California Child Custody Determination by Jury Initiative (2020)
| California Child Custody Determination by Jury Initiative | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Election date November 3, 2020 | |
| Topic Divorce and custody | |
| Status Not on the ballot | |
| Type State statute | Origin Citizens |
The California Child Custody Determination by Jury Initiative (#18-0011 and #19-0033) was not on the ballot in California as an initiated state statute on November 3, 2020.
The measure would have created a statutory right for people involved in child custody cases to demand that a jury, rather than a judge, determine the custody of a child.[1]
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 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 is available here.
Path to the ballot
Process in California
In California, the number of signatures required for an initiated state statute is equal to 5 percent of the votes cast in the preceding gubernatorial election. Petitions are allowed to circulate for 180 days from the date the attorney general prepares the petition language. Signatures need to be certified at least 131 days before the general election. As the verification process can take multiple months, the secretary of state provides suggested deadlines for ballot initiatives.
The requirements to get initiated state statutes certified for the 2020 ballot:
- Signatures: 623,212 valid signatures were required.
- Deadline: The deadline for signature verification was June 25, 2020. However, the process of verifying signatures can take multiple months. The recommended deadlines were March 3, 2020, for an initiative requiring a full check of signatures and April 21, 2020, for an initiative requiring a random sample of signatures.
Signatures are first filed with local election officials, who determine the total number of signatures submitted. If the total number is equal to at least 100 percent of the required signatures, then local election officials perform a random check of signatures submitted in their counties. If the random sample estimates that more than 110 percent of the required number of signatures are valid, the initiative is eligible for the ballot. If the random sample estimates that between 95 and 110 percent of the required number of signatures are valid, a full check of signatures is done to determine the total number of valid signatures. If less than 95 percent are estimated to be valid, the initiative does not make the ballot.
Stages of Initiative #18-0011
Proponents filed the ballot initiative on November 2, 2018.[4] 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. On August 5, 2019, the office of Secretary of State Alex Padilla announced that the initiative failed to make the ballot.
Stages of Initiative #19-0033
Wylmina Hettinga and Stephen D. Konnoff filed the ballot initiative on December 31, 2019.[1] The Attorney General of California issued ballot language for the initiative on March 4, 2020, allowing a signature drive to begin. Proponents did not file signatures before the deadline on June 25, 2020. The signature deadline for the 2022 ballot was August 31, 2020.
See also
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 California Attorney General, "Initiative 19-0033," December 30, 2019
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 California Secretary of State, "Initiatives and Referenda Cleared for Circulation," accessed March 5, 2020
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ California Attorney General, "Initiative 18-0011," November 2, 2018
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