The Stand with Meg Show

What if you do not have to wait for someone you love to hit bottom?

On The Stand With Meg Show, I sit down with Michael Loverde, owner and clinical director of Family First Intervention. He holds a Master of Science in Addiction Studies and Counseling, and he is a Certified Intervention Professional. For 21 years he has helped families with substance use and mental health problems.

Mike says families do not have to wait for a loved one to want help. He says they already want relief. That is why they are using, and why some are acting out. What decides the next step is the environment. If the cost of staying the same is smaller than what the person is getting from the life, nothing moves.

He walks through a first phone call the way he actually does it. Where does the person live. Are they working. Where do they go after treatment. Who else in the family is carrying a role. Then he asks the question he wants parents to sit with. What are you getting out of the help that keeps them stuck.

The book he just released is S.A.F.E. Self-Awareness Family Education. He calls it the intervention model his team uses. One piece of it is the horse, the fence, and the water. You may not be able to push the horse's head down. You can build a fence tall enough and strong enough, leave the water there, and let survival do the rest. He says that takes patience and boundaries, and a change in how the family talks.

He also talks about labels. A boy was in and out of hospitals, painting on the walls, and he says nobody asked what the boy was painting. He tells a story from his own childhood about behavior that got him a label before anyone asked what he was afraid of at home. His point is to ask the question before the prescription.

We talk about relatives who still will not let someone back in, even after years of change. Mike says he will not order them to open the door. He wants to know what the wall is doing for them.

Parents also tell me they are afraid to report harm because they fear losing their children in family court. That is what families report to me. It is not a court finding. Mike says his team does not litigate those cases. He says if children are in the home and help is refused, his team will make a mandated report.

IN THIS CONVERSATION
• Why he says "they have to want it" keeps families stuck
• The environment, and what he asks on the first call
• Enabling, and the reward a family can get from staying needed
• The horse, the fence, and the water
• Why he says a job, a new person, or a DUI is not a plan
• Labels, the boy painting on the walls, and asking what a child is afraid of
• Relatives who will not let someone back in
• What parents tell me about reporting harm and family court
• His book, his website, and his webinars

ABOUT THE GUEST
Michael Loverde is the owner and clinical director of Family First Intervention. Say Michael once, then Mike. He works with adults, 18 and up. He says most of the calls he gets are about people in their thirties and forties. He says his program spends most of its time with the family, and then stays with the family after treatment, when there is a release of information.

This conversation is general education. It is not a therapy session, a diagnosis, or a promise that an intervention will work.

THE BOOK
S.A.F.E. Self-Awareness Family Education: Intervention Program and Family Recovery
Mike Loverde
Paperback, out October 29, 2026
https://link.amazon/B0gBVz2jm
This is an Amazon affiliate link. Stand With Meg may earn from a qualifying purchase.

LINKS
Family First Intervention: https://www.family-intervention.com/
Email: mike@family-intervention.com
Instagram: mike.familyfirstintervention
Facebook: familyfirst.intervention
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@Family-intervention
TikTok: mike.familyfirst
Stand With Meg: https://www.standwithmeg.com/
Family Rights Survey: https://my.standwithmeg.com/survey

Sign up for his webinars on his website. He said the signup sends a notice when the next one is coming, and that people can ask questions at the end without their name or face on screen.

If this conversation sounds like your family, send it to the person who is tired of waiting. If you have experience with family court, take and share the Family Rights Survey.

CONTENT NOTE
This episode includes addiction, childhood trauma, sexual abuse, self-harm, family court, incarceration, and a family's grief after a death. Mike is sharing what he has seen in his work and what he teaches. What I say about family court is what families report. It is not a court finding. Nothing in this episode is medical, therapeutic, or legal advice.

Host: Meg
Guest: Michael Loverde
Show: The Stand With Meg Show

Support the show

Thank you for listening to The Stand With Meg Show — Defending Parents’ Rights. Protecting Children. Giving a Voice to the Voiceless.
Join the movement at http://StandWithMeg.com

. Follow us on all platforms @StandWithMeg for more truth, tools, and action.

If this episode spoke to you, share it — because together, we fight for justice.

What happens when writing your own story becomes another battle?

Sean Coffin says his memoir, Resenting Joy, sold 200 copies in less than two weeks before a temporary court order stopped him from publishing it. In this episode of The Stand with Meg Show, Sean and his fiancée, Brittany O’Brien, join me for the story behind that moment.

Sean, a New York City teacher, coach, and father, recounts the intervention where he says he was accused of dealing drugs, the police response he describes, and the strain of navigating separation and family court. He also recalls putting the manuscript of Resenting Joy in front of Joy Mangano, his former mother-in-law, and explains the publication dispute as he experienced it.

Brittany brings her perspective on their relationship and the life they were building through court dates, uncertainty, and the work of writing the book. Her love and support are part of this conversation, along with Sean’s determination to remain present as a father.

We talk about:
• The allegations and police encounter Sean recounts
• The practical and emotional pressures he describes during separation
• How Sean and Brittany met
• Writing Resenting Joy and the manuscript meeting
• His account of the book’s early sales and temporary publication restraint
• Support, rebuilding, and what they want listeners to take away

ABOUT THE GUESTS
Sean Coffin is the author of Resenting Joy. His website describes him as a New York City teacher, coach, and father of two.
Brittany O’Brien is Sean’s fiancée and joins the conversation to share her own perspective and experiences.

GUEST LINKS
Sean’s website, updates, and book availability: https://resentingjoy.com/
Read Sean on Substack: https://resentingjoy.substack.com/

Book availability note: When these notes were prepared, Sean’s website listed reservations while distribution remained temporarily restricted. Check the author’s site for current availability and reservation terms.

FOLLOW THE STAND WITH MEG SHOW
Follow the podcast for more full conversations.
Watch full video interviews: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLW2c4MVg7aZ0
Show website: https://www.standwithmeg.com/show
Share your experience through the Family Rights Survey: https://my.standwithmeg.com/survey

The experiences, conversations, allegations, and court-order descriptions discussed here are Sean and Brittany’s accounts. They are not presented as independently established findings. #ResentingJoy #SeanCoffin #StandWithMeg #Fatherhood #AuthorInterview

Support the show

Thank you for listening to The Stand With Meg Show — Defending Parents’ Rights. Protecting Children. Giving a Voice to the Voiceless.
Join the movement at http://StandWithMeg.com

. Follow us on all platforms @StandWithMeg for more truth, tools, and action.

If this episode spoke to you, share it — because together, we fight for justice.

When the world feels heavy, what story is your child telling themselves?

On The Stand With Meg Show, I sit down with author, musician, and artist Julie Lavender Le Doux for a conversation about children, books, and the stories we carry about ourselves.

Julie introduces The Amazings Series, where a family that sees color lives in a town that sees only gray. We discuss the questions she wants her stories to raise about conformity, independent thinking, and the messages children hear from the world around them. Julie also explains how contemporary social and political debates inform the symbolism in her fiction.

Then we bring the conversation home. What can reading together give a family? How can grandparents use a book to connect? What happens when our good intentions put too much pressure on a child?

One of the most personal moments comes when Julie shares what she regrets about parenting her oldest son. She talks about learning to apologize, giving him room to be honest, and making clear that he was not responsible for her emotional well-being.

We also discuss Wounds to Wonder and Julie's Christian perspective on emotional healing. Her account is shared as personal experience and belief, not as a clinical finding or a promise of treatment results.

IN THIS CONVERSATION
• Why Julie began writing about nonconformity
• The Amazings Series and the fictional world of Wonder
• The social issues and public debates behind the stories
• Reading aloud, audiobooks, and conversations between generations
• Family stress and the stories children tell themselves
• Faith, hope, and Wounds to Wonder
• Parenting regrets, apologies, and giving children space
• Where to learn more about Julie's books

ABOUT THE GUEST
Julie Lavender Le Doux is an author, musician, and artist. In this episode, she also draws on her experiences as a homeschooling mother and grandmother.

BOOKS DISCUSSED
The Amazings Series, including Constance and the Battle for Wonder
Wounds to Wonder
Mrs. Amazing and the Seed

LINKS
Julie's books and resources: https://www.thequestforwonder.com/
About Julie: https://www.julielavender.com/
Stand With Meg: https://www.standwithmeg.com/
Family Rights Survey: https://my.standwithmeg.com/survey

Check Julie's website for current book availability, editions, and preorder details.

If this conversation makes you think of a parent or grandparent, share this episode with them. If you have experience with family court, you can also take and share the Family Rights Survey.

CONTENT NOTE
This episode includes discussion of family separation, childhood trauma, parenting regrets, faith, and opinions on public issues. The conversation is not medical or legal advice. Books and personal testimony do not replace qualified professional care.

Host: Meg
Guest: Julie Lavender Le Doux
Show: The Stand With Meg Show

Support the show

Thank you for listening to The Stand With Meg Show — Defending Parents’ Rights. Protecting Children. Giving a Voice to the Voiceless.
Join the movement at http://StandWithMeg.com

. Follow us on all platforms @StandWithMeg for more truth, tools, and action.

If this episode spoke to you, share it — because together, we fight for justice.

⚖️ Every fraud indictment Shawn has put on this table started the same way. A victim walked into a law enforcement office and put what happened in writing. Nobody came to save them. They wrote it down.

Criminal trial attorney Shawn Lee walks real sworn affidavits, the documents that turn a complaint into a case: a Wichita Police detective's probable-cause affidavit in a Sedgwick County, Kansas false-information case (charged, not convicted, trial set for November 2026), a six-page FBI wire-fraud affidavit, an IRS Criminal Investigation affidavit for alleged wire-fraud conspiracy and money laundering, and Percoco v. United States, the Supreme Court's honest-services fraud case. Then the answer to "that's a civil matter": Shawn's four-legs-of-the-table theory, the same affidavit filed with police, sheriff, FBI, IRS, licensing board, prosecutor, and press. Plus the Supreme Court of Missouri's new rules, effective January 1, 2027, that end regional buddy-network discipline committees, and Shawn's read on the Clancy family's civil complaint against Lindsay Clancy's telehealth providers. Civil allegations and his opinion, not charges.

📂 Every document in this episode is a free download. Go to StandwithMeg.com, tap The Shawn Lee Report, then Documents.

🧠 Shawn's framework is his theory. Everyone named in these records is presumed innocent. General legal education, not legal advice. No attorney-client relationship is created by this content.

▶️ Watch the full episode with every document on screen: https://youtu.be/UMGQvTTN7rw

⭐ Follow on whatever platform you're on: Instagram, TikTok, and X @StandWithMeg, Facebook Stand With Meg. Follow Shawn at Attorney Shawn Lee on Facebook and at ShawnLeeLaw.com. Then share the FIRST EVER Family Rights survey at StandwithMeg.com, over 6,000 families and more than $1 billion in reported losses, every voice makes the case stronger.

I'm Meg, investigative journalist. Stay up to date at standwithmeg.com, and share the survey, it's blowing up.

Support the show

Thank you for listening to The Stand With Meg Show — Defending Parents’ Rights. Protecting Children. Giving a Voice to the Voiceless.
Join the movement at http://StandWithMeg.com

. Follow us on all platforms @StandWithMeg for more truth, tools, and action.

If this episode spoke to you, share it — because together, we fight for justice.

⚖️ Families have been saying "fake orders" for years and getting called crazy. This month a United States Attorney's office put those words in a federal indictment.

Criminal trial attorney Shawn Lee walks the actual indictment of a Madison County, Illinois guardian ad litem charged with bank fraud and mail fraud: over $400,000 allegedly withdrawn from minors' accounts, and a fake court order allegedly created and mailed to a minor to conceal it. Charged, not convicted. Then the timeline, with fraud counts continuing after a suspended law license and a cocaine arrest, while he was still a GAL. Plus Shawn's theory he calls Operation Judge Hunter, how cooperation deals climb, the DOJ division bragging that it's going after lawyers, the two victims who started the Houston attorney case themselves, and Shawn's read on tele-GALs billing $250 an hour of remote-work fraud. If this was your GAL, take copies of your invoices to the agencies that charged him.

🧠 Shawn's framework is his theory. General legal education, not legal advice. No attorney-client relationship is created by this content.

▶️ Watch the full episode with all the documents on screen: https://youtu.be/Cy_NlVu9Dhs

⭐ Follow on whatever platform you're on: Instagram, TikTok, and X @StandWithMeg, Facebook Stand With Meg. Follow Shawn at Attorney Shawn Lee on Facebook and at ShawnLeeLaw.com. Then share the FIRST EVER Family Rights survey at StandwithMeg.com, every voice makes the case stronger.

I'm Meg, investigative journalist. Stay up to date at standwithmeg.com, and share the survey, it's blowing up.

Support the show

Thank you for listening to The Stand With Meg Show — Defending Parents’ Rights. Protecting Children. Giving a Voice to the Voiceless.
Join the movement at http://StandWithMeg.com

. Follow us on all platforms @StandWithMeg for more truth, tools, and action.

If this episode spoke to you, share it — because together, we fight for justice.

👩‍⚕️ She spent her days saving other families' children. Family court still took hers.

I sit down with Dr. Adwoafuaa Nwokocha, Houston family medicine physician, first generation Ghanaian American, mother of five, and author of Custody MD: Fighting for the Woo. In her words: homeless with a newborn and a Northwestern degree, medical school as a single mom, then a custody battle where she describes a full year without her children, three nannies whose courtroom stories contradicted each other, and Physician of the Year won in the middle of the worst season of her life. We talk faith, rebuilding, the guilt of moving on, and what she tells every parent still in the fight: the system is banking on your shame keeping you silent.

📚 Get Custody MD: Fighting for the Woo at CustodyMD.com, in my shop at StandwithMeg.com, and on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Kobo.

📲 Follow Dr. Nwokocha: TikTok, Instagram, and Facebook, all @CustodyMD.

This episode shares Dr. Nwokocha's personal story and perspective. General education and lived experience, not legal advice.

I'm Meg, investigative journalist. Stay up to date at standwithmeg.com, and share the survey, it's blowing up.

Support the show

Thank you for listening to The Stand With Meg Show — Defending Parents’ Rights. Protecting Children. Giving a Voice to the Voiceless.
Join the movement at http://StandWithMeg.com

. Follow us on all platforms @StandWithMeg for more truth, tools, and action.

If this episode spoke to you, share it — because together, we fight for justice.

Criminal trial attorney Shawn Lee lays five prescriptions on the table, a sedative hypnotic, an opioid, a benzo, an amphetamine, and an antidepressant, and reads the FDA's black box warnings out loud: warnings that apply even when a drug is prescribed, supervised, and taken exactly as directed. He walks through the FDA's warnings on substance-induced disorders, his theory of pseudo-addiction and how patients end up on medication cocktails, the Lindsay Clancy case, and the fraud half: negative drug test certificates for sale online, and why he argues a bought result filed in a virtual custody hearing could be evidence tampering and conspiracy to commit telehealth fraud. Plus the full law enforcement ladder for escalating a stalled fraud complaint, and Connecticut's child welfare telework audit.

After every episode, Meg and Shawn go LIVE for one public Q&A, open to everyone. Subscribers get Q&A priority, behind-the-scenes access, and bonus content. Join the Sub Hub, $5 a month on Facebook or Instagram.

Watch the episode free on YouTube, and find every statute and filing Shawn cites at standwithmeg.com under Episode 7 documents.

Share your story on the survey at standwithmeg.com. 5,670 families across 51 states and DC have reported $982 million in losses, and every voice makes the case stronger.

Follow Meg @StandWithMeg on Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok, and at standwithmeg.com. To request a consultation with Shawn Lee, or an information organization consult with Meg, the booking page is standwithmeg.com/shawn-lee-report/services.html. A request starts Shawn's conflict check, it does not create an attorney-client relationship, and please send contact information and your state only, no case documents.

If this episode spoke to you, share it, because together, we fight for justice.

General legal education, not legal advice. No attorney-client relationship is created by this episode. Nothing here is medical advice, never start or stop a medication without talking to your doctor.

Support the show

Thank you for listening to The Stand With Meg Show — Defending Parents’ Rights. Protecting Children. Giving a Voice to the Voiceless.
Join the movement at http://StandWithMeg.com

. Follow us on all platforms @StandWithMeg for more truth, tools, and action.

If this episode spoke to you, share it — because together, we fight for justice.

Criminal attorney Shawn Lee walks Meg through the conviction of Ohio family court judge Leslie Ann Celebrezze, who pleaded guilty to felony tampering with records and got 60 days in jail, and the legal concept underneath it: willful ignorance and deliberate indifference. Plus a live walkie-talkie experiment that shows how court-ordered co-parenting apps turn a five minute miscommunication into a $120 bill, the real conspiracy statutes, and the DOJ's Ferguson report on courts that ran on revenue. Shawn's theory, not legal advice.

NEXT LIVE: Episode 7 premieres Sunday, August 30 at 5 PM, and right after, Meg and Shawn take one public Q&A, open to everyone. Subscribers get Q&A priority, behind-the-scenes access, and bonus content.

Share your story on the survey at standwithmeg.com. 5,670 families across 51 states and DC have reported $982 million in losses, and every voice makes the case stronger.

Follow Meg @StandWithMeg on Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok, and at standwithmeg.com, where every episode and the documents Shawn reads on camera live free. To request a consultation with Shawn Lee, or an information organization consult with Meg, the booking page is standwithmeg.com/shawn-lee-report/services.html. A request starts Shawn's conflict check, it does not create an attorney-client relationship, and please send contact information and your state only, no case documents.

If this episode spoke to you, share it, because together, we fight for justice.

General legal education, not legal advice. No attorney-client relationship is created by this episode.

Support the show

Thank you for listening to The Stand With Meg Show — Defending Parents’ Rights. Protecting Children. Giving a Voice to the Voiceless.
Join the movement at http://StandWithMeg.com

. Follow us on all platforms @StandWithMeg for more truth, tools, and action.

If this episode spoke to you, share it — because together, we fight for justice.

Handing a lawyer a false document that gets filed in court is a felony charge in criminal court. So why do families say the same conduct gets called "a civil issue" in family court?

In Episode 5 of The Shawn Lee Report, criminal trial attorney Shawn Lee walks through a real Kansas felony charge for exactly that conduct and explains why he argues the criminal code does not stop applying just because the filing happened in a family case. His framework, his analysis, taught at a kitchen-table level.

In this episode:
• A real Kansas felony charge: a false document, handed to a lawyer, filed in court
• Why Shawn argues "that's a civil issue" is the wrong answer to a criminal act
• The Martha Mitchell Effect: the 50-year-old playbook of calling a truthful witness crazy, and the 2022 Netflix documentary that named it
• Complaint versus indictment in plain English, walked through on a real federal indictment of a sitting judge
• The newspaper investigation that brought down a sitting Missouri attorney general when no prosecutor would touch him, and why the media is a front in the fight against corruption

Episode 6 premieres LIVE Sunday, August 23 at 4 PM CT with a public Q&A with Meg and Shawn right after the episode, inside the same broadcast. Subscribers on Facebook and Instagram get their questions answered first.

Watch this episode on YouTube: https://youtu.be/bJA57OjJdDs

Stay up to date on every story and share the survey: https://standwithmeg.com

I'm Meg, investigative journalist. Stay up to date at standwithmeg.com, and share the survey, it's blowing up.

General legal education, not legal advice. No attorney-client relationship is created by this content. The fraud framework presented is Shawn Lee's legal analysis.

Support the show

Thank you for listening to The Stand With Meg Show — Defending Parents’ Rights. Protecting Children. Giving a Voice to the Voiceless.
Join the movement at http://StandWithMeg.com

. Follow us on all platforms @StandWithMeg for more truth, tools, and action.

If this episode spoke to you, share it — because together, we fight for justice.

Is a court-ordered parenting app just an app? Shawn's argument: it is social media, with profiles, messaging, monitoring, and mandated costs, and once you call it what it is, the legal questions change completely.

In Episode 4 of The Shawn Lee Report, criminal trial attorney Shawn Lee walks through what is actually in the parenting app's terms of service, who profits from the professional contracts around these platforms, what the Meta lawsuits could mean as precedent, and why he reads mandated digital communication through the lens of "scheme or artifice to defraud." His framework, his analysis, taught at a kitchen-table level.

In this episode:
• The 'Scoundrel' experiment and the high cost of digital communication (0:00)
• Scheme and artifice to defraud, and why parenting portals are social media (2:58)
• Professional contracts, AI "high conflict" flags, and sponsorship conflicts (7:22)
• The new generation of lawyers and the Meta precedent (12:41)
• The 'Cash for Kids' analogy and auditing legal bills (19:45)
• Debtors' prison, due process, and the right to trial (28:21)
• Wire fraud memorandums and the rise of tele-justice (37:21)

Episode 5 premieres LIVE on Facebook Sunday, August 16 at 4 PM CT, with a public Q&A with Meg and Shawn right after the episode inside the same broadcast.

Stay up to date on every story and share the survey: https://standwithmeg.com

I'm Meg, investigative journalist. Stay up to date at standwithmeg.com, and share the survey, it's blowing up.

General legal education, not legal advice. No attorney-client relationship is created by this content. The fraud framework presented is Shawn Lee's legal analysis. Family experiences described are family-reported.

Support the show

Thank you for listening to The Stand With Meg Show — Defending Parents’ Rights. Protecting Children. Giving a Voice to the Voiceless.
Join the movement at http://StandWithMeg.com

. Follow us on all platforms @StandWithMeg for more truth, tools, and action.

If this episode spoke to you, share it — because together, we fight for justice.

Families ask this more than any other question. I filed a report, so why won't the cops do anything?

Criminal trial attorney Shawn Lee answers it by laying out every player in American law enforcement, patrol officer, deputy, detective, SWAT, state police, FBI, task force, and walking a single report from the moment you dial to the desk where it usually stops. He gives the exact escalation he has personally used to get a detective assigned, why there's a shortage of detectives and a surplus of SWAT, and why complex fraud needs a task force rather than one overloaded investigator. Plus the 1922 court record and prison letters of Charles Ponzi, who ran a scheme that had no name until he was convicted, and the Kids for Cash case out of Luzerne County, Pennsylvania.

0:00 Cold open. 1:19 Go get a new lawyer. 3:28 Charles Ponzi and the scheme with no name. 6:20 Child labor and why children are a target. 9:05 Why nobody is reporting family court fraud. 10:31 The cast of characters in law enforcement. 13:00 What the patrol officer actually does. 13:53 Getting a detective assigned. 15:39 Why everybody wants to be SWAT. 17:34 Why fraud takes a task force. 22:07 How to file a federal tip that gets read. 24:11 The FBI is hiring lawyers. 26:16 Kids for Cash. 30:49 InfraGard and critical infrastructure. 35:36 What's coming in Episode 4.

Share your story on the survey at standwithmeg.com. Follow us on all platforms @StandWithMeg for more truth, tools, and action.

If this episode spoke to you, share it, because together, we fight for justice.

General legal education, not legal advice. No attorney-client relationship is created by this episode.

Support the show

Thank you for listening to The Stand With Meg Show — Defending Parents’ Rights. Protecting Children. Giving a Voice to the Voiceless.
Join the movement at http://StandWithMeg.com

. Follow us on all platforms @StandWithMeg for more truth, tools, and action.

If this episode spoke to you, share it — because together, we fight for justice.

Families pay for motions when what they may need is a law-enforcement complaint. Criminal trial attorney Shawn Lee walks through wire fraud, mail fraud, and honest services in plain English — where to send a complaint, what belongs in it, and the $8.75 billion math on the survey complaints. Shawn's framework, presented as education, not legal advice.

Meg hosts. Criminal trial attorney Shawn Lee teaches his framework for organizing records and understanding possible fraud questions — his theory to evaluate, presented as general legal education, not legal advice. The cast of characters is fiction.

💬 Want to ask Shawn and Meg YOUR questions? Subscribers join the LIVE tapings on Sundays and ask directly — that's the subscriber difference. The episodes are free for everyone; the live room is yours. $5/month on Facebook, Instagram, or TikTok: https://my.standwithmeg.com/shawn-lee-report/subscribe.html

▶ Watch every episode free: https://my.standwithmeg.com/episodes

I'm Meg — investigative journalist with The Stand With Meg show. Visit standwithmeg.com to stay up to date on every story we're breaking. And please — take and share the survey while you're there. It has gotten HUGE, and every voice we add makes the case stronger.

Support the show

Thank you for listening to The Stand With Meg Show — Defending Parents’ Rights. Protecting Children. Giving a Voice to the Voiceless.
Join the movement at http://StandWithMeg.com

. Follow us on all platforms @StandWithMeg for more truth, tools, and action.

If this episode spoke to you, share it — because together, we fight for justice.

Open courtrooms forced settlement and kept everyone honest in public view — Shawn's theory on what Zoom court took away. Plus the ethics rule that stops lawyers from naming names, the fictional cast led by Robert Baratheon that lets Shawn teach the patterns anyway, and auditing a guardian ad litem's bills for wire fraud clues. Education, not legal advice — and the characters are fiction.

Meg hosts. Criminal trial attorney Shawn Lee teaches his framework for organizing records and understanding possible fraud questions — his theory to evaluate, presented as general legal education, not legal advice. The cast of characters is fiction.

💬 Want to ask Shawn and Meg YOUR questions? Subscribers join the LIVE tapings on Sundays and ask directly — that's the subscriber difference. The episodes are free for everyone; the live room is yours. $5/month on Facebook, Instagram, or TikTok: https://my.standwithmeg.com/shawn-lee-report/subscribe.html

▶ Watch every episode free: https://my.standwithmeg.com/episodes

I'm Meg — investigative journalist with The Stand With Meg show. Visit standwithmeg.com to stay up to date on every story we're breaking. And please — take and share the survey while you're there. It has gotten HUGE, and every voice we add makes the case stronger.

General legal education — not legal advice.

Support the show

Thank you for listening to The Stand With Meg Show — Defending Parents’ Rights. Protecting Children. Giving a Voice to the Voiceless.
Join the movement at http://StandWithMeg.com

. Follow us on all platforms @StandWithMeg for more truth, tools, and action.

If this episode spoke to you, share it — because together, we fight for justice.

You’d be safer walking through a dark alley at midnight than through the doors of an American family courtroom. Let that sink in.

Description
We’re told family court is where families go for protection. For fairness. For justice.

But what if that isn’t true?

In this episode, we break down the data behind more than 2,251 submissions from families across all 50 states, and the picture is devastating. This isn’t just about one bad judge. Or one bitter divorce. This is bigger than me. Bigger than one family. Bigger than one state.

This is systemic.

We expose how family court cases drag on for years. How endless motions, court-appointed professionals, Guardian ad Litems, evaluations, and legal games turn family court into a financial destruction machine. Families aren’t being helped. They’re being processed. Monetized. Broken down until they run out of money, run out of hope, and are forced to fight alone.

And then it gets worse.

We dig into the patterns survivors keep reporting: false accusations. Weaponized CPS calls. Ex parte orders. Perjury ignored. Protective parents silenced while abusers are rewarded. Read that again.

No evidence.
No accountability.
No due process.
And children are the ones paying the price.

This episode also exposes the trauma being inflicted on kids when courts force contact with abusive parents in the name of “best interest.” Suicidal ideation. CPTSD. Dissociation. Lifelong scars. This isn’t reform around the edges. This is a full system failure hiding in plain sight.

And no one is talking about it loudly enough.

If you’ve ever felt like you were the only one, you’re not. If you’ve ever been told your case was “unique,” you need to hear this. Because the data says otherwise. Real stories. Real data. Real proof that what is happening in family court across this country is not isolated.

It is happening everywhere.

This episode is about exposing the truth, breaking the silence, and showing exactly why campaigns like Stand With Meg are pushing to unlock state reports and build a public record the courts can’t bury.

They count on your silence.
We are changing that.

Visit StandWithMeg.com to learn more and submit your story. Subscribe to the show so you never miss an update. And stay in the know—join our email list at StandWithMeg.com. Courage to Stand. Power to Change.

Support the show

Thank you for listening to The Stand With Meg Show — Defending Parents’ Rights. Protecting Children. Giving a Voice to the Voiceless.
Join the movement at http://StandWithMeg.com

. Follow us on all platforms @StandWithMeg for more truth, tools, and action.

If this episode spoke to you, share it — because together, we fight for justice.

Welcome to the Stand With Meg show! In this explosive episode, we uncover how Miami’s domestic violence court was just weaponized to silence investigative journalist James O'Keefe. After publishing the truth about Matthew Tyrmand, O'Keefe was hit with a restraining order by Judge Marie Elizabeth Mato, forced to surrender his firearms, and placed under an unconstitutional prior restraint order. We break down O'Keefe's emergency appeal citing Near v. Minnesota and how this blatant violation of First and Second Amendment rights exposes a deeply broken judicial system.

But this isn't just about James O'Keefe—it's a nationwide epidemic. Whether it is family court and CPS removing children without due process, or probate and civil courts bleeding families dry, unchecked judges are operating behind closed doors with zero transparency, zero oversight, and zero accountability.

Have your rights been stripped away by a judge? Your data is our greatest weapon for change. Go to standwithmeg.com to fill out our survey about court corruption and help us expose the system.

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Thank you for listening to The Stand With Meg Show — Defending Parents’ Rights. Protecting Children. Giving a Voice to the Voiceless.
Join the movement at http://StandWithMeg.com

. Follow us on all platforms @StandWithMeg for more truth, tools, and action.

If this episode spoke to you, share it — because together, we fight for justice.

Welcome to another episode of the Stand With Meg podcast. In this episode, we are diving into our massive, newly updated 50-state data report. We have now collected testimonies and data from 1,979 families across all 50 states, and the findings expose a coordinated, nationwide crisis.

Listen in as we break down the shocking national statistics of America's Family Courts and Child Protective Services (CPS) to reveal the true scope of the damage being done to parents and children. We discuss:

• The 50-State Scope: How 1,979 documented cases prove this is a systemic, multi-billion dollar industry, not just a series of isolated incidents.
• The Double Jeopardy: The terrifying reality for the 779 families forced to navigate the conflicting rules of both Family Court and CPS simultaneously.
• Financial Ruin: How the system bleeds parents dry with an average attorney fee of $61,308, forcing over 52% of parents to fight unrepresented (Pro Se) against an endless machine.
• Weaponized False Accusations: We expose how malicious reports and false accusations in Family Court and CPS are the primary engines of family separation.

This isn't just data; these are stolen childhoods and fractured families. We also discuss how you can take action by downloading the specific data packet for your state to show local legislators exactly what is happening in their own backyards.

Call to Action: Go to StandWithMeg.com to download your state's PDF data packet, featuring local statistics, top allegations, and judge patterns. If your state hasn't hit 30 submissions yet, add your family's story to help unlock it!

Support the show

Thank you for listening to The Stand With Meg Show — Defending Parents’ Rights. Protecting Children. Giving a Voice to the Voiceless.
Join the movement at http://StandWithMeg.com

. Follow us on all platforms @StandWithMeg for more truth, tools, and action.

If this episode spoke to you, share it — because together, we fight for justice.

Welcome back to the Stand With Meg podcast. In this episode, we unpack the dark reality of America's family courts, focusing on the "engine of family separation" and the systematic patterns that have turned corruption into standard court procedure.

Drawing on groundbreaking data collected from 1,953 families across all 50 states, we reveal how the system traps parents, drains their finances, and fractures families. We take a deep dive into the 9 recurring mechanisms used by the system to break families, including:

Weaponized False Accusations: Discover how 37.1% of separations are initiated by malicious false accusations, immediately triggering child removal without due process and placing the burden of proof on the accused parent.

Dual-System Entanglement: We explore the "double jeopardy" faced by the 779 families who are forced to battle both Family Court and Child Protective Services (CPS) simultaneously, with conflicting rules and no pathway for appeal.

Court Insiders Profiting: We follow the money to show how Guardians ad Litem (GALs), attorneys, and therapists are financially incentivized to delay cases and bill hourly, contributing to an average attorney cost of over $61,000 per family.

GAL Conflicts of Interest: We expose how supposed "child advocates" often share the same courthouse networks and personal relationships with the judges they report to, aligning themselves with court interests rather than the children's.

Retaliation for Advocacy: Hear how parents and children who speak up about abuse or challenge unfair court orders are punished, silenced, and stripped of custody.

This is not a series of isolated incidents; it is a systemic national crisis. Join us as we amplify the voices of the parents who have lived this nightmare and outline the 8 non-negotiable reform demands needed to fix this broken system.

Take Action: Do you know what is happening in your state's family courts? Visit StandWithMeg.com to download an actionable PDF data packet for your state, complete with local statistics, top allegations, and reform recommendations.

Share this episode to help us expose the systemic engine of family separation and demand accountability!

Support the show

Thank you for listening to The Stand With Meg Show — Defending Parents’ Rights. Protecting Children. Giving a Voice to the Voiceless.
Join the movement at http://StandWithMeg.com

. Follow us on all platforms @StandWithMeg for more truth, tools, and action.

If this episode spoke to you, share it — because together, we fight for justice.

Dive deep into the heartbreaking, high-stakes testimonies presented before the Kansas House Committee on Judiciary. This episode exposes the systemic crises facing parents and children navigating the Kansas family court and child support systems. From allegations of "pay-to-parent" financial gatekeeping and undocumented hearings to the lack of due process in ex parte custody removals, we unpack the firsthand accounts of parents fighting to stay in their children’s lives. We explore how courts manage (or mismanage) Guardian ad Litem (GAL) fees, child support enforcement, and mandatory supervised visitation, leaving many families financially ruined and separated.

Key Topics Covered:

"Gated Justice" & Financial Exhaustion: How exorbitant GAL fees, required therapy, and case management costs act as barriers to parental rights.

Due Process Violations: Missing court transcripts, unsigned journal entries, and ex parte custody removals without timely evidentiary hearings.

Undisclosed Conflicts of Interest: Court-appointed conciliators and professionals operating with alleged bias or hidden professional relationships.

Enforcement Disparities: The aggressive garnishment of child support versus the lack of enforcement for court-ordered parenting time.

Courts Mentioned in this Episode: Kansas House Committee on Judiciary, District Court of Shawnee County, Kansas (Third Judicial District), District Court of Johnson County, Kansas (Family Court Division), Sedgwick County Family Court, Pottawatomie County Court, Douglas County Court, Anderson County Court, Jefferson County Court, Jackson County Court, Osage County Court, Wabaunsee County Court, Dickinson County Court, Kansas Supreme Court and Appellate Courts

Key Actors, Testifiers, & Officials Involved:

Judges Discussed: Judge Keven M. P. O'Grady (Johnson County), Judge Linda Kirby (Sedgwick County), Judge Lori Dougherty-Bichsel (Shawnee County), Judge Thomas G. Luedke (Shawnee County), Judge Mary E. Mattivi (Shawnee County), Judge Hogan, and Judge Roush.

Parents & Testifiers: Nicole Beliles, Allen Broadbent, Tonya Neville, Melissa Buescher, Michael Buescher, Meagan N. Taylor, Michael S. White Jr., Meghann Miller Gardner, Craig Miller, Leah B. Still, Mark A. Still, and an anonymous Kansas citizen.

Legal Professionals, Therapists & GALs: William F. Ebert (Conciliator/Attorney), Brian S. Frost (Attorney), Sarah Snyder (Attorney), Rebekah Phelps-Davis (Attorney), Allison Hibler (Attorney), Julia Butler (Case Manager), Jenny Hanna (Transcriptionist), Randy McCalla (GAL), Rebecca Mann (GAL), Dan Livingston (Therapist/LSCSW), Maria Bello (LMSW), Katie McClaflin (Attorney), Milfred "Bud" Dale (Attorney), Thomas Connors (Attorney), Kendall McVay (Attorney), Mary Kristine Savage (Attorney), Alex S. Gilmore (Attorney), A. Victoria Chundak (Attorney), Ardith R. Smith-Woertz (Attorney), and Danielle Howbert (Court Reporter)

Support the show

Thank you for listening to The Stand With Meg Show — Defending Parents’ Rights. Protecting Children. Giving a Voice to the Voiceless.
Join the movement at http://StandWithMeg.com

. Follow us on all platforms @StandWithMeg for more truth, tools, and action.

If this episode spoke to you, share it — because together, we fight for justice.

In this episode, I break down the disturbing allegations surrounding Judge Keven O’Grady, the Nicholas “Nick” Sands case, and how court procedure can be used to block truth. This case raises serious questions about Kansas family court, default paternity rulings, DNA testing, wrongful death settlements, inheritance rights, and whether judicial finality is being prioritized over biological truth and basic justice. From missed deadlines and denied testing to the financial stakes tied to legal paternity, this episode exposes why the Sands case has become a powerful example of how family court systems can protect procedure instead of people. If you care about family court corruption, due process, paternity fraud, judicial accountability, and the fight for truth in Kansas courts, this is an episode you need to hear.

Support the show

Thank you for listening to The Stand With Meg Show — Defending Parents’ Rights. Protecting Children. Giving a Voice to the Voiceless.
Join the movement at http://StandWithMeg.com

. Follow us on all platforms @StandWithMeg for more truth, tools, and action.

If this episode spoke to you, share it — because together, we fight for justice.

Welcome to The Stand With Meg Show — where we defend parents’ rights, protect children, and give a voice to the voiceless.

Today, we're pulling back the curtain on a jaw-dropping federal lawsuit that’s shaking the pillars of local government. In Jackson v. Ziccarelli et al., one pro se father, a disabled combat veteran, takes on the entire Westmoreland County legal apparatus. Judges, DAs, police, lawyers, and agencies are all named in a civil RICO complaint alleging conspiracy, fraud, malicious prosecution, and the unlawful seizure of his children.

We break down the 50+ page filing and federal docket to unpack the chilling claim at its core: that the family court system itself has been weaponized against the very people it’s sworn to protect.

Is this just a custody dispute gone wrong or is it proof that justice has a price tag, and some are paying with their children?

This is a masterclass in lawfare, courage, and the cost of speaking truth to power. Grab your notebook. This isn’t just a podcast. It’s a blueprint for every parent fighting back.

Support the show

Thank you for listening to The Stand With Meg Show — Defending Parents’ Rights. Protecting Children. Giving a Voice to the Voiceless.
Join the movement at http://StandWithMeg.com

. Follow us on all platforms @StandWithMeg for more truth, tools, and action.

If this episode spoke to you, share it — because together, we fight for justice.