Deschutes Co. courts receive family law innovation award

The Deschutes County Circuit Court and Oregon’s Statewide Family Law Advisory Committee have received a prestigious national award for their informal, expedited domestic relations trial program.

The program is used in all types of family law disputes, including divorce, child custody and child support, spousal support, and parenting time.

Deschutes County Circuit Court Judge Wells Ashby accepted the Irwin Cantor Innovative Program Award at the Association of Family and Conciliation Courts (AFCC) national conference held in Boston on May 31 .

“We are actively working to develop and expand these kinds of innovative court processes as more people are appearing in court without a lawyer,” said Oregon Supreme Court Chief Justice Thomas Balmer. “This process is fast and voluntary, can save litigants time and money, and helps people feel heard – which increases their confidence that they are getting a fair and impartial hearing, even if the decision is not in their favor.”

The Informal Domestic Relations Trial program (IDRT) was established in Deschutes County in 2013. The IDRT process is especially effective in cases that have limited issues and the parties are not represented by an attorney. IDRT cases are docketed quickly, are shorter than traditional trials, and decisions are rendered promptly, sometimes even the same day. The IDRT will become available statewide this fall.

Participating in the IDRT requires parties to waive traditional rules and lets them speak directly to the judge. Testimony is still given under oath, but the parties cannot cross-examine each other and cannot call non-expert witnesses such as friends and family members. About 20 percent of family law trials in Deschutes County have used the IDRT process.

The Statewide Family Law Advisory Committee developed the concept for the IDRT, and worked with Deschutes County to implement it as a pilot. The State of Alaska has adopted a similar model and Iowa is currently conducting a pilot project. The AFCC is an interdisciplinary association of lawyers, researchers, and mental health and other professionals dedicated to improving resolutions of family conflicts.