California Child Custody Determination by Jury Initiative (2018)
| California Child Custody Determination by Jury Initiative | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Election date November 6, 2018 | |
| Topic Divorce and custody | |
| Status Not on the ballot | |
| Type State statute | Origin Citizens |
The California Child Custody Determination by Jury Initiative (#17-0054) was not on the ballot in California as an initiated state statute on November 6, 2018.
The measure would have allowed people involved in child custody cases to demand a jury, rather than a judge, determine legal and physical custody of the child.[1]
Proponents filed another effort to get this initiative on the November 2020 ballot. To read about the 2020 initiative effort, click here.
Text of measure
Ballot title
The official ballot title was as follows:[2]
| “ |
Allows for Jury Trials in Child-Custody and Dependent-Child Determinations. Initiative Statute.[3] |
” |
Petition summary
The summary provided for inclusion on signature petition sheets was as follows:[2]
| “ |
Gives parties in child-custody matters the right to demand that a jury, rather than a judge, determine who receives the physical and legal custody of the child. Prohibits the judge from rejecting a jury’s joint-child-custody decision. Provides that findings in dependent-child proceedings, in which a juvenile may be declared a dependent of the court, can be made by a judge or jury.[3] |
” |
Fiscal impact
The fiscal impact statement was as follows:[2]
| “ |
Unknown ongoing net fiscal impact on state courts that would depend significantly on (1) how the measure is interpreted and implemented by the courts and (2) how individuals respond to the ability to demand a jury trial in child custody and juvenile dependency jurisdictional hearings. Potential ongoing increase in county costs that could reach the low millions of dollars annually related to juvenile dependency jurisdictional cases—some or all of which could be shifted to the state.[3] |
” |
Full text
The full text of the measure is available here.
Sponsors
Raise Your Rights led the campaign in support of the initiative.[4]
Path to the ballot
In California, the number of signatures needed to qualify a measure for the ballot is based on the total number of votes cast for the office of governor. For an initiated state statute, petitioners must collect signatures equal to 5 percent of the most recent gubernatorial vote. To get a measure on the 2018 ballot, the number of signatures required was 365,880. In California, initiatives can be circulated for 180 days. Signatures needed to be certified at least 131 days before the 2018 general election, which was around June 28, 2018. As the signature verification process can take several weeks, the California secretary of state issues suggested deadlines for several months before the certification deadline.
Version #16-0003
- Wylmina Hettinga submitted a letter requesting a title and summary on May 6, 2016.
- A title and summary were issued by the California attorney general's office on June 6, 2016.
- Supporters were required to collect 365,880 valid signatures by December 13, 2016, for qualification purposes.
- A total of 42,747 signatures were submitted by the deadline.
- On December 28, 2016, the secretary of state's office announced that the measure had failed to make the ballot.
Version #17-0001
- Wylmina Hettinga submitted a letter requesting a title and summary on January 4, 2017.
- A title and summary were issued by the California attorney general's office on March 10, 2017.
- Proponents of the initiative needed to submit 365,880 valid signatures by September 6, 2017, in order for it to make the 2018 ballot.
- On September 5, 2017, petitioner Wylmina Hettinga said the campaign did not collect enough signatures for Initiative #17-0001 and would file a new proposal with the attorney general's office.[5]
- On September 19, 2017, the secretary of state's office announced that the measure had failed to make the ballot.[6]
Version #17-0054
- Stephen Konnoff, Jaime Lewis, Wylmina Hettinga, Pete Villasenor, Joseph Thomas, Fernando Cook-Morales, Sabrina Hall, Richard Preciado, Martha Ayon, Briana Ramos, Leah Ahn, Omar Martinez, Cheri Elendon, Daniel Martinez Ramirez, Trevor Thomas, John Betts, Diana Costo-Dragges, Rebekah Jaggars, and Christine Coggins submitted a letter requesting a title and summary on December 15, 2017.
- A title and summary were issued by the California attorney general's office on February 20, 2018.
- Proponents of the initiative needed to submit 365,880 valid signatures by August 20, 2018.
2020 initiative effort
Proponents of this initiative launched an effort to put the proposal on the 2020 ballot. Proponents filed the ballot initiative on November 2, 2018.[7] The Attorney General of California issued ballot language for the initiative on January 9, 2019, allowing a signature drive to begin. The signature deadline for the initiative was July 8, 2019. To read more details about this 2020 effort, click here.
See also
Footnotes
- ↑ California Attorney General, "Initiative 17-0054," December 15, 2017
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 California Secretary of State, "Initiatives and Referenda Cleared for Circulation," accessed March 6, 2017
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ Raise Your Rights, "Homepage," accessed September 5, 2017
- ↑ Facebook, "Raise Your Rights Group," September 5, 2017
- ↑ California Secretary of State, "Initiatives and Referenda Withdrawn or Failed to Qualify," accessed September 19, 2017
- ↑ Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; no text was provided for refs namedinitiative
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