The Other Side of the Bench: Reflections on Ten Years in Family Court
| Publication year | 2010 |
| Pages | 93 |
2010, July, Pg. 93. The Other Side of the Bench: Reflections on Ten Years in Family Court
July 2010
Vol. 39, No. 7 [Page 93]
Judges' Corner is published quarterly to provide information Colorado judges would like to disseminate to attorneys. If you would like to suggest topics or write an article for this Department, send an e-mail to Coorindating Editor Alan Loeb, Colorado Court of Appeals Judge, at alan.loeb@judicial.state.co.us.
About the Author
Angela R. Arkin has been a District Court Judge in the Eighteenth Judicial District since September 2002-angela.arkin@judicial.state.co.us. She began her judicial career in August 2000 by serving as a domestic and juvenile District Court Magistrate in Arapahoe County, and is currently handling a 100 percent domestic docket in Douglas County. Prior to her current assignment, Judge Arkin has served as a District Judge in Arapahoe, Douglas, Elbert, and Lincoln Counties, with mixed dockets including criminal, civil, probate, mental health, juvenile, and domestic cases.
Ten years on the Bench is a long time, but it passes in a flash. Actually, it's more of a whirlwind when most of it is spent in family court. That's where I have been for the vast majority of my judicial career. How did I get so lucky (or unlucky, some might think)? A variety of factors led me to this docket, the most prominent being my background as a family lawyer.
Many judges are most comfortable presiding over a docket that covers their primary area of practice-comfortable, because we don't have to start from scratch. "Comfortable," however, does not always equal "favorite." Many judges find that presiding over a specialty of law that is different from the area we practiced as attorneys is appealing, and possibly even preferred. Some of us like the challenge of learning something new. Others find that we are tired of the same old thing, and are re-energized by something different.
Not so for me. I have presided over every type of case, and nothing appeals to me more than the family law docket.
The way our courts address challenges facing children and families has a significant, ongoing impact on our society. Many families come to the courts in distress relating to poverty, substance abuse, mental or physical health problems, spousal or child abuse, and/or domestic violence. As a family court judge, I believe I have the opportunity to contribute to the resolution of these challenges in a positive way. This belief is shared by many of my judicial colleagues who have found their time spent presiding in family court to be extremely rewarding. Some of these judges have valiantly committed themselves to these dockets, including the judges in the Denver Juvenile and Probate Courts and many magistrates around the state. Many district court judges who have never been near a dissolution of marriage in their personal or professional lives, but who now are working in family court, have come to find the family law docket to be intellectually challenging and professionally satisfying. For example, a judge in family court may have an opportunity to identify resources and perhaps order professionals into a case-such as a family therapist-who could have a concrete, significant, and positive impact on the family's...
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