SHORT TRIAL PROGRAM LATEST MODEL COURT PROGRAM TO RECEIVE AWARD
The Pioneer Institute for Public Policy Research, based in Boston, Massachusetts, has awarded Clark County’s Short Trial Program its Better Government Competition Award for 2006. The Better Government Competition (BGC) is a catalyst for grassroots participation in policy making. The annual contest, sponsored by the Pioneer Institute’s Shamie Center for Restructuring Government, seeks innovative and concrete ideas to improve the quality and cost-effectiveness of governmental services.
“This is an example of how an innovation in Nevada can be used to benefit litigants in another state,†said Alternative Dispute Resolution Commissioner Chris A. Beecroft, Jr. “We have been able to demonstrate how the Short Trial Program has reduced trial time and allowed access to justice in an improved way. This award further demonstrates Clark County’s originality and how our innovations can be adapted in other communities.â€Â
The Eighth Judicial District Court’s Short Trial Program allows litigants to complete civil trials in only one day. The program was created under rules adopted by the Nevada Supreme Court and it provides for an accelerated jury trial for cases not exceeding $50,000 in claims, unless the litigants agree to a higher amount.
The entire program strives to complete a jury trial quickly. The parties agree to spend no more than three hours per side to present their case to the jury. The jury is smaller, with three of four jurors eligible to reach a verdict. The jury selection begins with 12 prospective jurors and a four-person jury can be selected in less than an hour.
Attorneys, with a minimum of 10 years of civil trial experience, serve as pro tempore judges. The parties pay for the services of these pro tempore judges and jurors eliminating any cost to taxpayers.
“Our court is recognized as a model for other communities and many other jurisdictions have visited the Clark County Courts to study programs they plan to adapt and use in their courts,†said Chief Judge Kathy Hardcastle. “We are proud of our accomplishments and the hard work of our judges and employees who help design and implement our pioneering programs.â€Â
The Pioneer Institute is an independent, non-partisan, privately funded research organization that seeks to change the intellectual climate in Massachusetts by supporting scholarship that challenges the “conventional wisdom” on Massachusetts public policy issues.
