Wheels of justice grind as court cuts wreak havoc on scheduling

The full impact of court budget cuts and retirements have yet to hit the 6th Judicial District, but come January, Juvenile Court scheduling and the workload for judges will test the justice system.

Chief Judge Patrick Grady said his main concerns are the Juvenile Court docket, which is a priority, and the reduction of court reporters, whose availability affects all court scheduling.

The worst of it won't hit until after the holidays when court trials and hearings return to normal, Grady said.

The district - which covers Linn, Johnson, Iowa, Jones, Benton and Tama counties - lost 12 employees, four of them court reporters, in the 10 percent across-the-board budget cuts ordered by the governor. Another court reporter's hours were reduced, as were hours for two other employees. Ten vacant positions were eliminated, and four employees retired.

Also, Grady said, Judge David Remley, who retired in September, still hasn't been replaced and possibly won't be until March. District Court Judge Kristin Hibbs and District Associate Judge Sylvia Lewis also are retiring in January. Sixty percent of Lewis' caseload in Johnson County is juvenile cases.

In Johnson and Linn counties, district associate and juvenile judges handle 18 to 25 cases per day. In the rural counties, they see 12 to 14 cases per day on the four days a month a judge travels to those counties.

“We have to fill (Lewis') docket, and there's no room on any other district associate's dockets to hear those cases,” Grady said. “This could really set us behind. A district judge will have to fill her spot.”

Lewis will take senior status immediately after her retirement and continue to hear cases, but senior judges work only 13 weeks a year.

District Court administrator Carroll Edmondson, who schedules judges and courtrooms in the six counties, said flexibility is limited in juvenile cases. They have strict guidelines and take priority, with funding implications if the district fails to meet deadlines and requirements.

Other priority cases involve family matters, such as custody and domestic abuse cases; health committals; and criminal cases - the ones with defendants in jail or those asking for a speedy trial.

The loss of four court reporters goes hand in hand with the scheduling problems for juvenile and district courts, Grady said. The court reporters serve as the support staff for judges by typing orders and rulings and by performing other clerical work.

Some juvenile hearings have already been bumped because a court reporter was unavailable.

District Associate Judge Russell Keast had to wait two hours last week to conduct a hearing because he didn't have a court reporter. Keast's time was lost, as was the time of court-appointed attorneys who bill by the hour.

Grady said the judicial vacancies, employee layoffs and reduced hours at clerk of court offices will directly affect the public.

“A lot of people will be left behind,” he said.

As examples, he offered married couples without children trying to get a divorce but who have money issues, like houses in foreclosure, or accident victims with medical bills who need resolutions. Those cases, he said, will have to wait.