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Heated testimony on bill to abolish the Family Division and shift cases to superior court and certified mediators
Summary
Representative Bernardi proposed an overhaul that would return many family‑law matters to superior court and create a state-funded family‑mediation office. Dozens of parents, advocates, a retired practitioner and judges gave emotionally charged testimony both for and against; no committee vote was taken.
Representative Timothy Bernardi opened a Feb. 11 hearing on House Bill 652, a sweeping proposal to abolish the Family Division of the circuit court and to move many family-law matters back to the superior court, while creating a state‑run family‑mediation office with certified mediators and an accreditation standard. Bernardi argued that the Family Division — as configured — lacks judicial accountability in some proceedings, allows nonconstitutional officers (such as marital masters or referees) to make factually consequential findings in informal settings, and has procedural rules that, in his view, permit the exclusion of evidence and limit normal equity protections.
The hearing featured extended, often emotional testimony from dozens of…
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