Review tough on Justice Court

Friday, Oct. 14, 2005 | 7:23 a.m.

Las Vegas Justice Court is in a state of chaos, evidence which is the court's failure to collect $61 million in traffic fines -- about half of the fines it imposes, according to a review of the courts obtained by the Sun.

The review blamed the chaotic state of the court on a staggering caseload and ineffective leadership and management.

Commissioned by Clark County, the report sets the stage for change, coming as Las Vegas Justice Court and District Court are moving into the Regional Justice Center.

The court's administrative offices are being combined under the District Court's administrator, Chuck Short.

On Thursday Short declined to comment on the report, which was completed last month. Justice Court Chief Judge James Bixler could not be reached.

The Justice Court handles preliminary hearings for almost every type of case as well as hearing traffic citation, eviction, misdemeanor, small claims and some civil cases for Las Vegas Township -- the city and much of the unincorporated part of the Las Vegas Valley.

The report, prepared by Policy Studies Inc. of Denver, criticized the way Justice Court has been run, noting there have been five administrators in seven years and that judges have "been reluctant to delegate management authority to the court administrator."

It also cites high turnover of staff because of "a vicious circle of stressful working conditions, including mandatory overtime due to the high caseload."

The report said the court will not "be able to escape from its current chaos without some major policy changes."

Traffic scofflaws could bear the brunt of some of those changes, although some of the recommended changes could make it easier for motorists to deal with traffic tickets.

The report suggests letting people who wish to plead guilty and pay their fines do that by phone rather than in person.

The waits at the counters of the Traffic Division need to be reduced, the consultants said. Currently, an average of about 00 people go to those counters each day. The consultants found that a 40-minute wait is not unusual, and on some days the wait can be as long as "two to three hours."

But the consultants also recommend that the county stop allowing people to pay their fines in installments unless they qualify for a financial hardship exemption.

The report suggests creating a collections investigator program. A person would have to pay a fine immediately or go to a collections investigator who would determine an appropriate payment schedule based on the person's financial status.

The investigators would be charged with making every reasonable attempt to ensure the offender pays the fine.

The report said the court would have to hire nine investigators if it goes ahead with the program, hiring one person for each judicial department.

Although the amount of unpaid fines is a concern, the report suggests the leniency of the pro tem judges who hear traffic cases is also a part of the problem.

The report found that the pro tem judges -- lawyers who serve as temporary judges -- are known to regularly reduce fines and change moving violations to non-moving violations.

To rectify the situation, the report recommends "the court provide clear standards for the pro tem judges and monitor those standards to assure that the traffic laws are enforced consistently and rigorously."

Traffic cases accounted for 64 percent of the 321,336 cases handled in Justice Court in 2004, according to the report.

The court has the largest per-judge caseload in the nation compared with similar courts, and the Las Vegas Justice Court's caseload increased 32 percent from 2000 through 2004, according to the study.

In fiscal year 2004, 14,469 cases were filed per judge in Las Vegas, compared with 5,292 filed per judge in Reno Justice Court.

However, while acknowledging the caseload burden, the review's authors said the caseload could have been managed better.

Matt Pordum can be reached at 259-2321 or at pordum@lasvegassun.com.