Thursday, April 20, 2000 | 11:08 a.m.
The wheels of justice are turning a bit faster in the Eighth Judicial District Court thanks to a slight drop in the number of cases being filed and a more streamlined approach to handling cases.
That was the verdict released yesterday during a news conference held by Nevada Supreme Court Chief Justice Bob Rose, Chief District Judge Lee Gates, District Judge Cynthia Dianne Steel and Clark County District Attorney Stewart Bell.
According to a report released Wednesday, the number of criminal, civil, family and juvenile cases filed in the Eighth District has been steadily increasing over the past several years, with a 3,000-case increase between 1997 and 1998 alone.
However, the number of cases fell by almost 1,700 between 1998 and 1999, with only 60,864 cases being filed last year, compared with 62,520 the year before.
Most of the decline can be attributed to fewer child support cases, Court Administrator Charles Short said. More than 8,700 such cases were filed in 1998 and slightly more than 5,700 filed last year, possibly because many are being handled administratively instead of in the courtroom.
In addition, more business is getting done quicker at the courthouse. The different divisions within district court reported an increase in the number of cases being disposed of through jury trials, settlements, plea agreements and dismissals.
Short said the courts are developing a database that will be able to tell how cases are disposed of. Currently, only jury trial statistics are tracked.
More than 300 jury trials were held last year, a record for the courthouse. There were 181 civil trials in 1999 and 121 criminal trials.
Last June the Nevada Supreme Court instituted a uniform system of judicial reporting to gauge the efficiency of each of the courthouses and to see what, if any, needs weren't being met. Then in December judges in Clark County voted to produce an annual report with additional statistics. They decided they wanted statistics complied on the number of cases filed overall, by division, case type and by judge.
The report backs up what the judges suspected, Short said. They thought that by assigning judges to either criminal cases or civil cases exclusively, cases would be handled more quickly.
Not only were more jury trials held, but there was an overall increase in the number of cases disposed of, Short said.
For example, while more than 8,300 criminal cases were filed last year, more than 9,200 cases from last year and previous years were closed, which means a clearance rate of almost 111 percent.
In Family Court, the clearance rate was 105 percent, with about 22,000 cases being filed and 23,000 cases being closed.
"A 100 percent clearance rate is your goal," Short said. "You want to dispose of as many cases as you've filed. When you're able to do that, that means the line to get into court has shrunk that year."
While there was only an 83 percent clearance rate in civil cases, Short said the fact that almost 14,000 cases were closed is impressive.
There were 16,634 civil cases filed in 1999 and 13,794 cases disposed of.
"I know we've closed 13,000 cases in a year before, but those cases were mostly deadwood. They were cleared administratively, not as the result of judicial action," Short said.
The Juvenile Division had an 80 percent clearance rate, but they are different in that all juvenile cases, even if resolved, are considered open until the child reaches 18, Short said.
There were 7,922 juvenile cases opened in 1999 and 6,365 closed.
Of the nine judges who handle criminal cases, District Judge John McGroarty handled the most criminal jury trials with 21 last year. Judge Kathy Hardcastle had the fewest with seven.
Of the 10 judges who handle civil matters, Gates presided over the most jury trials with 25, followed by Judge Gary Redmon with 24. Judges Gene Porter, Valorie Vega and Nancy Saitta each handled the fewest jury trials, 13. Vega took the bench March 15, 1999.
The report shows that most judges have between 1,200 and 3,400 cases pending.
Short cautioned the public not to become overly concerned with jury trial statistics. Some cases are far more difficult than others, requiring more time.
"It's hard for a judge to hit a 100 percent clearance rate because if they get a case like the Binion murder case, it takes up much more of their time," Short said.
Now that statistics are better being kept, Short said, there is an "unspoken competition" among the judges now.
"There's a sense of urgency now," Short said. "There is more of a push to settle cases and to get to the overflow cases."
Kim Smith covers courts for the Sun. She can be reached at (702) 259-2321 or by e-mail at [email protected].
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