Clark County’s Eighth Judicial District Court continues to struggle to absorb thousands of new case filings despite its creative use of case management techniques. Record growth in the number of criminal and juvenile files, coupled with a history of making due with limited resources, has led the court to seek additional support from the Nevada Legislature and the Clark County Commission as it attempts to control the exploding caseload.
“Our judges continue to do more with less and it is affecting the entire community,†said Chief Judge Kathy Hardcastle. “We’ve done much to become very efficient, but we must seek more resources if Clark County wants the same level of service enjoyed by other communities. We need the additional resources to meet the demand today and in the future.â€Â
The numbers tell the story. For the sixth year in a row, criminal and juvenile cases filed in the Eighth Judicial District Court have increased. Since 2000, criminal case filings have grown by a cumulative 31.6 percent. In the same six year period, the total number of new juvenile cases filed has grown by a cumulative 66.2 percent. The District Court aims to reduce its judicial caseload to 2,000 cases per judge by 2020 through case management strategies and the addition of new judicial positions and resources. The court will seek additional judges at the 2007 legislature and will seek additional financial support from the Clark County Commission.
“The court has been creative, but we are reaching the limits that innovation can reasonably offset expanding caseloads, short of eroding the pillars of justice – due process and equal protection,†said Hardcastle. “In the coming months the court will seek additional resources in our goal to improve the quality and timelines the citizens of Clark County deserve when they access the courts.â€Â
Clark County’s District Court continues to manage the largest caseload of any general jurisdiction court in six western states. The number of cases per judge in the Eighth Judicial District Court totaled 2,726 in 2005, more than 43 percent higher than Washoe County’s Second Judicial District Court.
In the past year, criminal case filings have grown by 7.3 percent, from 8,995 in 2004 to 9,651 in 2005. Juvenile case filings rose from 16,074 cases in 2004 to 17,278 cases in 2005, an increase of 7 percent. Family cases increased by 4.6 percent up to 42,212 in 2005 from a total of 40,360 in 2004.
In 2005, the number of residential construction defects reached a new level with 79 case filings, the largest number since 2001 when three District Court judges were assigned to litigate residential construction defects in addition to their current caseloads. Civil cases filings dropped from at total of 23,278 in 2004 to 21,956 in 2005. However, this was due primarily to a statutory change which increased the minimum amount of a District Court civil lawsuit from $7,500 to $10,000, effectively shifting cases to the state’s Justice Courts.
Despite the increase in case filings, the court continues to find creative ways to better manage cases and maximize its limited resources. In 2005, through the efforts of the District Court’s Case Management Committee, the number of civil cases reaching five years in age dropped from 433 in 2004 to 210 in 2005, a reduction of 52 percent.
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