Lawyer - Stetson University College of Law

Serving
children
by Davina Y. Gould
Tens of thousands of children
shuffle through Florida’s
legal system in any given
year through a number of family and
juvenile courts. Some are victims of
abuse and neglect; others are caught
in custody disputes or have perpetrated
crimes themselves. In an area
of law where mistakes can yield tragic
results, many Stetson alumni are
working to improve the system and
protect society’s most vulnerable.
New courts
Service on a combined civil/
family docket in 1999 led Judge
David Dugan ’78 to start a domestic
violence division for the 18th
Judicial Circuit in Brevard County.
“Children are uniquely involved
in the domestic violence cycle,” said
Judge Dugan. “This court recognizes
that domestic violence is more
than violence and court punishment;
in addition to victim protection,
treatment and counseling are
critical to breaking the cycle.”
After a year of research and
planning, Judge Dugan started the
domestic violence division and ran
it for two years. Governor Bush recognized
Dugan with the 2001 Peace
at Home award for his work.
“In most areas of the law, judges
are dispute deciders, but in the
arena of domestic violence we have
the opportunity to do more,” said
Dugan.
As a senior attorney for the
Guardian ad Litem Program for
Hillsborough County, Barbara
Stallings ’99 has worked with
two specialized courts: an
independent living court
for foster teens moving
into adulthood, and a
drug court for families
with substance abuse
issues.
“The drug court follows a
therapeutic model compared to
traditional dependency courts,”
described Stallings.
The independent living court
helps older children without permanent
adoptive parents as they
transition from the foster system to
ensure that they receive the appropriate
living subsidies, educational
aid, housing and other resources.
“As attorney-guardians ad litem, we
meet with the teens directly to represent
their best interests in court
and to aid them in their journey to
become healthy functioning adults
outside of the state’s care,” said
Stallings.
While some alumni have worked
in unique courts tailored to specific
family law issues, others have
become pioneers of the Unified
Family Court, a “one family, one
judge” concept mandated by the
Florida Supreme Court to streamline
court processes for children.
“Most juvenile judges only do
one or the other (delinquency or
dependency),” explained Judge
Irene Sullivan ’77, who sits on the
UFC for 6th Judicial Circuit. “We
do both, which gives us remarkable
insight into the reasons that
kids are delinquent. Many of them
have been abandoned, neglected or
24 s t e t s o n Lawyer