Supreme Court called behind technology curve

Thursday, Feb. 27, 2003 | 8:49 a.m.

CARSON CITY -- In her State of the Judiciary Address on Wednesday, Chief Justice Deborah Agosti said the Nevada Supreme Court is behind the curve when it comes to technology.

Agosti told a joint session of the Nevada Legislature that the Supreme Court was one of the last in the nation to go online with a website when it did so a few months ago.

Agosti said the public and the legal community have come to expect and demand electronic services and electronic access to the courts.

"And yet no member of the public can access our court records, nor our schedules, dockets, calendar or cases (online)," she said.

"As I speak today, the Supreme Court is in poor shape technologically speaking."

The court needs trainers to show the staff how to use the equipment and technicians to fix glitches when they arise, she said.

The court is asking for upgrades and more help in the computer system in its $10 million a year budget which was to be presented today to the Senate and Assembly budget committees.

Agosti also made a pitch for a constitutional amendment to allow the Legislature to create an intermediate court of appeals.

While the number of appeals to the court has leveled off recently, she said, the justices expect it to rise again.

A resolution was introduced this week in the Senate regarding a constitutional amendment to establish the appeals courts. It would have to be approved by this session and the 2005 Legislature and ratification by the voters before any change could be made.

The earliest that could happen would be 2007.

Agosti also said there has been a substantive shift in the way judges are now handling cases.

"No longer is the judicial role limited to dispute resolution through the traditional adversarial mechanism of trial," she said.

Judges, she said, are more pro-active in trying to address problems such as poverty, drug and alcohol abuse and domestic violence.

She said the Eighth Judicial District in Clark County offers self-help centers where individuals, often indigent people, can obtain information to help them prepare for court in such matters as divorce, custody, visitation, support and domestic violence cases.

The Clark County Family Mediation Center provided services to more than 3,000 families in the last two years, she said. Last year, 88 percent of the families successfully mediated their child custody issues, rather than having drawn-out court battles.

After Wednesday's speech, the court hosted a reception for lawmakers. A spokeswoman said the justices paid for the food and liquor at the affair out of their own pockets.