48 more judges needed in 20 years

By Matt Pordum

Thursday, Jan. 12, 2006 | 7:54 a.m.

In the next 20 years, Clark County will need 48 new District Court judges just to keep pace with the torrid pace of growth, according to a county analysis.

That conclusion in a new report poses another thorny issue for a county already struggling with ever-increasing demands for public services: Even if the money to hire the extra judges can be found, the county's just-opened new courthouse does not have nearly enough room to accommodate the additional courtrooms.

Furthermore, the extra judges would do nothing to help alleviate the existing heavy caseload for District Court judges.

Clark County judges each handle on average more than 2,600 cases a year, nearly 800 cases more than judges in Washoe County, the state's second-largest county.

"If you truly want justice, we need a judge for every 2,000 cases," said Court Executive Officer Chuck Short. "If not, there will simply be less justice in Clark County and longer lines at the courts than there are in Washoe County."

Short said the need for more judges is something that every "business, child and parent needs to understand" because efficient justice "gets to the health of the economy and the safety of our citizens."

Court officials say there simply are not enough judges to handle the cases being filed. Last year, there were 9,198 criminal cases filed and 22,402 civil cases.

Chief District Judge Kathy Hardcastle said the county currently has just 1.89 judges per 100,000 county residents. By contrast, Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Hawaii, California, Arizona and Alaska each have at least 2.9 judges per 100,000 in population.

The additional judges, assuming they are funded by the state, would only keep pace with the current caseload.

The judicial shortage is arguably being felt nowhere more in the system than in the civil division, where cases are handled at a rate substantially worse than national standards.

Currently in Clark County, only 51 percent of civil cases are disposed of in one year and 76 percent within two years.

American Bar Association standards suggest that 90 percent of all civil cases should be resolved within one year and 100 percent within two years.

Presiding Civil District Judge Elizabeth Gonzalez said there are currently six judges hearing only civil cases, but pointed out that it would take 10 more civil judges today to meet the ABA standards.

Gonzalez said the backlog cannot be blamed on judges not managing cases properly.

"We don't have an adequate number of judges to move cases through the system," she said.

The analysis for Clark County's District Court, performed by Dan Wiley & Associates, is based on the assumption that the county's population will grow 58 percent over the next two decades, resulting in a total caseload growth of 118 percent in the county's courts.

The report also found that Justice Courts in Southern Nevada , which now have 11 judges, will need 15 new judges to handle the caseload growth predicted over the same period. Nine of those judges would be added to Las Vegas Justice Court.

Hardcastle and Short called the forecast a conservative appraisal.

Under legislation passed in June, the county is to get three new District Court judges in January 2007. According to the county's report, another 12 will be needed by 2010.

The problem will be where to put any of the new judges and where the money will come from for new courtrooms.

The Regional Justice Center is able to house only nine more judges, six fewer than the number needed by 2010, according to the report.

Short agreed that "additional court capacity" will be needed by January 2011 to address the growth. Ideally, he said, a new facility should be built next to the recently opened $185 million Regional Justice Center.

Short said such a facility would likely house both the Family Court as well as a combination of 12 to 24 new courtrooms for criminal and civil cases.

He is confident that a new facility could be developed within the next five to eight years.

The other option, Short said, would be establishing satellite courts across the valley. But Short said that would be "very expensive versus finding a piece of property and building it from scratch."

However, Assistant County Manager Elizabeth Quillin said while the county is aware of the situation, county officials do not believe the need for an expansion is imminent.

She said Wiley & Associates is expected to unveil another report detailing plans and solutions in February, after which county commissioners will consider their options.

Quillin said over the next year to 18 months, the county hopes "a long-range capital plan will be in place to address the justice system."

"We won't wait until the last minute," she said.

But she said that predicting whether a new courthouse will be built or how many judges will be needed is difficult because "there are variables and other external factors that must be considered."

"The availability of water, cost of housing and whether the growth predicted can sustain itself are all huge issues to think about," Quillin said.

"These are crystal ball questions, and by being pro-active and quantifying the priorities, we hope the right decisions will be made so we don't find ourselves behind the eight ball."

Quillin said that although the board will ultimately establish budget priorities, she believes the county's top needs are 2,000 more beds at the Clark County Detention Center and curing overcrowding at District Court and Family Court.

While the state covers judges' salaries, the county is stuck with "the statutory burden of the bricks and mortar and the staff that is required for the new judges as well as the increase in public defenders, district attorneys and their respective supportive staff," Quillin said.

Both Clark County Public Defender Phil Kohn and Assistant District Attorney Christopher Lalli said their respective offices will need to increase 300 percent by 2025 if the report's estimates prove accurate.

Matt Pordum can be reached at 474-7406 or at [email protected].