Chief justice makes plea for more judges, funding

Thursday, March 3, 2005 | 9:27 a.m.

CARSON CITY -- Chief Justice Nancy Becker said Wednesday Nevada's judicial system is strained because cases are growing faster than judges can make decisions.

In her address to the Legislature, Becker said the national standard for justices of the Nevada Supreme Court is 100 cases per judge. But the average on the court now is 246 cases per justice.

The National Center for State Courts suggests the caseload for District Court judges should be 1,400 per judge, but "in Clark County each judge has 2,400 cases," Becker said.

"In face of this overwhelming growth, we are seeking new judges and an increase in funding of the senior judge program to avoid causing Nevada citizens increased delays in the resolution of their cases," she said in her 30-minute speech.

"No victim, litigant, business entity or injured party should see a case linger for lack of judicial resources," she said.

The caseloads in Las Vegas and Reno have grown more than 40 percent in the last four years, and the complexity has increased requiring more hours per case by a judge.

She said the American Bar Association standards call for 100 percent of the criminal cases to be closed within one year. Clark County, she said, disposes of only 63 percent of its criminal cases in one year and "is falling further behind."

The Family Courts in Clark and Washoe counties are meeting standards for timely processing of domestic cases but it will be impossible to maintain that pace because of the higher caseloads, she said.

At present the expenses of the judicial system are shared by the state and the counties. The state picks up the salaries of the district judges but the counties are responsible for other expenses.

The Supreme Court takes up only one percent of the state's budget. And if the state financed the full judiciary system, it would make up five percent of the budget.

Becker called on the Legislature to allow creation of another commission to determine "the optimum method for funding the judiciary in the future."

After the speech, Becker confirmed that the Supreme Court is taking a page from the book of the U.S. Supreme Court. The federal court issues its decisions all on Monday.

Becker said the Nevada court will start issuing its opinions every other Tuesday. She said that will lead to a more efficient court administration and will permit the public and the judges to know when the rulings will be issued.