Judge says shifting family-division caseloads to superior court would reduce access and strain resources

Judge Ellen Christo, administrative judge of the circuit court, told the House Children and Family Law Committee on April 15 that transferring family-division jurisdiction to the superior court would pose significant logistical and access-to-justice challenges.

"If you moved the jurisdiction to superior court you would be diminishing that down to 11 courts instead of 31," Judge Christo said, outlining the geographic and capacity implications of such a change. She was testifying as part of retained consideration of House Bill 652, a measure that would affect family-court jurisdiction.

Judge Christo and Elaine Lowe, clerk and case manager for the third circuit, described the circuit court's existing intake and case-management processes. Lowe explained that the court schedules a telephonic "first appearance" with parties and the case manager, verifies contact information, confirms registration for the child-impact seminar (mandatory when children are involved), and typically sets mediation dates immediately. "Most often those cases are referred to mediation," Lowe said of divorce and parenting petitions involving children.

Judge Christo summarized the practical consequences of moving family-division work to the superior court: fewer courthouses (from 31 family-division locations to 11 county-based superior courthouses), fewer judges available to hear family matters unless judges and space are reallocated, and courtroom and chambers capacity issues. She provided counts the committee can use for planning: the circuit court has about 49 full-time judges and roughly 23 part-time or senior/referee judges (about 72 judge positions in total), while the superior court has roughly 23 full-time and 6 part-time judges (about 29 positions).

"We have staff in every courthouse that is specifically trained in family cases," Judge Christo said, arguing that staff and case-manager expertise would also need to move or be reconstituted if jurisdiction shifted. She added that family-division judges and staff receive ongoing, specialized training in areas including parenting plans, domestic violence, abuse and neglect, and juvenile matters.

Judge Christo also gave workload figures: the family division receives roughly 22,000 case filings annually across divorce, parenting, child support, guardianship, abuse and neglect, adoption, termination of parental rights, juvenile delinquency, and related domestic violence petitions. The superior court currently carries about 44,000 docketed matters a year; absorbing family-division caseloads without additional resources would roughly double superior-court caseloads.

The judge and clerk described existing alternative-dispute-resolution resources: the Administrative Office of the Courts' ADR office mediated roughly 3,350 divorce and parenting matters in 2023, and the courts are expanding neutral case evaluation, which the judge said prevents about half of evaluated matters from reaching trial.

Committee members raised questions about how the court tracks related filings across court levels, how the courts ensure cross-referencing of domestic-violence or criminal cases, and how judges receive information when cases involve DCYF (Division for Children, Youth and Families). Judge Christo said staff search for corresponding cases when filings occur in the same court but that cross-reference is not automatic across court levels; she described training and procedural steps the courts use to reduce missed references and urged additional resources for DCYF caseworkers and CASA volunteers to improve information available to judges.

Representative Kosen and others described constituent concerns about child safety, inconsistent rulings, and delays; Judge Christo said judges and staff do rely on DCYF and that improved staffing and information-sharing would help the court make better-informed decisions.

The committee retained HB 652 for further consideration; Judge Christo and clerical staff said they would provide additional information and are available to return for further briefings.