SPECIAL REPORT: Justice delayed

Witnesses were lined up, schedules were cleared, travel plans were arranged and attorney Bob Waterman - after months of preparation - was ready to defend his clients in trial before a Johnson County jury.

Then, a few days before testimony was set to begin, Waterman got a call. Because of “a lack of judicial resources,” the trial was continued.

More than a year delay in that case and all the inconveniences that come with it - a second round of travel expenses, testimony preparation, rearranged schedules and the fading memories of witnesses - illustrate the many ways that cuts to Iowa's judiciary have affected the court system and the people it serves.

Iowa's judicial branch lost 11 percent of its workforce in the 2009-10 state budget cuts, leaving it with fewer employees today than it had 24 years ago. The reductions have meant fewer court reporters, tighter judge schedules, limited courtrooms, reduced clerk hours, frozen salaries and frustrated judges, attorneys, clerks, stenographers, litigants, defendants and victims.

The Linn and Johnson county attorneys' offices report conducting fewer jury trials, in part, because of tight resources. Private attorneys in Eastern Iowa say they've resolved more cases through mediation because they're aware of how long and costly the trial process can be.

“This underfunding of Iowa's judicial branch has, without question, caused justice to be delayed - and therefore denied - for Iowa's citizens,” said Waterman, president of the Iowa State Bar Association.

During his State of the Judiciary address earlier this month, Chief Justice of the Iowa Supreme Court Mark Cady requested $10 million in new funds for the next budget year. On the same day, a grass-roots coalition of Iowa's court administrators, attorneys and other judicial stakeholders met for the first time to discuss a plan to meet with their local legislators and stress the importance of funding for Iowa's judicial branch.

Sen. Bob Dvorsky, D-Coralville, said he is listening and hopes that - with more money available in the 2013 budget year - the judicial system will get a much-needed boost.

“We do have to put more resources there,” he said. “I keep thinking about the saying, ‘Justice delayed is justice denied.' ”

Although civil cases have been hardest hit by the budget blows, Johnson County Attorney Janet Lyness said some of her office's biggest criminal cases have been postponed because of a lack of resources.

“We have two murder cases set for trial in the fall, because we couldn't guarantee we would have a judge or court reporter available sooner,” Lyness said.

She's talking about the first-degree murder trials of Lillie Williams, accused in a fatal fire in September in Coralville, and Courtney White, arrested in connection with the 2009 shooting death of landlord John Versypt in Iowa City.

Staffing levels used to provide a court reporter for every judge, but cuts have forced stenographers to juggle their time between courtrooms and courthouses, postponing even the most serious cases, Lyness said.

“We now have a person who all they do is try to figure out the court schedule,” Lyness said. “Is that a good use of someone's resources?”

Kellee Cortez, a former court reporter in Linn County, spends a chunk of her day scheduling hearings.

“It used to be an easy process,” said Cortez, assistant District Court administrator for the 6th Judicial District. “Now we have to figure out what cases are going with what judges and make sure they have a court reporter.”

Cortez said she left her court reporting gig in 2010, in part, because stenographer jobs were being cut and reporters' schedules were being turned upside down. She recalls adjusting from working with one judge to bouncing between many.

“After the change,” she said, “efficiency was definitely decreased.”

Linn County Attorney Jerry Vander Sanden said hindrances can be costly to the administration of justice as people “get disenchanted with the long delays.”

“You find people no longer interested in following through on a case,” he said, adding that witness' memories can fade. “Life moves on, and they do, too.”

A third of the state's clerk of court offices have cut their public hours, and Vander Sanden said that has further slowed justice in Iowa.

At the Johnson County Clerk of Court Office, those closures are a saving grace.

“That is the lifesaver of the judicial system,” said Lodema Berkley, clerk of the District Court. “We are getting to spend two straight hours working with no phone interruptions. That is what keeps us from drowning.”

The office closures have led to more disgruntled customers, however, and Berkley said negative feedback paired with mounting work can be tough on employees.

“It's getting to be more of a sad situation than anything,” she said. “How do you keep morale up year after year after year?”

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Iowa chief justice calls for civil court reform, more funding for judiciary (thegazette.com)

Chief justice makes good case for more court system funding (thegazette.com)