The Modern Family Court Judge: Knowledge, Qualities, and Skills for Success

• Author: Natalie Anne Knowlton
• Date: 01 April 2015
• Published date: 01 April 2015
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1111/fcre.12144

SPECIAL FEATURES

THE MODERN FAMILY COURT JUDGE: KNOWLEDGE, QUALITIES,

AND SKILLS FOR SUCCESS1

Natalie Anne Knowlton

Family court judges deserve great respect.They make significant decisions affecting our nation’s families, yet these judges are

often undervalued, evenby their peers on the bench. And there is insufficient acknowledgement of the broad expertise required

to do the job well. This publicationaims to change this by drawing attention to the special knowledge, qualities, and skills that

these judges need to be successful—and hopefully reprioritizing and revaluing their role in the legal system.

Key Points for the Family Court Community:

• Family court is not a “pots and pans” rotation, it is a rotation into people’s lives,and an oppor tunity to positivelyshape

outcomes that will affect children and families forever.

• It is critically important to have a highly skilled and dedicated judicial officer making decisions that forever impact

America’s families.

• Because of the complex, multidimensional nature of their cases, family court judges must possess additional knowl-

edge, skills, and qualities not required by their colleagues who handle other case types.

• Judicial education plays an indispensable role in fostering highly skilled and dedicated family court judges.

Keywords: Divorce;Domestic Relations;Family Court Judge;Family Court;Family Law;Judicial Skills;and Separation

PREFACE

A key role of the family court judge2is to help our nation’s families reorganize after separation or

divorce, and that is a heavy responsibility. Divorce, separation, and parental responsibility cases

“focus on some of the most intimate, emotional, and all-encompassing aspects of parties’ personal

lives,” and the “volume and scope of family law cases exacerbate the difficulty of their resolution.” 3

These cases can constitute a significant portion of a jurisdiction’s total caseload, in some states over

half.4Furthermore, for many people, the only time they come into contact with the courts is through

a divorce or separation proceeding.

The Institute for the Advancement of the American Legal System (IAALS) offers this position

paper to draw attention to the complex knowledge,skills, and qualities needed by today’s family court

judges. Developed as part of the IAALS Honoring Families Initiative (HFI) and in partnership with a

diverse working group of the HFI Advisory Committee,5this paper describes the special nature of a

family court judge and highlights how critically important it is to have a highly skilled and dedicated

judicial officer making decisions that forever impact America’s families.

A CRUCIAL JUDICIAL ASSIGNMENT

Some judges consider family court service as a “pots and pans” rotation and a far less gratifying

or esteemed judicial position6:

Correspondence: Natalie.Knowlton@du.edu

FAMILY COURT REVIEW, Vol. 53 No. 2, April 2015 203–216

© 2015 University of Denver—IAALS