The 3rd Judicial District Court in
The plan is to create what’s called a unified family court. Currently, there are two judicial positions assigned to the children’s court, which handles criminal matters against juveniles, abuse and neglect issues, custody cases and similar issues. There are also two judicial positions assigned to domestic relations, which handles divorce cases, domestic violence hearings, restraining order requests and other issues.
That means many families have separate court proceedings before different judges at the same time. Under the new system, one judge would handle all matters for a particular family, which could expedite the process and give the family more intimate interaction with a judge who is more familiar with its situation.
The court’s chief presiding judge, Robert E. Robles, made the announcement Thursday during the judicial nominating commission’s interviews for an opening on what is now the children’s court.
“The idea is to serve families as a whole,” Robles said. “It won’t happen overnight, but this judge will eventually be part of a unified family court.”
Currently,
To be effective, the proposal requires some additional funding, mainly to give other agencies the resources to better coordinate with each other about cases. For example, the state’s Children, Youth and Families Division could have to be in closer contact with child support employees, probation officers and employees of non-profits, such as domestic violence shelters.
The idea was proposed by former Children’s Court Judge Larry Ramirez, who resigned last month during a Judicial Standards Commission investigation into allegations of sexual harassment and making inappropriate comments.