House Journal: Page 66: Wednesday, January 15, 1997

electronically rather than through the mail.  In addition to
speeding up the process, this means less work for the
Transportation Department.  
We're working with the Department of Safety to create a domestic
abuse registry.  The registry will provide law enforcement
officials with  up-to-the-minute information about protective
orders in all ninety-nine counties.   This will be a powerful
weapon in Iowa's battle against domestic abuse.
We're excited about our new jury management computer software
that will streamline the jury system and make jury service more
convenient for the public.  How will it work?  Well, right now
nearly all of the counties use two jury commissions, one
composed of three citizens and the other composed of three local
officials, to create their lists of prospective jurors.  It's
all done by hand with thousands of pieces of paper.  In a county
the size of Story County,  the entire process takes over four
days.  With our new program, it will take only a few hours.  
Also, following the recommendations of our Equality in the
Courts Task Force, this new program will make jury pools more
representative of a county's population and answer any claim
there is subjectivity in the present system.  How?  Through the
magic of technology, computers will sort the names and compile
the lists.
This program will help make jury service more convenient.  The
1-trial /1-day option, which has been used successfully in Scott
County, means that  persons called for jury service are
obligated to serve on only one trial. Once they've served they
won't be called again for two years.  Or, if they come to the
courthouse on the first day of service and are not picked to
serve, they're relieved from jury service for two years.  It's
much easier than being on call for jury service for three
months.  Contrary to vicious rumor, this program was in place
long before I was called to appear for jury duty at the Wapello
County Courthouse later this month. However, it was at that
point, I deemed the 1-trial/1-day option a good deal.
Our court improvement project for child in need of assistance
cases, which is now in the implementation stage, will surely
help brighten the future of hundreds of children and families
living in limbo each year as they wait for the courts to sort
out the wreckage of their lives. Six task forces are busy
working on specific recommendations needed to implement this
report.  One of the groups is studying our juvenile laws for
changes needed to improve our child in need of assistance
process.  We plan to present these  recommendations to you next
year.
We learned from the study phase of this program that our courts
are doing a good job overall with these important cases.  But,
however well we have performed, we must find ways to do even
better.  We need to find more time for hearings.  For instance,
fifteen minutes for a non-contested case or one hour for a
contested case is often not enough when the future of a child or
the life of a family is on the line.  At the same time, we need
to bring closure to such cases sooner.  Three to four years,
from the time of filing a child in need of assistance petition
to the time of entering an order finalizing an adoption, is
simply too long.  We also need to improve the quality of legal
representation provided to children and families.  These crucial
cases call for careful preparation.  An initial meeting between
an attorney and clients in the courthouse hallway to discuss the
case, just before a hearing, is not good enough.
Fine enforcement efforts are expanding.  Last summer we started
sending cases through our computer network to the Central
Collection Unit of the Department of Revenue and Finance.  It's
amazing how quickly people pay their delinquent fines once
they've received notice that the tax collectors are involved. 

Iowa General Assembly

Index: House Journal (77th General Assembly: Session 1)

© 1997 Cornell College and League of Women Voters of Iowa

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