Rule 100.11 Authority Retained by the Court

Even though a hearing officer may handle parts of your case, the judge still stays in charge. The judge has the power to review anything the hearing officer recommends and can step in to hold their own hearing at any time.

If there is a dispute about who the legal parent of a child is, the judge handles that directly rather than leaving it to a hearing officer. The judge also has the power to make special orders and to punish anyone who does not follow the rules or court orders.