New Court Structure To Help Domestic Violence Victims

As of January 1, 2007, the domestic relations division of the Orange County Circuit Court here in Orlando has been restructured. The main purpose of this restructuring is to provide greater protection to those people who are victims of domestic violence. Previously, to obtain an injunction, all the domestic circuit court judges would take take turns hearing injunctions. Many times, you would have to wait hours before your matter could be heard on your scheduled hearing date, and you may have been forced to sit and wait in the same room as the person from whom you are seeking protection. In an attempt to remedy that situation, a new system has been put into place whereby all domestic matters, including divorces and child support enforcement, that have domestic violence issues will be heard by one of three judges. The jury is still out on whether this new system will work, but I think it is a positive step in the right direction.

To read more about the Court's restructuring, see the following article published in the Orlando Sentinel:
http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/local/orange/orl-mdvcourt2906dec29,0,6082460.story?coll=orl-news-headlines-orange