Senate Journal: Page 63: Wednesday, January 13, 1999

  surrounding surrounding counties, "We have attempted to deal with the
  increase by
  improving efficiency in scheduling and reducing hearing time allotted to
  each case and
  doing more reviews on paper. . . .  I am always concerned that by spending
  less time on
  individual cases, we are shortchanging the kids and families."

  Judge Flaherty's concern is well taken.  Imagine how the families must feel,
  when,
  because of inadequate resources, their day in court is reduced to minutes.
  We simply
  must provide a climate in which justice is not rationed by use of a
  stopwatch.

  Although present difficulties in the criminal and juvenile dockets take
  priority, we
  certainly cannot ignore civil cases.  Nearly one-half of the trial courts'
  civil docket is
  composed of domestic relations cases, which include dissolution of marriage,
  contempt,
  modification of dissolution, and uniform child support cases.  These are
  important
  cases. But because criminal and juvenile cases must be given highest
  priority, domestic
  relations cases must wait in line.  Other segments of the civil docket such
  as property
  disputes, personal injury suits, and business litigation, must wait longer.

  To keep criminal and juvenile cases moving in Polk County, two district
  court
  judges are being moved from the general trial assignment.  One judge is
  being assigned
  to juvenile cases and the other is being assigned to criminal cases.  This
  shift will have
  a ripple effect on the civil docket.  Previously, parties in dissolution of
  marriage cases
  had to wait about nine months for a trial.  Now, they will have to wait even
  longer.

  We have no control over the number of cases presented.  Nor should we.  To
  limit
  the number of cases would be to limit the ability of Iowans to have
  meaningful access
  to justice.

  Some might suggest we can temporarily relieve the pressure in the criminal
  and
  juvenile dockets by shifting judges here and there.  But this is simply
  reorganizing the
  deck chairs.  It is not even an effective temporary solution, much less a
  long term
  solution.  Efficiency measures and aggressive case management have been
  implemented, but can only do so much, because even the most productive
  judges can
  carefully decide only a certain number of cases each day.  There is no
  escape from
  simple arithmetic:  As long as the demand for justice grows, we will need
  more judges.
  The details of our specific recommendations are contained in our budget
  request which
  we have submitted to you.

  Alexis de Toqueville observed more than 160 years ago that in America, all
  public
  issues are eventually resolved in the courts.  That observation is as true
  today as it
  was in the early 19th Century.  And surely one of the most challenging
  issues
  permeating our courts in the late 20th Century is drug abuse.

  Many of the cases pouring into the court system today involve drug abuse in
  one
  way or another.  Its impact is not confined to prosecutions for possession
  or
  distribution of illicit drugs.  Our judges see drug abuse as a major
  contributing cause in
  many child in need of assistance cases, juvenile delinquency cases,
  dissolution of
  marriage cases, termination of parental rights cases and domestic violence
  cases.  The
  implications are profound.  The following information was provided to me by
  judges
  from around the state who have witnessed the destruction caused by drug
  abuse.

  Drug addiction is not isolated to one area of the state, one race or one age
  group.
  Our judges see addicts, who are, or were, professional people, homeless
  people, single

© 1999 Cornell College and League of Women Voters of Iowa

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