I have, at this point, had interactions with the legal systems of Centre County, Pennsylvania, and Monroe County, Michigan, which both have populations of roughly 150,000; although when you include Penn State University students, the population of Centre County grows to nearly 200,000. Thus, I feel comparing the legal systems in the counties is fair. Much of the difference comes from how the two states organize their courts.
Monroe County has the 1st District Court, which “[has] exclusive jurisdiction of all civil litigation up to $25,000 and handles garnishments, eviction proceedings, land contract and mortgage foreclosures, and other proceedings…[and]…handles all misdemeanors where punishment does not exceed one year, including arraignment, setting and acceptance of bail, trial, and sentencing, and conducts preliminary examinations in felony cases.” These lower courts are similar to Pennsylvania’s Magisterial District Courts, in which judges handle most of these things, besides all but the most minor of misdemeanors. In Michigan, all judges have to have practiced law for at least five years, but in Pennsylvania, laws do not require district magistrates to have law degrees, although most do. Centre County has six district magistrates, while Monroe County has three district court judges.
The 38th Circuit Court “has original jurisdiction in all civil cases involving more than $25,000 and in all criminal cases where the offense is a felony or certain serious misdemeanors” and hears appeals from the District Court. The 38th Circuit also includes the Domestic Relations Section, which handles custody cases. The 38th Circuit Court has five judges, two of which handle juvenile cases in the Probate Court, and one handles domestic relations cases. The Circuit Courts in Michigan are equivalent to the Common Pleas Courts in Pennsylvania. The Common Pleas Court in Centre County has four judges. Thus, Centre County has two more judges than Monroe County, but one fewer judge to handle more severe and domestic cases. Additionally, Monroe County appears to assign specific types of cases to particular judges. There are, of course, pros and cons to this, but I believe the Michigan system is superior.
Part of the Michigan Circuit Courts is called The Friend of the Court (FOC), and from what I can tell, it consists of a group of mediators that help resolve disputes before they ever get to a courtroom. According to Monroe County’s website, “The main function of the Friend of the Court is to enforce the court orders issued by the Circuit Court for Child Support, Custody, and Parenting Time.” It lists only one member, but there are many more.
When you have a hearing involving child support, custody, or parenting time, you first meet with the FOC. Both parties and attorneys meet with the FOC to determine if the responding party objects to the moving party’s request. If they do, then the FOC tries to negotiate a compromise. With no objections, the FOC writes a new order, and the judge signs it. If the parties cannot settle, they go into a courtroom and speak with a judge. Frequently this is just a minor issue, and the FOC briefs the judge on the dispute. The judge asks some questions and makes a ruling. The FOC then writes a new order for the judge to sign. Often, they make handwritten adjustments to the preliminary order the FOC had already written.
This system seems better in many ways than the Pennsylvania system, which has nothing like the FOC. I’m not sure how many states have a system like Michigan’s FOC, but they all should. It is such a better and more efficient way of getting things done. Meetings with the FOC do get contentious at times, but the state appears to have trained FOCs to handle this, and with experience, they know how to suggest compromises. As I was trying to increase parenting time after the move, I filed many petitions. The FOC negotiated a settlement to Rita’s objections most of the time, and we never even saw the judge. We usually spent less than 10 minutes in the courtroom when we couldn’t settle on a solution. However, I’m sure plenty of Michigan residents may feel differently about the FOC, and I have not always agreed with their decisions.