BILL NUMBER: S6285
SPONSOR: CLEARE
 
TITLE OF BILL:
An act to amend the family court act, in relation to the timing of
proceedings; to amend the county law and the judiciary law, in relation
to the compensation of assigned counsel; and to amend the civil practice
law and rules, in relation to authorizing a trial by jury in family
court for trying matters of fact
 
PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL:
"Mommy's Heart" Transparency in the Family Court System to Protect
Parental Rights
 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:
Section 1: All Family Court proceedings must be put on the record and a
mandatory window of no more than five days is mandated for transcripts
to be provided to the parties following a proceeding or hearing. Back-
office deals off the record and dismissing one party from a hearing
while then continuing ex parte with the other party is prohibited.
Section 2: Establishment of an independent committee review of all
custody cases in the Family Court to assess how: much the Family Court
judges fail to follow the law, biased and prejudiced judges are toward
one party in a case, and, the extent to which judges fail to follow the
rules governing judicial conduct. Custody and visitation decisions
cannot be rendered based on ex parte and/or sua sponte orders, and the
prolific use by the abusive parent of temporary orders of protection
(TOPS), many via ex parte petitions, which get renewed by the Family
Court for years without due process, are precluded from being Issued. No
TOP may last for more than two weeks, whereupon a fair and full eviden-
tiary hearing must be conducted to be able to extend a TOP for up to two
more weeks at a time and each time there must be a fair and full eviden-
tiary hearing for an extension. Any order of protection must provide
the explicit justification and nexus of facts to the need for the TOP,
along with the basis for which the TOP may be removed.
Section 3: The dollar cap and pay rate for 18B attorneys is hereby
increased to $20,000 per case and $200 per hour respectively. A commit-
tee is hereby established to review their effectiveness and to hold 188
attorneys accountable for their actions. All 185 attorneys must send
copies of the detailed Invoices they submit to the paying agency to the
parties they are representing or else they cannot get paid.
Section 4: All Attorneys for Children (AFC), if they want to work on
cases in New York State, are obligated to submit copies (un-redacted) of
all invoices each month they submit for payment, to the parties to the
respective case. Failing to do so will result in nonpayment. Privately
paid for AFC's are hereby forbidden to be used by the courts. AFC's are
required to meet equally with both parents or guardians (if such exist)
and each month provide an activity report to each parent or guardian and
the court of their activities in a case, including each meeting and
communication they have with the parties and children. The content of
the meetings with the children shall not be disclosed to the extent it
would violateattorney/client privilege, but the fact that a meeting or
communication took place with the children, and the substance of those
meetings or communications to the extent not breaching the
attorney/client privilege, shall be disclosed in a monthly activity
report, and distributed as described below. Each such report shall be
distributed by the 10th of the month succeeding the month in which such
activities took place. The Office of the Attorney General of New York
shall establish a procedure for parties to file a complaint for
violations by AFC's of this provision within 60 days of the passage of
this bill and shall fully and expeditiously investigate any such c
omplaints.
Section 5: TRIAL BY JURY IN FAMILY COURT
1. Right to Jury Trial in Family Court Cases: Notwithstanding any other
provision of law, any party involved in a dispute before the family
court shall have the right to request a trial by jury for determination
of any factual issue. Such a right shall be invoked in accordance with
procedures established by the appropriate judicial authority, but In no
event shall a party be denied this right if requested in a timely
manner.
2. Jury Selection and Composition: The selection and composition of the
jury for family court cases shall be consistent with the processes
utilized for civil trials In NYS Jurisdiction, unless otherwise speci-
fied.
3. Scope of Jury's Determination: In cases where a trial by jury is
requested, the jury's role shall be limited to making factual determi-
nations. Legal conclusions, and the application of those facts to the
relevant laws and standards, shall remain within the discretion of the
presiding judge.
4. Instructions to the Jury: The presiding judge shall provide the Jury
with clear instructions concerning the factual issues they are to
decide, ensuring that their determination aligns with the best Interests
of any involved minors or other relevant legal standards.
5. Implementation: The appropriate state agency shall develop and imple-
ment guidelines and procedures for ensuring the right to a trial by jury
in family court proceedings, in consultation with stakeholders including
family law practitioners, child welfare experts, and other relevant
parties.
 
DIFFERENCE BETWEEN ORIGINAL AND AMENDED VERSION (IF APPLICABLE):
Non-applicable
 
JUSTIFICATION:
The State of New York's 2015 Integrity Investigation Report Card
released by The Center for Public Integrity in 2015 gave the State of
New York's Family Courts in the categories of "Judicial Accountability"
and "Ethics Enforcement Agencieb" a failing grade of "F". Research shows
too many children are taken from the parent who is the victim of abuse
on the simple say so of the abusive parent, without the ability to fight
back and'stand up for themselves.
Section 1- would eliminate one of the fundamental problems of how chil-
dren and parents are abused by the system and denied due process of law.
It is a widespread practice that needs to be fixed asap.
Section 2 - many TOPs are issued against the victim of extreme domestic
abuse and never against the abuser. It is appalling and this must be
stopped immediately, and this section would eliminate the denial of due
process and often arbitrary decisions of the Family Courts.
Section 3 - Many 188 attorneys seem to do little or nothing, stay on a
case for a few months, and then ask to withdraw, harming the parties
they represent, while billing the local jurisdiction for the maximum
number of hours allowed without validation of the work they claim to
have done. This section would greatly curtail the misconduct, ineffec-
tiveness, and negligence of 18B attorneys.
Section 4 - All too often the AFCs are bought and paid for by a wealthy
parent and controlled by them as well. With transparency, the playing
field could be more balanced, and parents and children will be better
protected. AFC's should be required to meet equally with both parents
and every month provide an activity report to each parent and the court
of their activities in a case to reduce the bias that goes on.
These steps would make a significant positive difference to improve an
unacceptable and abysmal score by the Family Courts for "Judicial
Accountability" and "Ethics Enforcement Agencies", protect those from
abuse and exploitation, and set a standard of excellence for New York
State.
 
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
None.
 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS FOR STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS:
To be determined.
 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
To be determined.

Statutes affected:
S6285: 35 judiciary law, 35(3) judiciary law