opinion
This pandemic is one of the most life-altering events in recent history. How we react to it – especially in the legal system – can show our strengths and our weaknesses. Some courts have met the challenge of fulfilling their mission, while others have failed the people they are supposed to serve.
Access to justice is a fundamental right, especially in our democracy. I am a magistrate in Warren County Domestic Relations Court where we handle divorce-related cases and domestic violence cases.
During this pandemic, we’ve been doing everything we can to continue to serve families. Hamilton County's Domestic Relations Court hasn’t. The Hamilton County Domestic Relations Court suspended all hearings, except for domestic violence hearings, on March 14. Even matters simply set for a phone conference were rescheduled.
First and foremost, when a family’s problem is thorny enough to need the court’s help, that’s a family in crisis. A home filled with tension and anxiety is hard on everyone, especially children. With the pandemic adding strains of job losses, school closings, and health fears, this is no time to restrict people’s rights to access justice.
Families in crisis can become families in chaos.
Warren County magistrates are taking turns being physically present at court so we’re available to hear requests for domestic violence civil protection orders, issued when someone is experiencing violence at the hands of another family or household member, or someone with whom they had a dating relationship.
And with the technology we have, I am an effective magistrate even from my own kitchen counter, presiding over many divorce-related hearings by phone. My first "kitchen hearing" was a final divorce hearing, which provides a benchmark for the family – closing one chapter, beginning the next. These are solemn, as they should be. The parties answer questions about the final paperwork they’ve signed and confirm that they want the court to terminate the marriage.
Asking people these questions by phone was no less momentous than in person. The spouses were responsive and serious. As I ended the hearing, I could hear their relief that this step was behind them. It may have actually been easier for them to not be physically in the courtroom, a stranger in a black robe asking questions, the other spouse just a few feet away.
Mediating parenting disputes by phone is also working. In person, people may roll their eyes or shake their heads when the other parent talks – often unaware their actions hamper progress toward agreement. On the phone, they can focus just on each other’s words. They’re comfortable in separate environments and seem more relaxed and receptive.
By holding phone conferences in lieu of hearings, we’ve secured needed agreements between parents. For example, parents have agreed how to treat their child’s ADD or to how to keep a or to how to keep a child on track in both households as everyone adjusts to homeschooling.
Even when it looks like we will need to be in a courtroom to hear testimony and review exhibits, talking with the parties on the phone still benefits the families. We give them guidance and suggest alternatives, such as: "Would you be willing to try 'X' until we can have a hearing?" If the parties have attorneys, we talk with them about our range of likely rulings on the issues, which can help them settle their cases.
As I write this, several weeks have gone by during which the Hamilton County Domestic Relations Court did not have contact with all of its scheduled cases, did not issue all pending decisions and orders, and did not hold previously scheduled phone conferences.
No guidance, no mediation, no allowing people to move on.
Serving the public means doing all you can to help families. I know that; it’s one of the many reasons I’m running to serve as judge in the Hamilton County Domestic Relations Court this November. Having represented hundreds of clients in divorce cases before becoming a magistrate, I know how important the court’s communication is for the families we serve.
Experience really does matter.
Anne Flottman is a magistrate in Warren County and the Democratic-endorsed candidate for Hamilton County Domestic Relations Court. She and her husband live in East End.
"Opinion" - Google News
May 26, 2020 at 08:04PM
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Opinion: This is no time to restrict access to justice - The Cincinnati Enquirer
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