Special Advocates Some Fundamentals
| Publication year | 2001 |
| Pages | 39 |
| Citation | Vol. 30 No. 6 Pg. 39 |
2001, June, Pg. 39. Special Advocates Some Fundamentals
Vol. 30, No. 6, Pg. 39
The Colorado Lawyer
June 2001
Vol. 30, No. 6 [Page 39]
June 2001
Vol. 30, No. 6 [Page 39]
Departments
Judges' Corner
Special Advocates Some Fundamentals
by T. Peter Craven
Judges' Corner
Special Advocates Some Fundamentals
by T. Peter Craven
An immeasurable gulf separates the staid confines of the
courtroom from the harsh realities of litigants' lives in
their homes and on the streets. In family law cases, the way
the parties behave in court often bears no resemblance to
their conduct outside. Especially when the welfare of
children is at stake, the judge or magistrate needs a
technique to bridge the gap and find out what is taking place
in the children's lives and what orders should issue to
deal with the problems at hand. As time passes, the family
living situation may create new troubles for the children
that call for revised orders from the court. Warring parents
are less than reliable sources, a problem exacerbated by the
growing number of pro se cases. Typically, the more
aggravated the conflict at home, the more erratic the data
that reaches the judge or magistrate. The legal maxim would
be—the quality of information varies in inverse
proportion to the fighting
A special advocate can bridge the gap
Statute and Case Law
The special advocate role is a creature of recent statute
CRS § 14-10-116(2)(b), passed in 1998. It is vague, which
permits lots of maneuvering room and imagination for the
special advocate's role to meet the needs of a given
case. The statute says that the special advocate, who may or
may not be a lawyer, shall (1) investigate, (2) file a
written report with the court, (3) and make independent and
informed recommendations "on any issues that affect or
may affect the bests interests" of the children.
The special advocate is to consider, but not be bound by, the
wishes of the child and will communicate them to the court.1
The lack of detail in the statute can result in flexibility
for the litigants and the court. They can ask for a special
advocate for discrete issues, such as relocation, or for a
complete set of services that may include parenting plans,
brokering a settlement, assisting in the education of the
parents on getting through a divorce, providing an island of
emotional stability for the children in a storm of hostility,
monitoring the plan after the divorce decree, and reporting
progress to the court.
Case law is scant as yet. To date, no case discusses what
special advocates can or cannot do. In In re Marriage of
Jeffers,2 the Colorado Court of Appeals remanded a case for
further proceedings and suggested that the trial court
reconsider the mother's request for a special advocate or
guardian ad litem. A similar suggestion to the trial court
came in G.A v. C.V.3
For post-decree problems, in S.F.E.,4 the Colorado Court of
Appeals said that, under the Uniform Parentage Act,5 there is
no authority to continue a GAL's appointment after the
entry of a final paternity decree, but that circumstances may
arise after permanent orders that may persuade the trial
court to appoint one for a limited purpose and...
To continue reading
Request your trial