Senate Journal: Page 64: Wednesday, January 15, 1997

  64 JOURNAL OF THE SENATE 3rd Day
  Revenue and Finance. It's amazing how quickly people pay their delinquent
  fines once
  they've received notice that the tax collectors are involved.
  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 topay their fines the moment it's 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, oneof
  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
  conduct 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. Wecontinue to have our share of
  challenges. Two should be mentioned.

Iowa General Assembly

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

© 1997 Cornell College and League of Women Voters of Iowa

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