Chuck
October 19th, 2005, 08:52 PM
FRANKFORT -- Kentucky's family courts operate under a "One Family, One Judge, One Court" philosophy to give the families it serves undivided legal attention.
But creating a new family court judgeship in some smaller circuits is hard to justify, says Kentucky Chief Justice Joseph E. Lambert.
"We have reached a point where 'the low hanging fruit has already been picked,'" Lambert said. "We have done about all we can do with establishing family courts where it is easy."
Lambert proposed to the Interim Joint Committee on Judiciary yesterday that the General Assembly create at least two "family court judicial circuit" judgeships that would serve two or more small counties while leaving existing district and circuit judges in place.
"It is my understanding at this time that there is no known legal limitation on that," said Lambert, who said the idea is already at work in Floyd, Knott and Magoffin counties. Floyd county is a single-county judicial circuit, but its family court judge--who is elected only in Floyd County--has been assigned to work in Knott and Magoffin counties as well.
Currently, family court is a division of Circuit Court, Kentucky's highest trial court level. Family court judges hear only those cases related to family law, however. At least 43 counties now have family court.
Lambert said he envisions the new family court circuits being in slow-growing areas with single-county judicial circuits presided over by one circuit and one district judge. The counties in the new family court circuit should also be contiguous with easy court access. Bell and Harlan counties would be one possibility, he said, as would Perry and Letcher counties.
A new judgeship would not needed in Floyd, Knott and Magoffin counties since a family court judge is already in place, but Lambert said the need for the judge to be elected in all three counties necessitates a new family court judicial circuit there.
"If we decide to take the step we are discussing here, it would logically follow that one of the newly-createds would be in Floyd, Knott and Magoffin, and let that judge be elected from the new family court (circuit)," he said.
Some committee members, including committee chairs Sen. Robert Stivers, R-Middlesboro, and Rep. Gross Lindsay, D-Henderson, asked Lambert if he has any plans to redistrict those judicial circuits where there are uneven caseloads.
"We've got circuits out there that have 500 to 600 cases and we have circuits that have 2,000 cases per judge," said Stivers. "Some bright, intelligent lawyer at one point in time is going to say that the whole system is inequitable and challenge the system."
Lambert said redistricting courts is "a devilishly difficult thing to do" but that his agency "will make an effort...to start that ball rolling." He added that the Judicial Branch will request in its budget next session that an additional circuit judgeship be created in Boone and Gallatin counties.
The Kentucky General Assembly can redistrict judicial circuits only by "certificate of necessity" from the Judicial Branch, according to Lindsay.
"So we're not free agents to go out and do this without your guidance," he told Lambert.
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But creating a new family court judgeship in some smaller circuits is hard to justify, says Kentucky Chief Justice Joseph E. Lambert.
"We have reached a point where 'the low hanging fruit has already been picked,'" Lambert said. "We have done about all we can do with establishing family courts where it is easy."
Lambert proposed to the Interim Joint Committee on Judiciary yesterday that the General Assembly create at least two "family court judicial circuit" judgeships that would serve two or more small counties while leaving existing district and circuit judges in place.
"It is my understanding at this time that there is no known legal limitation on that," said Lambert, who said the idea is already at work in Floyd, Knott and Magoffin counties. Floyd county is a single-county judicial circuit, but its family court judge--who is elected only in Floyd County--has been assigned to work in Knott and Magoffin counties as well.
Currently, family court is a division of Circuit Court, Kentucky's highest trial court level. Family court judges hear only those cases related to family law, however. At least 43 counties now have family court.
Lambert said he envisions the new family court circuits being in slow-growing areas with single-county judicial circuits presided over by one circuit and one district judge. The counties in the new family court circuit should also be contiguous with easy court access. Bell and Harlan counties would be one possibility, he said, as would Perry and Letcher counties.
A new judgeship would not needed in Floyd, Knott and Magoffin counties since a family court judge is already in place, but Lambert said the need for the judge to be elected in all three counties necessitates a new family court judicial circuit there.
"If we decide to take the step we are discussing here, it would logically follow that one of the newly-createds would be in Floyd, Knott and Magoffin, and let that judge be elected from the new family court (circuit)," he said.
Some committee members, including committee chairs Sen. Robert Stivers, R-Middlesboro, and Rep. Gross Lindsay, D-Henderson, asked Lambert if he has any plans to redistrict those judicial circuits where there are uneven caseloads.
"We've got circuits out there that have 500 to 600 cases and we have circuits that have 2,000 cases per judge," said Stivers. "Some bright, intelligent lawyer at one point in time is going to say that the whole system is inequitable and challenge the system."
Lambert said redistricting courts is "a devilishly difficult thing to do" but that his agency "will make an effort...to start that ball rolling." He added that the Judicial Branch will request in its budget next session that an additional circuit judgeship be created in Boone and Gallatin counties.
The Kentucky General Assembly can redistrict judicial circuits only by "certificate of necessity" from the Judicial Branch, according to Lindsay.
"So we're not free agents to go out and do this without your guidance," he told Lambert.
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