Editorial: Justice Court in chaos

Monday, Oct. 17, 2005 | 7:56 a.m.

The common understanding is that people who get traffic tickets are going to be out some money unless they pull off the rare feat of persuading a judge that they are innocent. But a shocking statistic revealed in a recent review of Clark County's Justice Court shows that many people are getting tickets and simply leaving town or otherwise avoiding payment. The amount of money owed to Justice Court for tickets issued to drivers is a stunning $61 million.

As Justice Court is on the eve of moving into the new Regional Justice Center and also about to come under the management of the District Court's administrator, Clark County ordered the review. It was prepared by Policy Studies Inc. of Denver and finished last month. The Las Vegas Sun obtained the review last week and found that Justice Court is reported to be in chaotic condition, with the uncollected traffic fines just part of the overall problem.

Policy Studies cited a staggering caseload and ineffective management as the primary reasons why the court is in such an unacceptable state. Justice Court handles much more than traffic offenders, of which there are legions in Clark County. It handles eviction cases, misdemeanors, small claims and some civil cases. It is also where preliminary hearings for serious cases are held before they move on to District Court. It's a very busy court that frequently changes administrators -- there have been five in the past seven years.

The high turnover of administrators, which inhibits consistency in management style, is matched by a high turnover of staff. The review faulted "a vicious circle of stressful working conditions, including mandatory overtime due to the high caseload" as the primary reason for employee instability.

Major policy changes are in order, given the court's gridlock, the review states. In our view, Clark County should take a close look at the statistics provided by the review and consider adding more judges and administrative staff. The review cited a 32 percent increase in Justice Court cases since 2000, making it the busiest court of its kind in the nation. In 2004 each of the court's judges handled nearly 14,500 cases. By comparison, Justice Court judges in Reno each handled about 5,300 cases that year.

Clark County was correct to commission this study of Justice Court. Now that the study has found it to be chaotic, which we find disgraceful, we are looking forward to a strong commitment from the county to bring it up to standards. Reforming how traffic fines are collected -- allowing phone payments, authorizing installment payments only in hardship cases and hiring investigators to enforce payments were suggested in the review -- would only be a start. Overburdened judges raise the question of whether justice is being dispensed in Justice Court. This concern must be the priority as policy changes are made.