NCJ Number
84271
Journal
Law and Human Behavior Volume: 6 Issue: 1 Dated: (1982) Pages: 49-64
Date Published
1982
Length
16 pages
Annotation
The rationale for family courts as alternatives to juvenile courts may be underestimating the inherent, difficult problems associated with any attempt to regulate family dynamics legally.
Abstract
Arguments for the establishment of these courts rest on the assumption that a consolidated jurisdiction looking beyond any particular offense to the best interests of a family can better coordinate services and devise creative dispositions. However, theoretical doubts exist about the appropriateness and ability of legal forms to affect family functioning. The adversarial nature of courts proceedings is altered by the overriding concept of the 'family's' interests and the possibility arises of judicial judgments relying more on diagnostic prediction than on provable fact. The court intervention is rationalized as a preventive measure against family disruption, but in reality it usually occurs at advanced stages of conflict, and is applied primarily to families at the lower socioeconmic levels. Furthermore referral functions easily expand into service provision, carrying court involvement into areas not appropriate for a justice agency. The prototype of intake for family courts is the juvenile court where intake decisions vary and the system is flawed by inconsistencies. Finally, family court recommendations depend on highly trained professional staff for which resources are lacking; detailed investigation of family functioning is required, but the model implemented inevitably features large caseloads. The role of family courts should be defined more realistically, based on impact evaluations of court appearances on family functioning. Court dispositions should be limited to behaviorally specific outcomes not dependent on costly in-depth analyses. Family courts should move toward an active watchdog role over community services, since these courts do represent an innovation with the potential to promote effective social services and individualized justice. About 100 references are provided.