Family court plan clears first hurdle
NWI Times
Jan 16, 1997
http://www.nwitimes.com/uncategorized/family-court-plan-clears-first-hurdle/article_ede183e4-3e2f-51d2-854bd4db1b057b16.html
About the bill Amended family court legislation would:
* Increase funding to $300,000 over two years.
* Restrict creating new judgeships.
* Require approval of county councils or commissions.
* Create pilot programs in at least three counties of any size.
What's next
The bill is expected to be heard by the Senate Finance Committee within one week. That panel will decide whether to send the legislation to the Senate for its second reading.
Indiana Supreme Court Chief Justice Randall Shepard told the 10-member Senate Judiciary Committee on Wednesday that the most important thing about the family court proposal before them "was to give it a try."
The committee heeded Shepard by unanimously passing family court legislation that has been a topic among legislators for five years.
"The idea behind family court is consolidating before one judge all those different kinds of cases that arise from a particular family," Shepard said.
Lawyers and judges throughout the state have told Shepard it is all too common to find members of a single family in three or four courts at the same time.
Three of four counties interested in the concept are from Northwest Indiana: Porter, Lake and LaPorte. The fourth is Allen County.
"We really are not in a bad position to do this," said Porter Circuit Court Judge Mary Harper after Wednesday's hearing.
If the bill passes the legislature and the county successfully applies for the pilot program, Harper, as circuit and juvenile court judge, is the most likely of the county's six judges to assume family court jurisdiction.
Four of the county's six judges have indicated support of the concept.
The bill is co-sponsored by Sen. William Alexa, D-Valparaiso, and Sen. Richard Bray, R-Martinsville.
Alexa said Wednesday that besides the Chief Justice, the bill was supported at the committee hearing by Indiana Advocates for Children Inc., an influential non-profit children's advocacy organization based in Indianapolis.
The group has sought the legislation for five years, according to Alexa.
Wednesday's committee hearing addressed funding and other concerns expressed by Harper and three colleagues, Porter Superior Court Judges Nancy Vaidik, Jeffrey Thode and newly appointed Julia Jent.
Porter Superior Court Judges Roger Bradford, the court's senior judge, and Thomas Webber refused to comment.
An amendment proposed by Alexa restored the funding to $300,000 as originally proposed by the Commission on Courts.
"It's a lot more feasible," Harper said. "Porter County is really fortunate to have legislators with seniority and who are listened to."
Another amendment to the bill restricts counties from creating new judgeships to assume family court jurisdiction, although some judges fear the burden may be too much for one judge.
"This proposal is about effective use of resources, not necessarily about the need for more resources," Shepard said.
Shepard said establishing a court in which judges do not need to be re-educated on a family's problems each time a member appears in court saves time and resources.
"That means less of a burden, not more," he said.
"This is an organizational proposal," Shepard said. "We're already doing the work. The question is how do you do it best."
While Shepard said four counties have expressed interest in the project, he cautioned the experiment will be taken slowly.
"I candidly admit to you," Shepard told the committee, "we haven't gotten very far in the (details of the selection process)."
"Our posture is (the judiciary) is making the offer," Shepard said after the hearing. "We're willing to be part of it."
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