I hope you had a very Merry Christmas. This year Christmas was a lot of fun for my family. My daughter loved everything having to do with Christmas. In early December we started going to see the Christmas lights. She loved the lights. She also enjoyed creating new and different stories as we drove through the Christmas light displays.
My wife and I attended our daughter’s first school Christmas Concert. It was fantastic. To be honest, my wife and I were a little nervous as our daughter was experiencing some stage fright. But, she and her classmates did a great job! After the concert, she was so very excited to tell us all about her experience.
Christmas Eve was full of excitement. My daughter ran around the house telling us, very loudly, that she was “way too jazzed” about Christmas. We made a bunch of Christmas cookies. She decided we had to make Santa three sugar cookies. Then, she added about a pound of frosting to the cookies to set out along with milk and carrots. (Santa was only able to eat two of the cookies.)
She watched, with great excitement, Santa’s progress online. Time is not a concept she entirely grasps. So, she had her own internal countdown that was not entirely connected to reality. What her countdown lacked in accuracy was more than made up by her level of extreme excitement.
Christmas Day started fast with a whirlwind of activity opening presents. Then we enjoyed the rest of the day with plenty of good food and playing with her new gifts.
Now that Christmas is behind us and the New Year is approaching, I like to reflect on the past year. 2023 was a busy year at your Domestic Relations Court. I want to share a couple of major highlights.
First, we were able to create an additional Hearing Room from the last remaining vacant space at the Courthouse. This was an important project for the Domestic Relations Court. The new Hearing Room provides much-needed space for magistrates to hear domestic relations cases.
Hearing Room 5 is located on the 400 level, the Domestic Relations Court floor. It is located behind the public elevators. So, if you have a case in Hearing Room 5, you will exit the elevators and take 3 left turns and be at the correct place for your case.
Second, the Domestic Relations Court completed our 10th and 11th Settlement Weeks. We conduct two Settlement Week Programs per year, in May and in November. During Settlement Week private mediators come to the Court and help families resolve their disagreements.
Our Settlement Week Program was highlighted by Ohio Chief Justice Sharon Kennedy in her State of the Judiciary speech. The Chief Justice recognized our Court Program, my Court Administrator, Larry McQuain, and me. She also encouraged other courts to consider creating a Settlement Week Program to resolve cases.
My Court Administrator and I also presented for the Ohio Supreme Court, Dispute Resolution Section, about our Settlement Week Program for Ohio Judges, Magistrates and Court Administrators. During the presentation we discussed the many benefits of creating a Settlement Week Program and that the program creates very little, to no additional public cost.
Our latest Settlement Week was conducted last month. Of the 17 cases selected to participate in our program, 13 cases (76.47%) reached full settlement, 3 cases (17.65%) reached partial settlements, and only 1 case (5.88%) had no settlement.
2023 was a successful year for the Delaware County Domestic Relations team. I am excited for what we can achieve in 2024.
I hope 2023 was a very good year for you, and your family. My wish is for you to have a wonderful year in 2024!
Randall D. Fuller is judge of the Domestic Relations Division of the Delaware County Court of Common Pleas. Judge Fuller is a life-long resident of Delaware County.
