UNIFIED FAMILY COURTS |
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| Authors: | Carolyn D Schwarz |
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| Institution: | Carolyn D. Schwarz is one of the managing editors of articles (2003–2004) and served as a staff editor (2002–2003) for the Family Court Review;. She graduated cum laude from Hofstra University in 2001, majoring in psychology. During the summer of 2002, she interned for the Domestic Violence Clinic in the Suffolk County Family Court, where she represented individuals seeking Orders of Protection;her responsibilities included interviewing clients, negotiating on their behalf, and making court appearances. This past summer she interned with the Nassau County Office of the County Attorney in the Family Court Bureau and upon graduation intends to pursue a career in matrimonial and family law. |
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| Abstract: | Fragmented court systems are especially problematic for domestic violence victims because they typically are involved in more than one proceeding that stems from the same pattern of abuse. The proceedings are handled in different courts and before different judges, who are often unaware of these orders being issued in other proceedings. Consequently, conflicting orders are prevalent and the protection and needs of victims are often not met. A unified family court, on the other hand, provides one court with the subject-matter jurisdiction to handle all family-related matters and one judge to hear all cases that involve a single family, resulting in conflicting orders being issued less frequently. Additionally, the needs of victims are better served as a result of the services component. Given the fragmented state of the court systems in New York and Pennsylvania, United States; Alberta, Canada; and Australia, unified family courts should be implemented in each locality. |
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| Keywords: | unified family court fragmented court system domestic violence domestic abuse mediation conflicting orders |
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