Family Court

WILMINGTON, Del. -- A couple charged with abandoning their 10-year-old disabled son have been ordered by a Family Court judge to undergo psychological evaluation. As social workers continue to look for a temporary home for the child, Richard and Dawn Kelso of Exton, Pa., told the court Tuesday that they would not immediately try to regain custody of their son, Steven, from the Delaware Department of Family Services. "We will retain custody," said department spokeswoman Trish Hearn. "It was an uncontested position."

Big SpendingIn reference to the Dec. 15 article about state Comptroller Louis L. Goldstein's choice between pouring $320 to $350 million in bonds down the bottomless pit of schools or into "natural areas and parkland": It doesn't seem like a real choice to me. Both are unnecessary.What has happened to the good steward we had for years who always came up with a surplus at the end of the year? Was it Gov. William Donald Schaefer who caused his change?Instead of buying more useless land, state lands should be privatized.

Norplant foes must consider alternativesWhy is it that the people who are in the most advantageous position to help the disadvantaged poor often serve as the greatest detriment to the process?It is so necessary that something be done to break the vicious cycle of poverty and crime. The most obvious place to start is with the youth. Now that Norplant has been offered as an aid in that process, the same people who demand help would deny it to those who most need it.These people are not interested in helping the victims of poverty as much as they are of grandstanding.

Maryland's highest court is poised to create a family division in the state's five largest circuit courts to consolidate everything from child-support to life-support matters.Proponents, including Chief Judge Robert M. Bell of the Court of Appeals, say a family division is needed to efficiently manage the TC family cases, which have swelled to half the civil cases on any given circuit court docket, and to get appropriate services for the families.Because the emotionally explosive cases often sprawl across juvenile and adult courts, coordination is difficult.

Family CourtThank you for your March 25 editorial in support of a family court for Maryland.I chaired the subcommittee of the Governor's Task Force on Family Law investigating the need for such a court.I, together with other members of the task force, traveled throughout the state listening to citizens' concerns regarding family law and the process available to them for resolving their issues.We heard repeatedly, and without solicitation, their unhappiness with our present system.The only opposition we heard then, and have ever heard since, has been from judges.

Six years ago, Donna and Jason Neidinger had a nice little family, with three children of their own. Still, the couple decided to become foster parents, hoping one day to make one of their temporary children a permanent family member. Yesterday, the Neidingers officially welcomed their second adopted child into the family during a lively, laughter-filled ceremony in Baltimore County's Old Courthouse, where nine adoptions were finalized as part of Maryland's first celebration of National Adoption Day. "There was no reason for us to adopt, but that we wanted to give another child a home," said Donna Neidinger, 33, wiping away tears as her new daughter, 15-month-old Amaris, played nearby.

Progressive Insurance has reached a settlement with the family of Kaitlynn Fisher, days after her brother's online rant against the company unleashed a torrent of backlash on social media. Fisher's family will receive a payment in the "tens of thousands," according to its attorney, Allen W. Cohen of Annapolis. "It's exactly how much we asked for," he said. The settlement prevents Cohen from filing a complaint with the Maryland Insurance Commissioner, he said, and the payment is separate from the judgment rendered by a jury in Baltimore Circuit Court last week awarding the Fishers $760,000.

Anyone who has been involved in a divorce proceeding, or been part of a child custody hearing, or watched in frustration as a juvenile delinquent and his family get shuffled through the courts has seen firsthand that cases involving family, domestic and juvenile law get short shrift in Maryland.A blue-ribbon commission appointed by the governor has come up with a sound recommendation, but one that will require effort, thorough planning and probably more money -- a separate court to handle domestic and juvenile cases.

Normally, nonplayers wait until after the game to come onto the basketball court. But in the same week in which Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban drew a $25,000 fine from the NBA for walking out to confront the Denver Nuggets' J.R. Smith, Cuban was topped by an incident at the Providence-Marquette game Saturday night. With the teams lined up for a free throw, a man emerged from the stands, strode up to referee Todd Williams and spoke to him briefly before being led off by security staff at Providence's Dunkin' Donuts Center.

Although Leonard S. Jacobson retired early from the Baltimore County Circuit Court, he wants to quash rumors that he's dying -- or running for county executive.Instead, the gregarious judge said, he was tempted off the bench three years before mandatory retirement to serve as a special master in the Family Law Settlement Court, helping parties entangled in divorce and custody cases work out their differences without a trial.It's the kind of grueling, difficult work many jurists dislike, but Judge Jacobson said he was always drawn to it."