See below for a pdf of the documents

A Witness Was Forced to Intervene—Because the Guardian ad Litem Went Off the Rails

The documents below are part of a Motion to Intervene filed by Justin Cawthon, a decorated U.S. Army officer, Bronze Star recipient, and law school graduate. Cawthon served honorably in Iraq and Afghanistan—but found himself drawn into an ugly child custody case not as a party, but as a witness. After expressing measured, well-founded concerns about Guardian ad Litem Caryn Fennell’s erratic conduct and apparent dishonesty, Cawthon—alongside fellow witness Isabel Rivera—became the target of Fennell’s astonishingly unhinged legal retaliation.

Instead of addressing the criticism like a professional, Fennell went into full damage-control mode, unleashing a barrage of legally incoherent and emotionally unhinged court filings in a transparent attempt to silence dissent and shield herself from a looming bar complaint. Most egregiously, she filed a protective order request against these non-parties—an action so procedurally defective and legally groundless it is genuinely laughable to anyone familiar with Georgia law. Protective orders are not designed to muzzle witnesses who express concern about a GAL’s conduct via email.

The Motion to Intervene you’ll read below includes Fennell’s original filings—including her motion for protective order and motion to withdraw—as well as the allegedly “threatening” emails that prompted her sudden fear for her safety. You’ll see for yourself that what she labels as threatening are simply articulate criticisms from someone with far more credibility and integrity than she could ever hope to claim.

As of this posting, Cawthon is facing a single pending misdemeanor charge that arose in the context of this custody dispute—an outcome that many believe was prejudiced by Fennell’s improper and inflammatory court filings. It is no exaggeration to say that Fennell abused her position to try to destroy the reputations of anyone who questioned her.

Let there be no confusion: the bar complaint against Fennell was never dismissed—only deferred until the end of this case. What you are about to read is not the work of a neutral child advocate. It is the paper trail of a guardian ad litem spiraling out of control, desperately trying to avoid accountability for her own misconduct.