House Journal: Page 67: Wednesday, January 15, 1997

Our magistrates and judges are continuing to take a tough
attitude on the payment of fines and they are doing their best
to crack down on scofflaws.  One example of our "new attitude"
comes from Lucas County where Magistrate Jim Mefferd expects
defendants to pay their fines the moment they are ordered.  He
says the word has gotten around and it's rare when someone asks
for time to pay.  Naturally, some people will try to escape
paying.  One person told Magistrate Mefferd that he was flat
broke, had no job and no job prospects.  The magistrate didn't
buy the story.  When he explained to the gentleman the meaning
of contempt of court with possible jail consequences - a $100
bill magically appeared and the fine was paid!
These are just a few of the many ways we're enforcing fines. 
The task is formidable because millions of dollars of unpaid
fines are on the books and many offenders are incarcerated, or
truly unable to pay.  Nevertheless, we will continue to explore
all avenues for improving the collection of unpaid fines.
Iowa's first computer-integrated courtroom began operating a few
months ago in Polk County.  During a court proceeding, a
computer instantly translates a court reporter's steno strokes
into English text and displays the text on computer terminals or
TV monitors located around the courtroom.  Another process also
translates the text into Braille.  These systems will allow
persons who are hearing or sight impaired to actively
participate in court proceedings.  There's an added bonus _ the
equipment can be easily transported and set up in any courtroom
around the state. 
Our district courts in Linn County and Polk County are using
local area networks to provide judges with complete and
immediate information about the criminal defendants appearing
before them at arraignment or sentencing.  According to District
Associate Judge Michael Newmeister of Cedar Rapids, many
defendants are repeat offenders who have  pending matters that
should be made known to the court.  With the new computer
networks, judges can quickly check for prior records, failures
to appear to answer charges, delinquent fines, and other matters
while the defendant is standing before them.  These systems make
it much easier for busy courts to hold offenders accountable.
A full range of language interpreter services are now available
to our courts thanks to a telephone interpreter program offered
by one of the telephone companies.  This service provides
assistance in 140 languages, 7 days a week, 24 hours a day. 
Prior to using this service, it was almost impossible to find
qualified interpreters on short notice in most parts of the
state.  Fred Nydle, one of our district court administrators,
described the old process this way, "A person can be a defendant
one day and an interpreter the next."  That was not a good way
to handle court business. 
Our courts are dismantling language barriers in other ways. 
Tomorrow in Louisa County a group will "graduate" from the
state's first program offered in Spanish for convicted drunk
drivers.  I want to commend District Associate Judge Thomas
Brown of the Eighth District for recognizing the need for this
program and for organizing it.
We're encouraged by all of this progress.  However, it wouldn't
be accurate for me to paint a picture of roses with no thorns. 
We continue to have our share of challenges.  Two should be
mentioned.  
First - more cases are pouring into the courts and, once again,
crime continues to take most of our attention and time.  
Indictable criminal cases shot up 20 percent last year, marking
almost two decades of steady growth.  For the first time ever,
more than 100,000 indictable criminal cases were filed in our
courts in one year.  The tremendous burden created by our high
criminal caseload cannot be ignored.  It continues to drain
valuable court resources.

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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