What is a Court Review Hearing?
A Court Review Hearing is a legal proceeding that is presided over by a judge in the family courts. The purpose of this hearing is to establish whether or not a Child Support Order or Family Court Order should continue to have an effect on the lives of a party and his/her family members. Parent’s experience with these hearings have shown that these hearings can be earlier in the day than the regular Family Court dockets, and the will often take place back-to-back.
Both the custodial and non-custodial parent can request a Court Review Hearing. Often, the custodial party will request the hearing in order to establish that the child support payments are insufficient , but these hearings can also be requested if a parent believes there has been a change in the medical needs of the child, and he/she would like the court to modify the existing order.
When a trial court issues an order, it loses the ability to modify that order unless one of four criteria are met: A Court Review Hearing allows the Court to maintain some power over the orders it issues by establishing the ability to call for hearings to determine whether a Family Court Order is still valid as it pertains to the life of the parties involved. If a party believes that the circumstances have changed enough to warrant another hearing, the Court Review Hearing is what allows them to request that hearing from the court.
Different Types of Court Review Hearings
The types of Court Review Hearings are often dependent on the type of case at hand. For example, if you are in a criminal case, such as a felon seeking parole, seeking a probation modification, or submitting an early release petition to the parole board, it is considered a parole hearing. If you have a child custody proceeding, it will be called a child review custody hearing.
An example of a felon in a parole hearing or parole eligibility proceeding would be an adult convict convicted of a crime like drug possession, robbery, murder, etc., who is in the Nebraska State Penitentiary for a length of time related to that crime. If they are eligible for parole, the Nebraska Parole Board holds a hearing at which time they can decide that the individual does not pose a risk to the public and release them so long as they agree to certain parole conditions. An example of a probation review hearing would be a similar case to the one stated above. A person is convicted of a crime, such as drug possession, robbery, murder, etc., however, instead of sentencing that individual to a certain number of years in the Nebraska State Penitentiary, they were sentenced to that period of years on probation. If a probation review hearing occurs, it is because for some reason a person on probation has or is in need of additional review by the court to determine whether or not their probation conditions should be modified, be allowed to continue, or be revoked. In this case a person on probation is required to follow certain probation rules, and must not violate any laws. Therefore, any time there is a violation of those conditions, the court has the ability to review their conditions, and decide whether or not the conditions should be modified, continue, or the person be revoked back to prison to serve the time they were sentenced to. A child custody proceeding is when two individuals, typically parents, have been granted the ability to have the court review the custody of their children. This typically occurs when the parents cannot agree on the perception or interpretation of the custody terms. For example, in a custody proceeding, a parent may be able to receive visitation or joint custody of their children under the current divorce decree. If the person with custodial rights is not allowing visitation or is not allowing the children to remain in the residence, then a parent may petition the court for a modification or other review of the custodial terms.
How a Court Review Hearing Works
Once your attorney has filed a request for the review hearing, it will be given a case number by the court and a date for a hearing will be assigned to the matter. On the date of the hearing, your attorney will give notice to all interested parties; i.e., other attorneys, DCFS, GALs, etc. Either in open court or chambers, a conference will be held between the judge, attorneys and family members to explain the purpose of the hearing. The role of the judge is to solicit pertinent information from the parties so that the case can be addressed appropriately. If needed, the case will be "continued" a few days so the court can review additional evidence, or so the parties can provide further information. For example, DCFS may need to further investigate allegations of abuse or neglect, or the judge might consider ordering a psychological evaluation.
Court Review Hearing Preparation
The court review hearing may seem similar to a routine hearing in which evidence and testimony as to all manner of issues are presented to the court. However, because of the issue in a court review hearing, the parties should be well prepared with proper documentation and an understanding of how the law applies to them. In addition, the parties should consider whether counsel may best assist in the situation. The court review hearing is much narrower in focus than the relatively broad latitude taken by a trial court on any number of issues. In the court review hearing, the most appropriate experts can help narrow the issues to be heard and even help craft proposed orders that may be agreed upon by the parties. The following steps should be considered:
- Prepare an adequate proctor review packet that includes the following documentation:
- Make sure you have a basic understanding of the what the court is being asked to consider and the standards the court is to apply. This basic understanding will help the court understand your child’s issues and will be helpful should the court make an unexpected ruling.
- Consult with counsel if at all possible. Your lawyer should be able to navigate these issues efficiently with the court and help get displayed to the judge both parties’ perspectives and objections to any proposed changes.
The Role of a Court Review Hearing
Typically, the first thing that happens at a Court review hearing is that the Judge will confirm who is present in the courtroom and that everybody is in the right place. Next, the Judge will ask the Child Protection Attorney for the state to read in the Court’s file. After that, the Judge will ask the parents’ lawyer if the parents object to what the Child Protection Attorney has said about the case. If so, the Judge will afford the parents’ attorney an opportunity to respond.
The Assistant State’s Attorney may then proceed with an opening statement. The Judge will want to know a very brief history of the case and a summary of the issues at hand and why the State agrees or disagrees with the plan. The Judge will expect the parents’ attorney to make a brief opening statement as well.
Next, the Judge will allow the caseworkers and any professionals working in the case to go on the stand and be sworn in . The Judge will also allow the lawyers for the parents to ask questions of the caseworker, and will permit the lawyers for the parents to call witnesses, should they choose.
Once the caseworkers and professionals have testified, the Judge will then allow the parents to testify themselves, and to call any witnesses they might choose. Once the parents have testified, or even if they do not testify, they will retain the right to make a closing statement to the Judge. The Order of the concluding statements will be as follows: The Child Protection Attorney, the parents’ attorney, then the Child Protection Attorney again (to respond to whatever the parents’ attorney has said).
After all of the closing statements are given, the Judge will render a decision, which will usually coincide with one of the plans presented to the Court by the parties or their attorneys.
Possible Outcomes and Their Significance
The possible outcomes of a court review hearing are significant, as they set the stage for the future conduct of the child or children in question, but also the legal relationship between the parties. As with many court hearings, the outcome can go one of three directions. An upturn could be declared, where the court is satisfied that sufficient improvement has been made due to the actions of the parties since the last order. A downgrade could be ordered, where the court sees enough cause to change the direction or tenor of the case to the detriment of one party or another, or you could end up where you were before.
If you do in fact receive an upturn, the only condition placed on you is that you maintain this level of improvement. The order has worked, as such, and there is no need to apply further restrictions on you. You may, however, be required to check in with the court at a time designated by the presiding judge in order to ensure that the positive momentum continues.
An upgrade can be a broad statement of improvement, but there may be slight provisions for things like parenting courses, exit plans for supervised care or other minor details. The upturn is a strong push in the right direction, but can sometimes be tweaked. Further to that, an upgrade could specifically encourage other parties to take action, such as the local authority, a local council or simply the offender.
A downgrade of your current legal status can be just as vague or specific as an upturn or upgrade. Such a decision can affect not only the legal status of your child, but also whether a previously ordered care plan stays in place. It could also see the case moved from the youth court to the adult court system in the UK, or vice versa, or it could result in the referral of a case to the family justice system.
Please remember that if the court hearing does result in downgrade, the issues that the court has raised with your conduct can only be remedied by taking further action on your part. If the presiding judge has told you that you’re placing the child in danger, invest the time to visit NAFIS, visit www.clearconsequences.com, read the resources and get better.
Court Review Hearing Decisions Explained
The outcome of a court review hearing often seems unfair to the losing party. In fact, the loss is particularly frustrating for the parent whose obligations are adjusted downward from the onset. Still, the court makes its decision based upon the evidence presented, and in most cases the burden of proof is on the moving party. A review hearing is not a trial on the merits before a jury, or even a court judge. It is an administrative hearing held by people who are trained to review information and determine whether the legal standard for a deviation is met. The review hearing is not a trial on all the issues of a case. It is only a hearing to determine whether circumstances persist that warrant reduction of support obligations per the Colorado Child Support Guidelines (Guidelines). This analysis often leads to an untenable situation for parents who have been high income earners in the past, but who have either reduced their work hours or choice a lesser paying job in the meantime. In these situations, parents can find themselves with obligations far above those of other parents whose income has been less in the past, but who continue with "a good job" now. Those parents may be relegated to lesser jobs that they "qualify for" based upon their former higher paying experience. Unfortunately , this could possibly require an appeal. Fortunately, under C.R.M. 7(f), the losing party can appeal the decision made at a court review hearing by filing a motion for review. Essentially, a new court review hearing is held in front of a family court magistrate. The review must be requested within 14 days, and the party requesting the review bears the burden of obtaining a written transcript of the review hearing, and then serving the transcript, and a motion for review upon the other party. If an objection is made your motion will not be heard unless the court determines there is good cause for the late filing of the motion. At the new hearing, both sides have the opportunity to present their respective cases anew. The decision of the magistrate can then be reviewed by a judge acting as the magistrate’s private review board. Both parties will have an opportunity to present legal argument to the reviewing judge. Hopefully, once the court brings its full attention to the issues and hearing is held according to the civil rules, a properly analyzed outcome will be reached. This will often agree with the outcome of the hearing before the magistrate, but sometimes not. Even when a judge disagrees with the magistrate, the outcome most often favors the party requesting the review where issues were not fully joined.