St. Mary's Cnty. Cir. Ct. Family Law DCM Plan (introduction)

ST. MARY’S COUNTY CIRCUIT COURT

Family Law

Differentiated Case Management Plan

September 1, 2017

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Family Law Differentiated Case Management Plan

Track Assignment Charts

Case Initiation

File a Case

Family Case Management Events

Interpreters

ADA Accommodations

Civil Differentiated Case Management Plan

This Family1 Differentiated Case Management (DCM) Plan is established

in accordance with Maryland Rule 16-302(b) which requires the County

Administrative Judge to develop and, upon approval by the Chief Judge of the

Maryland Court of Appeals, implement and monitor a case management plan

for the prompt and efficient scheduling and disposition of cases filed in the

circuit court.

Statement of Purpose

From the commencement of litigation to its resolution, whether by trial

or settlement, any elapsed time other than reasonably required for pleadings,

discovery, and court events, is unacceptable and should be eliminated. To

enable just and efficient resolution of cases, the Court should control the pace

of litigation. A strong judicial commitment is essential to reducing delay and

once achieved, maintaining a current docket. (Standard 250, ABA Standards

Relating to Court Delay Reduction1).

It is the purpose of this DCM Plan to provide an effective case

management system that will assure:

1. Equal treatment of all litigants by the Court;

2. Timely disposition of cases consistent with circumstances of the

individual case;

3. Enhancement of the quality of the litigation process; and

4. Public confidence in the court as an institution.

Consistent with the Case Time Standards adopted by the Judicial

Council, Constitutional Requirements, and applicable Maryland Rules, it is the

goal of this Plan to ensure that 98% of family cases, with the exception of

limited divorce cases, be concluded within 12 months (365 days) of the filing

date. Limited divorce cases are to be concluded within two years (730 days) of

the filing date. In order to achieve this goal, the Circuit Court is committed to

resolving different categories of cases within a regular and predictable time

frame as warranted by the needs of those cases. For simpler and many typical

cases, the time frame may be shorter than 12 months.

Case Management

Pursuant to Maryland Rule 16-302(b)(1)(A), the County Administrative

Judge supervises all aspects of civil case management, and is ultimately

responsible for the implementation of this DCM Plan. The County

Administrative Judge authorizes certain judges and family magistrates to hear

various family law matters, and makes final decisions whether, and to whom, a

case gets assigned. These duties are delegated to the assignment clerk to

implement.

All judges and family magistrates must comply with this Plan and

implement such provisions in their rulings. Individual judges and family

magistrates shall effectively manage cases assigned to them through dockets or

special assignment cases. The scheduling of cases must always be coordinated

with the Assignment Office. All cases should be managed, to the extent

possible, consistent with the provisions of this Plan, including adherence to the

Maryland case time standards.

Family Law Casetype Summary

This DCM Plan includes the following family law casetypes: absolute

divorce; limited divorce; custody; visitation; child support (including child

support establishment, modification, and enforcement; paternity, and Uniform

Interstate Family Support Act cases); annulment; enrollment and enforcement

of a foreign decree; adoption; protection from domestic violence; guardianship

of the person and/or property of a minor; guardianship of the person and/or

property of a disabled adult; change of name; special juvenile immigrant status

cases; and contempt proceedings to enforce existing family law case orders.

Family magistrates predominately preside over the following family law

casetypes:

1. Divorce, annulment, and alimony;

2. Granting or modification of child custody and/or visitation;

3. Granting or modification of temporary alimony;

4. Granting or modification of child support pendente lite;

5. Preliminary or pendente lite possession or use of the family home or

family use personal property;

6. Pendente lite custody of or visitation with children;

7. Constructive civil contempt such as: child access disputes, constructive civil contempt by reason of non-compliance with an order or

judgment relating to custody of or visitation with a minor child, the

payment of alimony or support, and/or the possession or use of the

family home or family-use personal property;

8. Counsel fees and assessment of court costs in any matter referred to a

family magistrate; and

9. Stay of an earnings withholding order.

Judges may preside over the aforementioned casetypes, but exclusively hear

the following family casetypes:

1. Adoption,

2. Protection from Domestic Violence,

3. Guardianship of the person and/or property of a minor,

4. Guardianship of the person and/or property of a Disabled Adult,

5. Change of Name, and

6. Any contested merits domestic matter, if the case is expected to take

more than three hours to try.

Family Tracks

A family law case may follow one of five tracks to resolution. Tracks

define: expected case processing events, the timing of events, assignment, and

expectation for case duration. Assigning cases to appropriate tracks by early

and meaningful screening permits the Court to resolve each case fairly and

expeditiously. All cases are referred to family law personnel for review and

tracking. The Clerk’s Office transfers all Track 1A and 1B cases directly to a

judge’s chambers for case review and management.

TRACK ASSIGNMENT CHART

Table 1.1 – Track 1 – Family Expedited

TRACK CASE SUBTYPES CASE DURATION

TRACK 1A 1. Adoptions, 90 days from

2. Protection from Domestic Violence,

Family 3. Change of Name,

case filing

Miscellaneous 4. Guardianship of the Person/Property

Expedited of a Minor, and

6. Guardianship of the Person/Property

of a Disabled Adult

Uncontested Track 1A Family Miscellaneous Expedited cases are 15-30 minute merits

hearings before a judge only.

TRACK 1B 1. Emergency matters, and 120 days from

2. Special Juvenile Immigrant Status case filing

Family General

Petitions.

Expedited

Uncontested Track 1B Family General Expedited cases are 15-30 minute merits hearings.

Table 1.2 – Track 2 – Family Standard

TRACK CASE SUBTYPES CASE DURATION

TRACK 2 1. Contested Divorce, and 270 days from case filing

2. Contested Child Support.

Family

Standard

Track 2 Family Standard cases are 45 minutes to 2 hour merits hearings.

Table 1.3 – Track 3 – Family Complex

TRACK CASE SUBTYPES CASE DURATION

TRACK 3 1. Contested Custody, Visitation, 365 days from case filing

Property, and/or Alimony issues.

Family Complex

Track 3 Family Complex cases are more than 2 hour merits hearings.

Table 1.4 – Track 4 – Family Limited Divorce

TRACK CASE SUBTYPES CASE DURATION

TRACK 4 Filing to Disposition – 24 months