Iowa Supreme Court chief reports on progress, challenges facing justice system

DES MOINES - A day after Gov. Terry Branstad called on lawmakers to address 'significant racial disparities” in criminal justice, Iowa's chief justice added his voice to the call to end racial disparity and modernize the jury system.

'Racial disparity is a community problem requiring community solutions,” Iowa Supreme Court Chief Justice Mark Cady said in his sixth annual State of the Judiciary report to the Legislature.

Cady outline measures the Judicial Branch has taken to address racial disparities in the system, including training 716 judges, magistrates and other staff 'to recognize implicit biases” that contribute to disparities. Three counties - Linn, Johnson and Scott, he said, are collaborating with Georgetown University to eliminate racial disparity in the juvenile justice system. It has reduced school referrals to juvenile court by 61 percent.

'We will always face challenges in delivering on our promise of justice for all, challenges that are overcome when our values and virtues guide the actions we take and the decisions we make,” Cady told the joint session of the Senate and House.

Justice, he added, 'is important to every Iowans, and the condition of justice is vital to the overall health and prosperity of this state.”

To the end, Cady laid out five other priorities: Protecting children; providing full-time access to justices; operate and efficient full-service court system; operate in an open and transparent way; and provide faster and less costly resolution of legal disputes. Like the governor, he also called for lawmakers to address the 'dark underworld” of human trafficking that exists in many Iowa communities.

It's not the first time he's told lawmakers of these priorities, Cady reminded them, 'and we remain committed to fulfilling them today.”

Progress has been made, Cady said, in increasing confidentiality of juvenile court records to realize the 'common goals of public safety and the best interest of our children.”

He highlighted the success of business courts and a process to expedite and lower the costs of civil litigation. Close to 400 civil actions have been fast-tracked, which exceeded Cady's expectations, and after an evaluation last summer, the Iowa Bar Association declared 'Both the bench and the bar are highly satisfied” with the initiative.

To increase openness and transparency, Cady said the court heard oral arguments in four communities and visited 30 high schools and colleges. The Judicial Branch also is working toward expanding access to court documents. With statewide electronic filing, court users and the public have more access than ever. However, he added, the public and media do not have access from their own computers.

He called for modifications in pretrial release programs that will not compromise public safety, but mitigate the adverse impacts - job loss, separation from family, debt and the likelihood of future incarceration - that stem from arrest. Cady offered no specifics, but said the Judicial Branch will work with the Department of Corrections, county attorneys and defense attorneys to find ways to improve the system.

Achieving racial impartiality in delivering justice is a journey, Cady said. One stop on that journey s modernizing the jury system to 'give greater assurance that randomly selected jury pools represent a fair cross-section of each community.”

The Judicial Branch will begin to collect information on the racial composition of juries to determine if the process can be approved.

'When all Iowans have full confidence in the fairness of our jury system, justice is delivered,” he said.