FAMILY COURTS |
| |
| Authors: | Jay Folberg |
| |
| Institution: | Jay Folberg is former dean and professor of law at the University of San Francisco School of Law. He has served as president of the Association of Family and Conciliation Courts, president of the Academy of Family Mediators, and chair of the Oregon State Bar Family Law Section. He has authored books and law review articles on mediation and on family law. |
| |
| Abstract: | Oregon has encouraged experimentation with family courts using the one family-one judge approach. At the First Annual Family Law Conference, sponsored by the Oregon Judical Department and the Oregon Family Law Advisory Committee, the author presented a keynote talk addressing the "ethical" issues raised by the use of comprehensive family courts. In this adaptation, the author places the concept of family courts in historical perspective and then assesses the rationale for them and the policy trade-offs involved, as well as possible procedural safeguards. Consolidated family courts using judical specialists dealing with multiple interrelated parties and integrating an array of social services appear to offer a better approach to related party cases. The author concludes that the benefits outweigh the speculative risks. |
| |
| Keywords: | |
|
|
