April 2006 “Tips from the Bench”

By Judge John Wittmayer, Multnomah County Circuit Court.

Family law - child custody and parenting time evaluations

Because of the limited resources available from the Department of Family Services, Chief Family Law Judge Elizabeth Welch has implemented a new General Order restricting circumstances in which the Department of Family Services will conduct child custody and parenting time evaluations.

Effective immediately, the Department of Family Services will not perform child custody and parenting time evaluations in the following circumstances:

• Contempt or parenting time enforcement cases.
• Cases in which the current matter has been pending for more than six months.
• Cases in which the children are all over 15.
• Cases in which there has been a professional evaluation within the past two years, except to obtain an update. Updates will only be ordered where there has been a substantial change of circumstances since the completion of the last evaluation.
• Pending Juvenile Dependency cases.
• Cases in which the only matter pending is a Family Abuse Restraining Order Act (FAPA) restraining order.
• Cases of Probate Guardianship.
• Cases in which a parent is in prison.

The new General Order also provides that in cases where there has been a substantial break in the parent-child relationship, a history of abuse, or a significant criminal history, the first step would be supervised visits, not an evaluation.

Requests for evaluations by the Department of Family Services are to be scheduled for any Friday morning at 8:20 am. No stipulations for such studies will be allowed.

Family law - mediation compliance procedures

Judge Welch has also implemented a new General Order intended to enforce Multnomah County Circuit Court Supplementary Local Rule 12.015, which requires that before parents have a court hearing regarding child custody or parenting time, they participate in mediation.

Effective immediately, no pendente lite hearing regarding child custody or parenting time will be set unless the parties have obtained and complied with an order for mediation, unless the requirement for such an order has been waived by the court pursuant to SLR 12.015(4). Simply put, the parties must attend mediation subsequent to the filing of the petition, unless the court waives the requirement.

When the parties or their lawyers telephone the court to report ready for trial in cases in which child custody or parenting time are issues, if mediation has not been completed, the case will not be assigned out for trial.

On cases in which a judge has retained the case, because that judge has previously heard disputed matters, that judge’s judicial assistant will not set trial dates unless mediation has occurred. Parties confirming trial readiness with the retaining judge’s office will be expected to confirm completion of both mediation and the parenting time education requirement.

In cases in which a party is seeking modification of child custody or parenting time, a mediation order will be a condition to the setting of a hearing date. If any cases come before the court without the completion of mediation, the hearing will be reset, and the parties will be sent to mediation.