Senate Journal: Page 55: Wednesday, January 14, 1998

  state of the judiciary message.  However, I know that one should never
  assume that a
  repeat performance is automatic.  Winston Churchill once used this fact to
  his
  advantage.

  Churchill received an invitation from George Bernard Shaw to attend the
  opening
  of one of his plays.  Shaw's note read:  "Enclosed are two tickets to the
  first-night
  performance of one of my plays.  Bring a friend-if you have one."

  Not to be outdone, Churchill shot back this reply:  "Dear G.B.S., I thank
  you for the
  invitation and tickets.  Unfortunately, I am engaged on that night, but
  could I have
  tickets for the second performance-if there is one?"

  After I finish my remarks, we hope you can join the other judges and me for
  coffee
  and conversation downstairs in our courtroom.  We can get better acquainted
  there.

  We regard this address as one of the most important things I do.  It is our
  opportunity to share with you an assessment of the administration of justice
  in Iowa; in
  other words, it is an account of our stewardship.  I trust you will
  conclude, as I have,
  that the past year has been exciting, marked by significant milestones for
  Iowa's court
  system.

  You should be aware of a number of important trends.  So far as we have been
  able
  to learn, none of them are related to El Nino.

  During the past few years, you have been told of our struggles to keep up
  with the
  rising tide of criminal cases pouring into the courts.  I am pleased to
  announce that
  after ten years of dramatic growth, the number of indictable criminal case
  filings
  decreased slightly last year.  We do not know the reasons for the sudden
  change in this
  long-term trend, so we are only cautiously optimistic.  But if the rate of
  criminal filings
  continues to slow, it will ease some of the pressure on our courts, jails
  and prisons.

  However, I must report that the news about our overall caseload is mixed.  I
  won't
  burden you with all the numbers.  Information about the caseload is detailed
  in the
  appendix to these remarks.

  We're concerned about the growing backlog of cases in the appellate courts.
  In the
  past ten years, filings in our appellate courts increased over twenty
  percent; twice as
  fast as dispositions.  Parties appealing civil cases involving contracts,
  personal injury,
  and administrative law must wait seventeen months from the time of filing
  the notice
  of appeal to a decision.  Typically, these cases are ready to be submitted
  to the court
  within ten months.  But because cases involving children, crimes and certain
  other
  matters take precedence, the civil cases must wait in line to be heard.

  While it appears that appeals will continue to increase in the foreseeable
  future, the
  number of dispositions per judge cannot continue to increase without
  negatively
  affecting the quality of justice.  The Supreme Court and the Court of
  Appeals are
  working together to come up with solutions to cope with the volume, and
  we'll keep you
  posted.

  We are especially concerned this year about the trend in juvenile cases.  No
  work of
  the courts is more important.  Since 1991, juvenile case filings have
  increased nearly
  forty percent.  What do these numbers mean?  For one thing it clearly means

© 1998 Cornell College and League of Women Voters of Iowa

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