Saturday, April 25, 1998 | 4:27 a.m.
SANDRA THOMPSON is vice president/associate editor of the Las Vegas SUN. She may be reached at 259-4025 or on the Internet at [email protected]
ACCOUNTABILITY, consistency and swift resolution of cases are reforms proposed by a Family Court litigant to the legislative subcommittee studying the much-criticized system.
Al DiCicco, director of the Coalition for Family Court Reform, outlined the plan at the subcommittee's fourth and final hearing April 16. The panel will meet May 27 to consider the public testimony and adopt recommendations to be presented to the full Legislature.
To ensure accountability, DiCicco advocates creating a citizens review board to consider complaints against attorneys and judges, and strict sanctions placed on violators.
Among DiCicco's other proposals:
* Litigants must be permitted to give testimony prior to rulings, to ensure due process.
* The voice of the children must be heard in all cases and their testimony considered.
* A child advocate should be appointed in cases involving children, whether it's a guardian ad litum (an attorney who represents only the child) or CASA (court-appointed special advocate) volunteer.
* More focus should be placed on improving parenting skills as opposed to termination of parental rights.
* Child custody should be with both genetic parents, except when a parent willingly surrenders all rights or is criminally proven dangerous to the child. It's in the child's best interest to have a frequent and continuing relationship with both parents.
* Parenting time is a more appropriate term than visitation.
* Grandparents' rights have been ignored. Grandparents should have a visitation schedule.
* Allegations that can't be proven should be thrown out by the court, and the attorney continually bringing them up should be sanctioned.
* A chief judge should preside over Family Court. He or she should have the authority to review and change orders if state law has not been followed. He or she also should have the right to reprimand judges.
* Judges should be rotated only if they are required to take a course in family law. An annual refresher course should be mandatory.
* First right of refusal should be given to a parent before day care is provided for a child.
* Put a cap on campaign contributions attorneys make to judges.
* Create a strong pro se clinic for people who represent themselves.
The proposals make sense and many parallel what court officials and staff have testified.
DiCicco, who along with Shirlee LaSpina, another Family Court litigant, attended all four subcommittee hearings. DiCicco has been fighting for several years for joint legal custody of his three children; LaSpina has become an advocate for litigants who can't afford an attorney. Her case, which is before the Nevada Supreme Court, should have been a "simple" divorce case and splitting of assets because there were no children involved.
However, she has been fighting for six years for her assets from the marriage which she was denied, she says, because of mathematical errors and "manipulation of the system."
The two have become outspoken advocates for change, and host a radio show, "Out of Order," Saturdays at 3 p.m. on KKVV 1060-AM.
The legislative subcommittee no doubt will consider some of those proposals to increase consistency and fairness of rulings.
There also should be lively debate on whether a chief judge should be appointed and if other District Court judges should rotate in and out of Family Court to prevent burnout.
Another concern throughout the hearings was that a child's voice is not heard in the courtroom; that the "best interest of the child" often is ignored.
There's a national debate on whether children should have standing in court, according to Hawaii Superior Court Judge Michael Towne. What the child wants and what's in his or her best interest often are different. Asking a child to choose between parents puts him or her in an untenable position.
In Hawaii and Nevada, CASA volunteers are assigned to children in abuse and neglect cases. CASAs do not get involved in divorce and custody issues.
"You must have the hide of a rhinoceros to work in divorce cases," Towne says.
In Clark County, CASAs conduct family assessments and make recommendations to the court. Last year the program served 466 children. So far this year, it has already served 470.
The value of the CASA program is that volunteers have time to devote to the children, according to Linda Ley, manager of CASA Services for District Court.
"They know them like the back of their hand. They see them all the time. They provide a safety net to catch kids who languish or fall through the cracks," she says.
However, the program only serves half the population it is mandated to cover, Ley says. National standards are one professional staff member for every 35 CASA volunteers. Clark County has one for every 60. More people would serve as volunteers, but there is not enough staff to oversee them.
It's a theme that is reverberated throughout the system: Too many people in need; too few resources to meet those needs.
Lately there has been movement within Family Court to address some of these issues. The legislative subcommittee can't solve all the court's problems. It will be up to the judges, court administrators and Clark County to make Family Court a priority in funding and policy decisions.
Our families -- and children -- deserve no less.
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