Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: MONDAY, January 25, 1993 TAG: 9301250288
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: A-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: LAURENCE HAMMACK STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
OFFICIALS SAY COURTS LACK STAFF FOR PLAN
A FAMILY COURT proposal would probably give the Roanoke Valley a new judge. But officials in the existing juvenile courts say that might not be enough to handle the new court's caseload.
Suppose, for the sake of argument in support of creating a family court, that a 15-year-old was arrested for being drunk in public on Williamson Road.
Suppose, further, he was out drinking that night because he was upset that his parents were getting a divorce.
Although the two incidents are related, they would be resolved in separate courts with different judges under current Virginia law.
That could change this year if a family-court proposal is approved by the General Assembly. The concept - which was tested as part of a pilot program in the Roanoke Valley - would create a new court to handle all family-related legal issues.
Currently, the Juvenile and Domestic Relations Court handles cases that include child and family-related crimes, child support and custody matters. Circuit Court judges hear other family-related issues such as divorces and adoptions.
Some cases are appealed to Circuit Court or sent back to Juvenile Court - creating a game of legal Ping-Pong that, according to family-court advocates, hurts the people it seeks to help.
Under a family-court bill expected to be introduced this week, jurisdiction for all family-related issues in Circuit Court would be transferred to Juvenile and Domestic Relations Court, which would become the new Family Court.
Most people support the family-court concept.
"It eliminates split and duplicate jurisdictions and multiple hearings on the same issue," said Roy Willett, a Roanoke Circuit judge who is president of the National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges. "I think it would be more user-friendly and make it easier for pro se litigants to get into court." A pro se litigant is one who does not hire a lawyer.
But the proposal would mean a huge influx of new cases to the existing juvenile court - a system already taxed by rising levels of violent juvenile crimes.
The family-court legislation proposes hiring 25 new judges statewide to handle the extra caseload, but some wonder if that will be enough.
"We'll work with what we get and try to do our best," said Joseph Clarke, chief juvenile-court judge for the 23rd Judicial Circuit, which has three judges to hear juvenile cases in Roanoke, Roanoke County and Salem.
"But I am concerned that if this court is overburdened, something will have to give," he said.
If the family court is not adequately staffed, "people are going to have to wait even longer to get into court, or people are going to have less time for their cases to be heard, or the quality of the court experience is not going to be as good," Clarke said.
Should a family court be created, the bulk of its new cases would be divorces currently heard in Circuit Court.
Clarke said the Roanoke Valley's five Circuit Court judges each spend about a third of their time hearing divorces.
"If we get, in effect, five-thirds of a job and only one judge, then we're going to have some problems," he said.
The family-court proposal calls for 25 new judges for the state's 30 judicial circuits, 90 new clerks and 68 mediators. The cost for all that, estimated at $7.5 million a year, would be covered by a $3 increase in district court filing and processing fees.
By easing the caseload in Circuit Court, the proposal would eliminate a need for extra judges and clerks there - a need Willett said Roanoke would have faced in the next few years.
The mediators, assigned by the court to settle some cases without a full hearing, hope to take some of the load off the new family court. It is also hoped that in cases like divorces, the mediators will foster a less adversarial process in which the parties will not have to hire lawyers.
Still, the family court will need more clerical help than what is proposed, Clarke said. Other plans, such as making it a court of record in which some hearings would be recorded, will require extra space and equipment, he said.
Supporters of the plan acknowledge there are still some details that need to be worked out. For that reason, the legislation calls for the family court to begin operation Jan. 1, 1995.
That would give localities and legislators a year to study the needs of each judicial circuit and make the appropriate staffing and funding proposals. Those issues would be addressed by the 1994 General Assembly.
The proposed family-court legislation is being sponsored by Sen. Edward Holland, D-Arlington, who is chairman of the Senate Courts of Justice Committee.
Clarke said he and other juvenile-court judges in Roanoke support the family-court concept, but concerns about inadequate staffing and resources prompted him to write letters to local legislators stating their fears.
"I'm concerned that once this starts in motion, the day will come when we have the court but not the resources," he said.
\ HIGHLIGHTS\ FAMILY COURT PROPOSAL\ \ There should be one trial court with comprehensive jurisdiction over child and family-related legal issues, creating a more user-friendly and efficient system.\ \ Whenever possible, the adversarial nature of the legal process should be reduced in family law matters. Dispute resolution methods - including the use of mediators - should reduce hostility, address underlying causes, promote cooperation and restore a sense of control to the parties.
The use of commissioners in chancery in family law matters should be limited and ultimately abolished.\ \ Trial court decisions in family-related cases could be appealed on the record to the Virginia Court of Appeals. The right of a trial de novo - an appeal from juvenile court in which there is a new trial in Circuit Court - should be abolished except for criminal cases.\ \ The previous recommendations should be carried out by transferring from the Circuit Court to the Juvenile Court all family matters, including divorce, annulment, affirmation of marriage, custody, visitation, support, determination of parentage, termination of parental rights, change of name, separate maintenance and adoptions. The Juvenile and Domestic Relations Court would be renamed the Family Court. The Judicial Council of Virginia