Louisiana Voice

There are a number of truisms out there we should all be aware of and adhere to:

• Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned;
• Never get between a mama bear and her cub;
• Being a mother is learning about strengths you didn’t know you had and dealing with fears you didn’t know existed;
• A mother’s love is the fuel that enables a normal human being to do the impossible;
• A fiercely protective mother channels her strength into every challenge she faces;
• When it comes to her children, a mother will move mountains and face storms;
• In the eyes of a mother lies a fire that rivals the fiercest warrior.

If you don’t believe every single one of the above statements are true, you’ve never met Katherine Ragland.

Ragland has had virtually every conceivable order of Baton Rouge Family Court thrown against her and she keeps coming back.

Why? It’s simple. Not only has she been on the receiving end of fines, court costs, exorbitant costs for purchases of court documents necessary to support her case, even jail time, but most of all, she keeps fighting because as of today (Tuesday, Oct.20), it has been 529 days since she has been allowed to see her children.

It’s not because she has a drug problem (she doesn’t) or that she has been arrested for some crime (she hasn’t) or that she has abused her children physically, psychologically or sexually (she hasn’t). It’s because family court judges have a built-in bias against certain people who come before their court simply because of which attorneys are representing whom.

This is a problem LouisianaVoice has addressed in previous posts yet nothing gets done.

Did a family court judge award full custody to an abusive father? Mom says yes, that judge refused to view photos

If you’ve never experienced EBR Family Court version of ‘justice,’ consider yourself lucky, but nonetheless beware

St. Tammany court neglects to inform father of his visitation rights even as he continued to pay child support for 11 years

Ragland knows how each of these people feel. She’s borne the brunt of a dizzying array of decisions by Baton Rouge Family Court that have kept her and her children separated.

But she hasn’t stopped fighting despite the impossible burden of fines, paying $200 per hour for court-ordered supervision and a series of vague answers from judges who refuse to examine evidence, hear testimony or consider all the facts.

But despite defeat after defeat, she has not given up.

She has most recently taken the bold step of taking her case to Gov. Jeff Landry, Attorney General Liz Murrill, advocacy organizations, the press, the state’s congressional delegation and every member of the Louisiana Legislature in the form of the following letter and illustration and court transcript excerpt and accompanying illustration:

As of October 20, 2026, I have not seen my children for 529 days. I am asking you to review the attached illustrated transcript excerpt and take action concerning the treatment of children and parents in East Baton Rouge Family Court and Family Courts throughout the state of Louisiana that I allege are maximizing Family Court litigation for extreme profit.

For more than six years, court-imposed restrictions have controlled whether I can see my children. Those restrictions were imposed based on my ex-husband’s false allegations of abuse. The alleged abuse was never reported or investigated, and no one ever interviewed my children or myself. One period without an in-person visit lasted almost three years in spite of my efforts. After limited supervised visits resumed, the supervisor’s extraordinary rate of $200 per hour became unaffordable. My requests for an affordable replacement have been followed by prolonged proceedings while my children and I remain separated.

“Just Thrown Away?” shows me repeatedly asking whether I will get to see my children if the court does not appoint another supervisor. The exchange illustrates how a request to make existing visitation possible can leave a parent without an answer while the separation continues. (September 26, 2025 transcript, pp. 48–49.)

The illustration is satire. The quoted dialogue comes from the court transcript, with page references provided. This is one example from a much larger record of proceedings, financial demands, prolonged separation, and unsuccessful efforts to obtain meaningful accountability.

I am requesting legislative oversight and enforceable safeguards, independent review of the reported misconduct, assistance securing substantive federal review of the civil-rights concerns, and investigative reporting. I ask Louisiana Family Forum and the other recipients to help bring this record before people who will act to protect children and parents.

Please acknowledge receipt and identify who will review these materials and what action your office, organization, or newsroom will take. I can provide the underlying transcripts, minutes, orders, correspondence, and complaints.

My children’s childhood is passing while this remains unresolved. Every additional day of separation is time we can never recover.

For lagniappe, let’s also thrown in this illustration from one of Ragland’s earlier hearings. In this one, the judge had other things on her mind than the administration of justice.