Video & Presentations

Battling the Backlog: COVID-19 Pandemic Data. This is the first of three videos talking about filing and disposition data across the country during COVID-19, where Alicia Davis interviews Diane Robinson, Senior Court Research Associate, about a small sample filing and disposition data for 2019 and 2020 that helps illustrate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on court backlogs

Battling the Backlog: COVID-19 Pandemic Domestic Relations and Domestic Violence Data. In the second of three videos, Alicia Davis interviews Senior Court Research Associate Diane Robinson about the patterns observed for domestic relations and orders of protection data collected through a data request. While it’s true that this data shows domestic relations filings are down, dispositions are down even more.

Battling the Backlog: COVID-19 Pandemic Juvenile Data. This is the third video in the backlog series, where Diane Robinson talks about how although some family cases resulted in an accumulation during COVID-19, not all case types resulted in the same level of backlog. More urgent cases, like juvenile and dependency cases involving neglect or abuse cases, were prioritized by the courts.

What Judges Should Know About Virtual Hearings (Prof. Beth Thornburg, SMU). In this video, Professor Beth Thornburg of Southern Methodist University will soon publish “Observing Online Courts: Lessons Learned from the Pandemic” in the ABA’s Family Law Quarterly [vol. 54]. Prof. Thornburg’s study presents real-time considerations for holding virtual hearings, both the opportunities and the pitfalls.

Overview of FJI progress by Chief Justice Joel Bolger, Alaska, chair of the Family Justice Advisory Committee

The Hon. Scott M. Bernstein Presiding Judge, Family Division, Miami-Dade County, Florida

In Miami, Florida (2.76 million population), Domestic Relations cases are heard by the Family Court Division of the 11th Judicial Circuit of Florida (Miami-Dade County). The Family Court Division handles dissolution of marriage, paternity/parentage, child support, temporary support/alimony, adoptions, and name change. There is also Unified Children’s Court that operates the One Family, One Judge model and has jurisdiction over related family law matters from cases in Family Court, Juvenile Court, and the Domestic Violence Division. There were 32,305 Domestic Relations petitions filed per year in 2017.

Essential Steps to Tackle Backlog and Prepare for a Surge in New Cases

During this webinar, respected state court leaders Judge Jennifer Bailey, Administrative Judge, Civil Division, 11^th Judicial Circuit Court of Florida and Judge Gregory Sakall, Presiding Judge, Superior Court in Pima County, Arizona discuss essential steps to make civil and family case processing more effective, efficient, and fair to litigants.

Engaging  Modern Families Through the  Family Justice Initiative