Report of Com'n on Family Courts, In re, 77623

• Decision Date: 12 September 1991
• Docket Number: No. 77623,77623
• Citation: 588 So.2d 586
• Parties: . 588 So.2d 586, 16 Fla. L. Week. S609 Supreme Court of Florida
• Court: Florida Supreme Court

Page 586

588 So.2d 586

IN RE REPORT OF the COMMISSION ON FAMILY COURTS.

No. 77623.

588 So.2d 586, 16 Fla. L. Week. S609

Supreme Court of Florida.

Sept. 12, 1991.

Rehearing Denied Nov. 19, 1991.

James R. Stewart, Jr., Circuit Judge, Fifteenth Judicial Circuit, West Palm Beach Ira Abrams, Chairman, Family Law Section of the Florida Bar, Miami, and Marjorie Head, Plantation, on behalf of the Broward County Coalition for Judicial Awareness, for petitioners.

Dale Ross, Chief Judge, Seventeenth Judicial Circuit, Fort Lauderdale, Lori Parrish, Chairman, Broward County Comm'rs, Fort Lauderdale, and Paul A. Louis of Sinclair, Louis, Siegel, Heath, Nussbaum & Zavertnik, Miami, in Opposition.

OVERTON, Justice.

This cause is before the Court on the Report of the Commission on Family Courts (Commission). The Commission was established by the legislature in chapter 90-273, Laws of Florida. That legislation directed the Commission to: (1) develop specific guidelines for the implementation of a family law division within each judicial circuit; (2) provide recommendations for statutory, rule and organizational changes; and (3) recommend necessary support services.

The following recommendations were made by the Commission:

A. Establishment of Family Divisions

We recommend that the Supreme Court require each judicial circuit to submit to the court for approval a local rule establishing a family division in its circuit or a means to coordinate family law matters that affect one family if the circuit or part of the circuit is of such limited size that it is unable to administratively justify such a division. The local rule should be submitted by September 1, 1991 to the Supreme Court for approval and implemented in the judicial circuit by January 1, 1992. We find no need for legislative action. The authority to establish such a division is presently within the judicial branch.

1. The jurisdiction of the family division should include dissolution of marriage, simplified dissolution of marriage, child custody and support, URESA, domestic violence, name changes, adoptions, paternity suits, [and] modification proceedings; and each circuit should consider inclusion of juvenile dependency and delinquency matters at least for administrative purposes. Each circuit should develop a procedure that will provide a means to assign all current family law matters, including matters involving juvenile dependency and delinquency proceedings that [affect] one family, to one judge.

2. Judge assignment and rotation. Judges should be assigned to the family division by the chief judge, who should give special consideration to the aptitude, demonstrated interest, and experience of each judge, for a term of not less than two years with the opportunity to request rotation after three years. To the extent possible, rotation of judges should be staggered within the family division.

Commentary: In developing a rule providing for a family division, each circuit should consider the geographic location of various court facilities within the circuit and accessibility of the public to the location of judges serving in the division as well as proper judicial administrative practices. In considering an appropriate rule, it is not intended that rural and semi-rural counties establish a family division to serve the entire circuit. We recognize that the geographic configuration of the circuits, together with the multiple types of existing court facilities, must be taken into consideration. It is contemplated that each circuit should be treated individually in considering the appropriateness of a family division plan. We acknowledge that the type of plan that could work well in a metropolitan circuit consisting of one county would not be appropriate for circuits having three to eight counties of various populations. We further acknowledge that there are geographic areas in the state where one or two judges handle the entire jurisdiction of the circuit court. All of these factors must be taken into account to assure that the public is best and conveniently served. The commission believes that it is important to allow each circuit the flexibility to design a family division based on its unique geographic and administrative conditions, taking into account the existing facilities.

Circuits should include in their plan procedures for coordinating the delivery of services when persons from one family are involved in family law matters before two or more judges. It is particularly important that there be administrative coordination between dissolution and dependency proceedings involving the same child or children and that the family division be administratively connected for this purpose to the juvenile jurisdiction of the circuit court. There must be coordination of the court's consideration of matters affecting one family. We have found no justification to have situations such as have been presented to the commission which indicate that families were required to appear before one judge in a dissolution proceeding that included determination of custody of the children and at the same time to have a hearing before another judge concerning the juvenile dependency of one of the children including the determination of the custody of that child. To properly effect this coordination, it appears one administrative judge should be designated in metropolitan circuits to be responsible for this entire jurisdiction.

With regard to the assignment and rotation of judges, the commission found that this assignment is considered by most members of the judiciary as the most stressful and difficult of all the jurisdictions in the circuit court. Because a strict rule of law is impossible to apply in these marital and family law matters, the law gives to the judge broad discretionary powers to try to resolve the issues in an equitable and just manner. Because of these broad discretionary powers, judges recognize that they are making decisions where, as one said, "I am playing God." More than in any other proceeding, the parties in these types of cases are emotional and have strong feelings of animosity, which make it difficult for the parties to think rationally in presenting the matter for resolution to the judge. Judges, by the nature of their responsibility, are trained to be problem-solvers. However, in many of these instances, the problems given to the judge to solve border on the impossible. For example, it is not unusual for judges to hear dissolution cases that are brought about by the financial problems of the parties. The judge is left with the problem of how to provide for two family entities to live on funds that one family unit could not live on. Given the emotions, the animosity, and the individual concern of judges for the children of these parties, the problems are stressful for the judge and are not easily left in the courtroom. For most there is a need for a sabbatical from this assignment and, consequently, we suggest that there be rotation every three years. Further, we were advised that where there is sufficient family law work for only one judge, it would be beneficial for the administrative operation that two judges be assigned one-half time to division matters rather than one judge full time. Although there is a need for rotation, it is also important that the judges assigned to this division have a commitment to this important judicial responsibility and a willingness to participate in education and training programs as well as the ability to work with the other assigned judges as a coordinated team. In addition, it is necessary that the local bar association remain involved in the implementation and ongoing operation of the family division for its success.

B. Resources

We find that it is essential that the family divisions receive proper resources to fulfill their responsibilities, including: court connected mediation; domestic violence assistance programs; guardians ad litem to represent dependent children and children in contested custody cases; home assessment services; sufficient staff to operate enforcement of support services; and case coordination/receptionist staff.

Commentary: A fully staffed mediation program is essential in these types of proceedings. It has now been clearly established that mediation can resolve a high percentage of these disputes if they are brought before a competent mediator at an early stage of the proceeding. The fact that the mediation service is court-connected is important because it presents the mediator to the parties as a person who will be fair and impartial because of being an arm of the court.

Child assessment services and enforcement of support services must be available for all types of cases within the family division. There is no justification for child assessment services that are available only in juvenile dependency matters and not available when the same type of decision is being made in a dissolution-custody proceeding. Nor is there any justification for there to be a substantial difference in the handling of enforcement of support matters for Title IV cases as distinguished from non-Title IV cases. The underlying basis for the action--that the child is not receiving support--is the same and the service should be the same.

C. Pilot Circuits

We recommend that three circuits of diverse needs be designated as pilot circuits by the Supreme Court for family divisions. It is contemplated that these circuits would be totally funded by the legislature in the 1992 legislature for all necessary resources and that each of the family court divisions would be closely monitored by the supreme court and audited by a performance audit conducted by the auditor general's office after two years of operation.

Commentary: The intent of this pilot program is to develop a model family division plan that effectively provides service to the public in this most difficult area of the law.

D. Education and Training

The...