Courts to close for week

Afsha Bawany

Friday, June 27, 2003 | 9:40 a.m.

The North Las Vegas Municipal Court will close the week of July 21 to install new computer software, but officials say those using the court should not be inconvenienced.

Instead court staffers will put in long days to take care of business the week before and week after the closure, Court Administrator Debbie Lamb said.

"We're going to have bigger court sessions than we normally do," Lamb said. "We're not going to put court dates further out. We're going to try to keep everything else as much as we can."

The court, which has jurisdiction over traffic violations and misdemeanor offenses, will not schedule new trial dates that week, she said.

Those booked into jail during the week will still be seen by the judge within 48 hours, she added.

The new Web-based software system will help court staff track cases and traffic tickets, helping provide better customer service, Lamb said. In a couple of months the system will also take online payments, she said.

"The new software its going to be a lot more efficient and faster than the system we have now," Lamb said.

Lamb said more than 600 people daily visit the court's customer service windows, so a new system will shorten the waits.

Court sessions for traffic violations will not be in held that week but payments will still be processed. The court has instructed the North Las Vegas Police Department to not schedule traffic appearances for that week, according to Susie Forti, executive assistant to Municipal Judge Warren VanLandschoot.

If a ticket is inadvertently issued for that week, then the date would be rescheduled by the court and the person receiving the ticket notified, North Las Vegas Police Department spokesman Justin Roberts said.

Court officials recommend that payments should be mailed in, dropped off in the Municipal Court drop box or paid the week before the court's closing date. It is open Tuesday through Friday 7 a.m to 5:30 p.m.