State report shows caseloads heaviest in Clark County

Friday, Dec. 15, 2000 | 9:45 a.m.

CARSON CITY -- There were 63,578 District Court cases filed in Clark County in 1999-2000, or 2,355 for each of the 27 district judges.

The first report of the Nevada Judiciary, issued Thursday, showed 67 percent of the court cases were in Clark County, which corresponds to the population.

At the other end of the scale is the Seventh Judicial District of Eureka, Lincoln and White Pine counties, where 642 cases were filed or 321 for each of the two judges in the district.

Chief Justice Bob Rose said while rural Nevada has a smaller caseload, they also must travel long distances between the courts each month to hear cases. "This travel time cuts into the amount of time available to hear cases," Rose said.

In addition, sometimes these judges help out in other areas.

The report showed the second highest caseload was not in Washoe County but in the Third Judicial District of Churchill and Lyon counties where there were 2,101 cases filed for each of the two judges.

Washoe County reported 1,373 cases filed for each of its 11 district judges.

Rose said this first uniform report has been a "long time in the making." He said a legislative audit in 1994 found there were no statistics on the caseload of the courts. And Nevada had the worst court records in the nation at that time.

Rose said the report next year will contain how many cases are decided by each district. In the following year, information will be included on the time it takes the judges to rule on cases.

But the report doesn't single out which judges are carrying the heaviest caseload.

The report said the statewide number of cases filed per judicial position is 1,860 for District Courts, 2,335 for Justice Courts and 2,402 for Municipal Courts.

It said the Nevada Supreme Court received 1,940 case in fiscal year 1999-2000 and disposed of 1,932. The report showed the Supreme Court has cut into its backlog of cases, which in 1997 reached 2,600 but has dipped below 2,000.

The report was prepared by the Administrative Office of the Court, headed by Karen Kavanau. "We are proud that all 91 trial courts and the Supreme Court contributed data for this report."