FAMILIES IN COURT - WILL A FAMILY COURT DO IT BETTER

Family-related case filings in the civil courts, including juvenile ma tters, exceed 7,000,000 filings annually. These cases typically are ha ndled in several different trial courts. Reform proposals would create a unified family court, with broad jurisdiction over child and family matters. Family court proponents anticipate benefits of greater judic ial continuity with a family, better informed jurists and judicial dec isions, more client comfort, and better coordinated intervention servi ces. This article reviews present court handling of family-related cas es and proceeds to describe family court developments in the states. I t then presents each of the potential benefits, discussing the problem s they're intended to overcome and the approaches courts are using or might use to achieve these benefits. The author supports the family co urt direction, while recognizing the paucity of family court evaluatio n. More assessment is encouraged. (C) 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.