Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
State court administrator: standalone family court would serve few cases but require significant resources
Summary
State Court Administrator Sally Haleva told the task force that a separate family court would address a small share of cases and require additional judges, staff and facilities; she proposed lower‑cost alternatives including converting referees to judges and expanding mediation.
State Court Administrator Sally Haleva told the Child Custody Review Task Force that creating a separate family court in North Dakota would address a limited number of high‑conflict cases and carry substantial fiscal and logistical costs, and she offered lower‑cost alternatives for the legislature to consider.
"A specialized family law court would be addressing an extremely limited number of cases," Haleva said, noting family‑law filings (divorce, paternity, parenting responsibility) average about 3,800 annually and represent roughly 2% of the court's overall caseload. She said 87% of family law cases are never reopened after final judgment and…
Already have an account? Log in
Subscribe to keep reading
Unlock the rest of this article — and every article on Citizen Portal.
- Unlimited articles
- AI-powered breakdowns of topics, speakers, decisions, and budgets
- Instant alerts when your location has a new meeting
- Follow topics and more locations
- 1,000 AI Insights / month, plus AI Chat
