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Domestic issues like divorce, child custody, and child support are slowly consuming the legal system in Michigan. In 2005, about two-thirds of all new cases filed in Michigan’s circuit courts were family law cases—an increasing trend since the mid-1990s.
Ingham County Circuit Court Judge Laura Baird said that there weren’t this many domestic cases when she was a family judge in the 1980s. “Obviously, there’s been a change in society.
“Our judicial system in changing before our very eyes,” Judge William Whitbeck, chief judge of the Michigan Court of Appeals said. “The family as we have traditionally known it has changed extraordinarily, and we’re seeing the impact in our courts.”
The rising domestic issues brought to court leave many wondering whether it’s up to the legal system to find a solution rather than just ordering punishments.
Michigan Supreme Court Justice Maura Corrigan says some action needs to be taken to reverse the growing trend of family law cases. “This is a massive problem, and things need to be done beyond the courts to get at the issues we’re facing.
Corrigan wants to launch a project in the next couple of years to organize a specialty court that would specifically deal with child support issues. The specialty court, modeled after a North Carolina court, would strive to focus more on solutions to dealing with family problems rather than court-ordered penalties.
Currently, in Michigan, there are about one million open child support cases, which accrues to almost $9 billion in uncollected support statewide. Under the specialty court, non-paying parents would not be put in jail where they have no chance of earning the money.
In North Carolina, for example, non-paying parents are ordered to wear electric tethers that would monitor them as they continued to work to pay child support. Furthermore, the court offers help to violators on the initial cause of non-payment such as substance abuse problems, education needs, and job training.
Human Services activist and president and CEO of Michigan’s Children Sharon Claytor Peters believes the idea of creating a new specialty court that would work in conjunction with public agencies and community organizations is a good first step to fixing the increasing problem.
“Societal factors indicate this trend will only grow,” said Claytor Peters. “We won’t achieve solutions without the courts’ involvement. They see the problems first.”
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