Judge Gallivan Warns of 'Disconnect' Between Child Abuse Reports and Court Filings at Confirmation Hearing

When Judge Jessica Gallivan appeared before the Committee on Rules and Judiciary on Thursday to defend her renomination to the Superior Court, lawmakers seized the opportunity to discuss issues relevant to the work of the family court. The judge has presided over matters in that jurisdiction for the past six years.  “Of great concern to me is the fact that we have seen a sharp decline in the number of child abuse and neglect cases being filed,” Judge Gallivan noted. “None have been filed today to date for this year and last year, I believe only one case was filed.” These statistics do not match up with the reality on the ground, she believes.  “I think that that is incongruent with what we see reported in the press about children being sexually abused, about children being physically abused, about what is often reported in the schools,” the judge said. That “disconnect” was but one of the issues highlighted by Judge Gallivan. “Sometimes it's the attorneys, sometimes it's the parties,...