Public Notice Detail

BEMIDJI, MN (March 29, 2001) – Northwest Minnesota judges today expressed strong support for the Judiciary’s legislative request of $86.6 million.  The funding will help the Ninth Judicial District cope with too many cases and too few judges.

Caseloads in the Ninth District have nearly tripled since 1982 and the district is facing a judicial deficit.  The district’s major criminal case filings increased 191 percent and major juvenile cases increased 162 percent.  Major cases take up about 80 percent of judges’ time.

The Judiciary’s proposed budget would give the Ninth District the additional judge it needs to keep pace with current caseloads.  The district includes the counties of Aitkin, Beltrami, Cass, Clearwater, Crow Wing, Hubbard, Itasca, Kittson, Koochiching, Lake of the Woods, Mahnomen, Marshall, Norman, Pennington, Polk, Red Lake and Roseau.

All across the state, judges are working harder than ever under the pressure of increased filings.  The Minnesota Legislative Auditor reported on Jan. 26, 2001 that Minnesota’s judges handle 49 percent more cases per judge when compared to judges in states that have similar court systems (7,854 total filings per Minnesota judge compared to a median of 5,274 total filings per judge in comparable states).

“These huge increases are forcing judges to spend less and less time on each case,” said Judge Lois Lang, Chief Judge of the Ninth District.  “Some of our judges hear more than 90 hearings before their lunch hours each day.  That only leaves them about 2-3 minutes per case.  Meanwhile, juveniles get stacked up in hallways while they await their court appearances.  It’s getting to be that way on a regular basis.”

On average, Minnesota judges spend 11.3 minutes on each Driving While Intoxicated case and 20.5 minutes for domestic abuse files.  In some parts of the Ninth District, judges are averaging even less time per case than that.  Some judges have used the terms “McJustice” and the “Assembly Line of Justice” to describe their courtrooms.

More cases have also meant more work for court administration staff and law clerks.  Staff is struggling to keep up with day-to-day mandatory work, and duties that are less pressing are performed if and when time allows.  One result is that court staff can dedicate little time to collecting overdue fines, which Ninth District officials estimate to be several million dollars.

This means many local service organizations are suffering because they often receive a portion of court fines.  For instance, 70 percent of domestic assault case fines are slated for local shelters or other designated service organizations.  In addition, court officials cannot find time to enforce restitution payments to crime victims.

“Restitution and fines are very, very important,” said Judge Lang.  “If you can’t enforce your orders, you might as well not do them in the first place.”

Attracting/Retaining Employees

Law clerks also play a critical role in the courts, but Greater Minnesota courthouses are struggling to keep positions full because of low clerk salaries.  Since September the district has had four clerk vacancies.  Judges visited four law schools to interview candidates for one position, but no candidates expressed interest.

First-year attorneys who work as district court clerks receive salaries considerably less than their colleagues.  First-year attorneys in Northwest Minnesota can make as much as 50 percent more per year at a private law practice, or they could make more than three times more at a private law practice in the Twin Cities.  In the public sector, the State Public Defender’s Office pays first-year lawyers about $16,000 more a year than district court law clerks receive, and the Attorney General’s Office pays about $12,000 more a year.

Without clerks, judges must make time to conduct their own legal research, amounting to 20-plus hours in many family court cases.

Guardians ad Litem

The Judicial Branch budget also includes about $6.8 million for guardians ad litem, or advocates for abused and neglected children.

Currently, 40 percent of all Minnesota children involved in child abuse and neglect cases have no voice in the court proceedings that determine their fate, even though an advocate is required by state and federal law.  An additional 14 percent have inadequate representation because existing guardians are stretched so thin they cannot spend enough time per case.

In the Ninth District, coordinators who schedule and train guardians are even scarcer than guardians themselves.  Many of the coordinators, though part-time, are expected to supervise guardians in several counties.

“It means that while everyone else in the courtroom is represented by an attorney, the children whose fate hangs in the balance have no voice in court,” said Minnesota Supreme Court Chief Justice Kathleen A. Blatz.  “If we fail to address the court system’s needs, there will be real consequences for real people.”