, while highlighting grassroots efforts to reform the system. It’s a bold, unflinching look at how love can be twisted into tyranny within America’s family courts.

Categories: Law