FAMILY COURT

Family court. It has a nice ring to it, but can it work in Cape Girardeau County?

In the family court concept, one judge specially trained in family matters handles cases relating to children and families. These include divorce or legal separation, child custody, adoptions, most juvenile proceedings and adult and child abuse cases.

Missouri legislation approved in 1993 established family courts in the state's six largest circuits as a way to better move family cases through the system. The bill left open the option for other circuits to participate with local court rule. Statutes also allow for the hiring of a family court administrator to oversee such services as mediation and counseling.

Judges in the 32nd judicial circuit -- which includes Cape Girardeau, Bollinger and Perry counties -- are considering the family court option.

On the surface, family court seems viable. It has worked well in the larger circuits, moving cases through at a faster pace. The system offers a level of mediation by a third-party administrator that has worked well elsewhere.

A real advantage of the system would be that a single judge has oversight over multiple cases dealing with the same family. Currently it is possible an adult abuse case and divorce involving the same couple would be heard by separate judges.

The system isn't foolproof, however, since each side has the option of an automatic disqualification of judges, which could push it outside of the family court.

Currently, domestic cases in this circuit are distributed among the judges. Juvenile cases are being assigned to one judge, but over the years these cases have alternated between judges.

An added charge to all cases falling within the jurisdiction of family court will offset some of the costs. There may be additional costs for the counties to share. But benefits may far outweigh these added expenses.

Family court seems a concept worthy of further investigation in this circuit.