The Utah legal system is finding a way to deal with
sensitive court matters affecting families.
It's called Family Court.
Ruth Todd explains in today's Family Now report.
The idea of a Family Court is not new.
In fact, other states have a court specifically for family issues such as
divorce and custody matters.
Proponents of the idea say a Family Court here in Utah would help keep track
of children who often are forgotten in the legal system.
The Judicial Council has resurrected the idea of creating a family court in
Utah.
Right now, district court handles adoptions, divorce, and custody matters.
Juvenile court deals with the crimes of children, such as delinquency.
But advocates say since children of parents divorcing in district court
are likely to end up with a problem in juvenile court, the entire matter would
best be handled in one court - a family court.
Eric Bjorklund, with Utah Youth Village, says, "What we see would be a good
thing about family court would be it's ability to look at the needs of
children, particularly when it comes to dissolving families."
In most district court cases, the system is adversarial.
Two sides are pitted against each other. One wins. One loses.
"The district court level there seems to be essentially one mission which is
to be efficiently effectively dispense justice," Bjorklund says.
Juvenile courts are designed to consider how to best handle juvenile crime
compassionately - with a judge specialized in family law.
Mary Boudreau, of Utah Children, says, "When they're in front of the
juvenile court, it's as though they are processing both the legal matter that
they have to deal with and they're concerned about the best interests of the
children."
But in a divorce or custody battle, no one wins.
A family court is designed to help restructure the family in a civil manner.
Boudreau explains, "You don't want to have a process that keeps them really
adversarial. Our focus is on that. You want it to be something that reduces the
trauma so they'll be in a good spot to communicate afterwards."
Proponents call it therapeutic justice.
But some judges are skeptical.
One judge says he doesn't see the need to restructure the court to meet the
needs of children.
He believes there is more support given to children in the current system.
This is the fourth time Utah has studied family courts in 20 years.
The latest report was issued four years ago and it recommended prompt
creation of a family court.
But the idea was put on the back burner until last fall.
The Utah Judicial Council is holding public meetings every month until June.
And next September, the judges will make a recommendation on the creation of
a family court.
To read more about Family Court, call our Family Now information line at
1-800-575-5751.
Also, click here for more information and recommendations from family court proponents.
