Thursday, June 4, 1998 | 9:19 a.m.
That's one of several recommendations from the Interim Subcommittee on Family Court, which held its final meeting Wednesday.
The subcommittee quickly dismissed a suggestion from some disgruntled litigants to abolish the family courts altogether and agreed to support judges next legislative session in their quest to get five more family court seats.
Under the rotation plan, family and general jurisdiction judges could temporarily switch caseloads. The subcommittee stressed that those moves should last long enough to ensure continuity in family cases, which often require revisiting issues.
To enable the rotation plan to work, the subcommittee also recommended legislation strengthening the position of chief judge of the Clark County District Court.
In terms of specific rule changes, the panel learned that "tweaking the rules here and there is not as important as making sure the current rules are actually being followed," Assemblywoman and panel chairwoman Barbara Buckley, D-Las Vegas, noted.
One of the rule changes members did suggest would have Clark County adopt a system already in place in Washoe County that assigns litigants a trial date almost immediately after proceedings have begun.
The Clark County courts also will be urged to coordinate all case files involving a single family so that separate issues, such as child support and domestic violence, are looked at together. This "one family, one judge" system was what the Legislature originally intended, said Sen. Ernie Adler, D-Carson City.
Although the Legislature can't fund many court-related items itself, the subcommittee did adopt statements urging the Clark County Commission to increase funding for programs that provide someone to speak for children in court and to help start a legal clinic for litigants who can't afford lawyers.
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