HOUSE RESOLUTION NO. 36
(By Delegates Compton, Ennis,
Hubbard, Mahan,
Pino and
Webb)
Encouraging the people of West Virginia concerned about the
impact of divorce, domestic violence, family separation or
gender bias in domestic relations legal related matters to
contact both the Commission on the Future of the West
Virginia Judicial System appointed by the West Virginia
Supreme Court of Appeals and the West Virginia State Bar's
Commission on Children and the Law to voice their
respective concerns; asking the Commissions to consider the
impact of domestic relations disputes on the children of
this State during their respective deliberations; and
respectfully requesting that the Commissions consider the
interests of the children to be of foremost importance in
resolving domestic and family disputes impacting children.
Whereas, The children of West Virginia are among the greatest
resources of this State and should be nurtured and protected by
all segments of government and society; and
Whereas, Every year, many children of this State endure
tragedies associated with abuse, divorce, family separation,
domestic violence and other family related problems; and
Whereas, The House of Delegates requests that every parent,
grandparent, counselor, civic, political and religious leader and others involved in influencing children and strengthening
families in West Virginia to take an active role in attempts to
lower the rate of child abuse, divorce, and domestic violence in
West Virginia; and
Whereas, The House of Delegates believes that the children
of this State should be allowed to experience the benefits and
joys associated with having family relationships with members of
both their maternal and paternal families, including maternal
and paternal grandparents, when such maternal and paternal
family members are nonabusive and nonneglectful; and
Whereas, The House of Delegates implores all people involved
in making domestic related decisions which will affect children
in this State to make just decisions that treat all people
equally and fairly and that such decision makers take extra care
to ensure their decisions are in the best interests of the
children involved and not gender biased or discriminatory; and
Whereas, The Commission on the Future of the West Virginia
Judicial System has been appointed by the Supreme Court of the
State of West Virginia to develop a plan to implement recommendations to improve the court system in this State,
including how the court system may improve equality, fairness
and integrity for all who have business before courts in this
State; and
Whereas, The West Virginia Supreme Court has specifically
directed the Commission on the Future of the West Virginia
Judicial System to: (1) Examine the societal trends which are
affecting the role and caseload of the courts; (2) assess the
performance of the court system in light of established
standards of fairness, accessibility, timeliness and
accountability; (3) identify the strengths of the court system
as well as obstacles to improving the performance of the court
system; (4) make recommendations that will ensure a just,
effective, responsive and efficient court system into the next
century; and (5) develop a plan to implement its
recommendations; and
Whereas, The Commission on the Future of the West Virginia
Judicial System has proposed a work plan that anticipates the
collection of information and data through April, 1998, with
subcommittees working on key identified issues through August
15, 1998, the Commission considering subcommittee
recommendations in September, drafting a report in October and finalizing their report in November for submission in December;
and
Whereas, The Commission on the Future of the West Virginia
Judicial System has been ordered to consider the experiences of
individuals, organizations and agencies that are served by the
courts during its deliberations; and
Whereas, The Commission on the Future of the West Virginia
Judicial System has requested information in public hearings,
public filings, delivered to Commission at P.O. Box 5130,
Charleston, WV 25361, web site and e-mail input at
www.state.wv.us/wvsca, focus groups, surveys and other means of
communication; and
Whereas, The West Virginia State Bar, through its Commission
on Children and the Law, intends to submit recommendations to
the Commission on the Future of the West Virginia Legal System
on behalf of lawyers and judges in April, 1998, and welcomes
written comments concerning children and the law from the public
and those served by the legal system in West Virginia: Provided,
That such comments from the public should be submitted to the
Commission on Children and the Law, C/O West Virginia State Bar,
2006 Kanawha Blvd. East, Charleston, WV 25311, on or before
April 1, 1998: Provided, however, That the State Bar advises those submitting comments to its Commission on Children and the
Law to also communicate their respective concerns directly to
the Supreme Court's Commission on the Future of the West
Virginia Legal System; therefore, be it
Resolved by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That the House of Delegates encourages the people of West
Virginia concerned about the impacts of divorce, domestic
violence, family separation or gender bias in domestic relations
legal related matters to communicate with the West Virginia
Supreme Court's Commission on the Future of the West Virginia
Judicial System and the West Virginia State Bar's Commission on
Children and the Law to: (1) Voice their respective concerns;
(2) ask the Commissions to consider the impact of domestic
relations disputes on the children of this State during their
respective deliberations; and (3) respectfully request that the
Commissions consider the interests of the children to be of
foremost importance in resolving domestic and family disputes
impacting children; and, be it
Further Resolved, That the House of Delegates encourages
the Commission on the Future of the West Virginia Judicial
System and the Commission on Children and the Law to consider
the final report and recommendations of the Task Force on Gender Fairness in the Courts submitted to the West Virginia Supreme
Court in October, 1996, as part of their respective
deliberations; and, be it
Further Resolved, That the Clerk is hereby directed to
forward a copy of this resolution to the West Virginia Supreme
Court's Commission on the Future of the West Virginia Judicial
System; the West Virginia State Bar's Commission on Children and
the Law; the Fair Rights for Families; and members of the press
routinely covering the activities of the House of Delegates.