Family Court’s ‘transient bench,’ inefficiencies take heavy toll on kids: report

A new report from the New York City Bar Association found that the current judicial appointment process for Family Court negatively affects litigants and court efficiency.  Eagle file photo by Andy Katz

By Rachel Vick

A New York City Bar Association task force says “highly disruptive” temporary assignments on the Family Court bench are taking a heavy toll on children.

The organization outlined the problems frequently cited by court personnel and attorneys in a report issued Wednesday.

“The current system leaves the Family Court in a state of constant flux, referred to by some in court leadership as a ‘transient bench,’ that compromises the administration of justice, often at critical points for the safety and security of families and children,” the NYC Bar Association’s Family Court Judicial Appointment & Assignment Process Work Group wrote. 

The family court task force specifically cited a failure to anticipate vacancies that often leads to the reappointment of Civil Court judges unfamiliar with family law and unable to perform at the same level as experts.

They also criticized the New York City Mayor’s Advisory Committee on the Judiciary and the New York State Office of Court Administration for propping up a process that has a serious impact on vulnerable litigants — particularly children.

The task force said they sought input from Family Court practitioners and various agencies, including the Administration for Children’s Services family court division, the Assigned Counsel Panels for the First and Second Departments and Lawyers for Children. The stakeholders said judicial rotation was the root of the problem, the report authors said. 

Ineffective judicial coverage can “cause ripple effects felt throughout the Family Court system,” said Dawne Mitchell, a working group member and the head of the Juvenile Rights Practice at The Legal Aid Society.

The report found that 88 percent of respondents said delays due to judicial assignments caused a notable negative impact on proceedings and clients. Nine out of ten groups surveyed said they had experienced case resolution delays and unproductive court dates and have had to travel to a different county to appear before a judge who had been reassigned.

The report quotes one respondent who said the confusion affects lawyers and court staff while causing “anxiety and confusion to children and families who desperately want their matters resolved.”

The NYC Bar Association’s working group recommended better training for Family Court judges and giving short-term cases to judges leaving the court to prevent reassignments.

The issues ultimately take a toll on children, predominantly children of color who make up the majority of cases in the system’s child welfare system, said Lawyers For Children Executive Director Karen Freedman.

“These children along with other children in crisis depend on NYC Family Court judges to make life-changing, nuanced decisions,” Freedman said. “They deserve the consistency of a single judge who knows their case and their family and has expertise in family law as well as family court experience.”

OCA spokesperson Lucian Chalfen said court leaders have met with the NYC Bar Association and are aware of their recommendations.

"One recommendation we are in total agreement with, and will be resuming advocating for as things begin to return to normal, is the Chief Judge’s Court Simplification initiative scaling down the antiquated and inefficient structure of eleven trial courts to three," Chalfen said.