| Appendix A | Appendix B | Appendix C |
| Return to Table of Contents | ||
GUIDELINES FOR TIMELY PROCESSING
OF FAMILY COURT CASES
A key component of the Family Court Standards Project of the Family Court of the State of Delaware was the development of time guidelines for case processing. The guidelines are presented in this Appendix to assist other family courts in the establishment of time standards appropriate to their jurisdictions and operating environments.
The Project divided the standards into two categories: (1) processing from case filing to assignment to a judge; and (2) case processing from judicial assignment to case disposition. Viewed from the perspective of the litigants, the life of a family court case begins at the time it is filed with the court and ends when there is a final order. In reality there are multiple steps at each preliminary stage that involve different segments of the court. In most civil cases, service of process and timely filing of an answer precede assignment of the case to a judge or commissioner. Recognizing this distinction, the Family Court divided responsibility for recommending standards between the Courting Quality workgroup (cases prior to judicial assignment) and the Supreme Court Special Committee on Internal Operating Procedures(cases after judicial assignment).
The Family Court's Subcommittee on Expedition and Timeliness and the Courting Quality workgroups developed the following standards for case processing prior to assignment to a judge's calendar (Table 1).
Table 1. Civil Case Processing Standards Prior to Judicial Assignment
|
Stage of Processing |
Recommended Time |
|
File creation / Electronic data entry |
Upon receipt |
|
Processing of petition to issuance of summons (emergency petitions) |
2 hours |
|
Processing of petition to issuance of summons (non-emergency petitions) |
48 hours |
|
Issuance of summons to return of service of process |
25 days |
|
Service of summons to filing answer to petition, where required |
20 days |
|
Process answer to petition |
24 hours |
|
Process response to motions |
24 hours |
|
Processing of answer/response to judicial assignment list |
24 hours |
In 1999, in conjunction with the Family Court Standards Project, the Supreme Court Special Committee on Family Court Internal Operating Procedures developed recommendations for guidelines for timely judicial processing of family court cases described below in Tables 2 through 4 and accompanying text. The recommended guidelines on judicial processing focus on three time periods in the "life" of a case: (1) the time from judicial assignment to identifying a date for trial; (2) the time from judicial assignment to the trial date; and (3) the time from hearing to issuance of an order.
Table 2. Time from Assignment to Scheduling 1
|
Type of Case |
75% scheduled |
98% scheduled |
|
Non-expedited civil cases |
10 Court days after receipt in judge's office |
30 Court days after receipt in judge's office |
|
Expedited civil cases (motion to expedite granted) |
1 Court day after receipt in judge's office |
2 Court days after receipt in judge's office |
|
Expedited civil cases (motion to expedite denied) |
10 Court days after filing of answer |
30 Court days after filing of answer |
The time from judicial assignment of a family court case to the hearing date is a function of a number of variables including case complexity, the number of parties, status of representation, availability of attorneys, number of cases scheduled for trial. Need for expedited processing, and the priority on relation to other pending cases. This time period, more than others, is highly dependent on resources available to the family court.
In order to develop the guidelines for timely processing from assignment to hearing date (Table 3), the Family Court first classified cases in broad groups with common characteristics. The recommended time frames represent a balancing of the need for immediate action, complexity of the subject matter, and unique intricacies related to the processing of a particular group of cases. For example, a termination-of-parental-rights (TPR) case is one of the most serious before a family court. It merits the most expeditious hearing date. However, the processing of a TPR petition requires notice, often by publication, that can consume upwards to 60 days of time.
Table 3. Time from Assignment to Hearing Date 2
|
Category |
Case Type |
Level 1 |
Level 2 |
Level 3 |
|
Criminal |
Non-domestic violence (Speedy Trial Directive) |
90% within 45 days of arrest |
100% within 90 days of arrest |
|
Domestic violence(Family Court Directive) |
Arraignment within 14 days of receipt |
Trial within 28 days of receipt |
||
|
Delinquency |
Detained defendants (Family Court Directive)(Speedy Trial Directive) |
Case review within two weeks of arrest |
Trial within two weeks of final case review |
90% within 45 days of arrest; 100% within 90 days of arrest |
Non-detained defendants |
90% within 45 days of arrest |
100% within 90 days of arrest |
||
Amenability and Sentencing (Speedy Trial Directive) |
100% detainees within 30 days of presentence/amenability report |
100% of non-detainees within 60 days of presentence/amenability report |
||
|
Quasi-criminal |
Protection From Abuse(Statutory requirement) |
Emergencies within 10 days of ex parte order |
100% within 30 days of filing |
|
|
Civil (Court Improvement Project) |
Dependency/Neglect Adjudications(Court Improvement Project) |
10 days from filing to Preliminary Protective Hearing |
30 days from Preliminary Protective Hearing to Adjudicatory Hearing |
30 days from Adjudicatory to Disposition Hearing (if req.) |
|
Dependency/Neglect Cases in Foster Care(Federal Legislation) |
180 days from child's removal to interim review |
365 days from child's removal to permanency hearing |
Annual reviews from last permanency hearing | |
|
Civil I |
Dependency/Neglect (other than DFS) Rules to Show Cause (2nd leg) Support (Review of commitments; habeas corpus; bail hearings) Guardianship Abortion Notification Waivers Applications for Expedited Hearings (PC/ex parte) |
50% within 20 Court days of assignment |
75% within 25 Court days of assignment |
98% within 30 Court days of assignment |
|
Civil II |
Spousal Support Alimony Custody (Interim hearings) Visitation (Temporary hearings; Modification for abuse) Support (Paternity Determination; Arrears/Contempt) |
50% within 30 Court days of assignment |
75% within 45 Court days of assignment |
98% within 60 Court days of assignment |
|
Civil III |
Custody (Initial Trial; Modification) Visitation (Trial) Support (New Hearing; Modification; Support of a poor person) Termination of Parental Rights Specific Performance Education of Exceptional/Handicapped Child |
50% within 60 Court days of assignment |
75% within 75 Court days of assignment |
98% within 90 Court days of assignment |
|
Civil IV |
Visitation (Modification for other than abuse) Support (w/interim consents) Adoption (Adult adoptee) Appellate (Trial de novo; Review on record) |
50% within 75 Court days of assignment |
75% within 90 Court days of assignment |
98% within 110 Court days of assignment |
|
Civil V |
Divorce-annulment Property Division (measured from 16(c) filing) Support (incarcerated respondents) Guardianship (school related) Imperiling the Family Relationship Terminating Compulsory School Attendance Rehearings under Rule 60(b) |
50% within 120 Court days of assignment |
75% within 150 Court days of assignment |
98% within 180 Court days of assignment |
Awaiting a family court's decision is among the most stressful time for litigants. To the extent possible, judges should rule on matters as soon as practical. If a ruling is not made before the completion of a hearing, family courts should give the parties an indication of when a final decision can be expected, as well as the timing of any interim orders or instructions in the time between the trial and the issuance of a final decision.
Table 4. Standard for Time from Hearing to Issuance of Order 3
|
Category |
Case Type |
Level 1 |
Level 2 |
Level 3 |
|
Criminal/ |
Misdemeanor |
Rule from the bench unless presentence report ordered |
Sentencing hearing within 30 days if PSI ordered |
|
Delinquency |
Felony Amenability |
Rule from the bench unless presentence report ordered |
Sentencing hearing within 30 days if PSI ordered |
|
Quasi-criminal |
Protection From Abuse |
Rule from bench |
||
|
Civil (Court Improvement Project) |
Dependency/Neglect |
Ruling from bench with next Court date given in Court |
||
|
Termination of parental rights |
30 days from final submission |
|||
|
Civil I |
(see Table 4) |
50% within 1day |
75% within 3 days |
98% within 5 days |
|
Civil II |
(see Table 4) |
50% within 5 days |
75% within 7 days |
98% within 10 days |
|
Civil III |
(see Table 4) |
50% within 30 days |
75% within 45 days |
98% within 60 days |
|
Civil IV |
(see Table 4) |
50% within 30 days |
75% within 45 days |
98% within 60 days |
|
Civil V |
(see Table 4) |
50% within 50 days |
75% within 70 days |
98% within 90 days |
i Final Report of Delaware Supreme Court Special Committee on Family Court Internal Operating Procedures (March 30, 1999), 32.
ii Id. at 33.
iii Id. at 36.