It is getting more and more expensive to litigate divorce and paternity matters in our family law courts. This situation is worsening due to the current and predicted further budget cuts and the resulting court closures and reduction in services. The length of time it takes to put a non-emergency matter before the court is increasing and my average time spent in court waiting to be heard is increasing. It is now even more important to narrow down issues brought before the court to only those that cannot be resolved by negotiation or any other method. Less expensive alternatives include, uncontested divorce, collaborative divorce, mediation and retention of a private judge. I facilitate all of the above.
Nevertheless, sometimes the parties are so far apart, there is no choice except litigation. If this is the case, then depending on the status of the litigation, it may be beneficial to exercise discretion as to which courthouse your matter will be heard. Currently, cases may be filed in the local Family Law Court House or Downtown Los Angeles. On a more limited basis cases may be moved by requesting a change in the assigned Bench Officer. (Normally, this will incur additional time and costs which may, or may not, be justified depending on your case)
Long Beach – Two Family Law court rooms with two Family Law Commissioners.
Torrance – Two Family Law court rooms with two Family Law Commissioners.
Norwalk – Three Family Law court rooms with two Family Law Commissioner and one Family Law Judge
Compton – One Family Law court room with one Family Law Commissioner.
Los Angeles Central (Stanley Mosk) All Los Angeles County cases may be filed at this location. Numerous Family Law Judges and Commissioners. This court has greater resources and support staff than the branch courts. But can still be time consuming and expensive due to time spent commuting, parking fees and the high volume of cases that occasionally meant a morning court hearing extends, or is not heard, until the afternoon.
Consolidation of Family Law Branch courts is apparently under consideration. Long Beach and Pomona have been mentioned as possible consolidation candidates.
Orange County – most cases are heard at the Lamoreaux Justice Center in Orange with some being heard at the Central Justice Center, Santa Ana. Many of the courtrooms are the size of a large living room. In these courtrooms there is only room for the the Bench officer, court staff, and attorneys. Parties must wait to be called and the public is not admitted. This is a reporting county so the bench officer has access to the mediator’s opinions regarding child custody and visitation. Due to the current budget crisis. I wouldn’t be surprised to see Los Angeles county adopt this system soon; as it is a cost effective way to get an informed neutral opinion in front of the Bench Officer.