Family Courts in Crisis

After decades of neglect by the Legislature, New York's overburdened
family court system is approaching the "breaking point," according to a
state Senate report to be released this week. An October 25th Times Union article includes comments from Legal Services NYC Family Law Coordinator Caroline Kearney.

Above: Bronx County Family Court

From the article:

The state's 143 family court judges handle some of the most
time-sensitive and stressful cases — involving abuse, neglect,
adoption, custody, visitation, domestic violence, juvenile delinquency,
paternity and child support.

"They
are the most difficult, emotional, the most gut-wrenching cases and
they take a great deal of time and consideration and are stressful for
everybody," Court of Appeals Chief Judge Jonathan Lippman said in an
interview with the Times Union and WMHT's "New York Now."

The
economic recession has increased the workload of family court judges:
From 2008 to 2009, the Senate report estimates the number of court
appearances will grow 26 percent, to nearly 2.6 million appearances. In
comparison, family court appearances grew 7 percent from 2005-2008, the
report said.

The problem is most severe in New York City, where
53 family court judges — including some on loan from other courts —
had an average caseload of 1,927 cases per judge in 2008.

The
strain is felt not only by the judges and court staff, but also by the
litigants and the lawyers who represent them. Too often, people wait
hours for their cases to be heard only to experience additional delays.

"In these types of cases, the family dynamics keep changing,"
said Caroline Kearney, the family law coordinator for Legal Services
NYC. "It is a really bad thing when the cases are delayed, because the
circumstances of the case could be different each time."

"It is
especially traumatizing in domestic violence cases," she said. "Every
time the victim has to recount what happened, she relives the event.
And every time there's a delay, the attorney has to prepare the client
again, reliving the event again and again."

[…]

In the last decade, the Legislature has only created four family
court judgeships statewide — one each in Clinton, Monroe, Oneida and
Orange counties. In New York City, where family court jurisdictions are
most overburdened, the Legislature hasn't created a single family court
judgeship in nearly two decades despite heavy advocacy from advocates,
attorneys and the judiciary, particularly under former Chief Judge
Judith Kaye.

Lippman, who took over as chief judge in February,
explained children and families don't have a "constituency" in the
Legislature that can effectively push for family court judges.

Kearney
went further: "The family courts are by and large poor people's
courts," she said. "You take a look at the litigants in family court
and they are disproportionately poor people of color. I think that
might have something to do why there isn't the same sort of resources
devoted to the court."

Legislation introduced in September would create 21 new family court judgeships, including seven in New York City.
Read more at TimesUnion.com.