N.D. Supreme Court

North Dakota Courts Annual Report 2005

Administrative Unit 2

Report of the East Central Judicial District
The Honorable Georgia Dawson, Presiding Judge
Rodney Olson, Trial Court Administrator


District Court Judges: Georgia Dawson, Presiding Judge; Douglas R. Herman; John C. Irby; StevenL.Marquart; Steven E. McCullough; Frank L. Racek; Cynthia A. Rothe-Seeger; Wade L. Webb
District Court Referees: Scott A. Griffeth and Janice Benson Johnson.
Number of Counties in District: 3
District Court Chambers: Fargo, Hillsboro

East Central
Judicial District Caseload
for Calendar Years 2004 and 2005


Case Filings/
Dispositions
2004
(F)     (D)
2005
(F)     (D)

Civil
Small Claims
Admin Traffic
Criminal
Juvenile
5,993
1,464
15,445
5,567
848
8,631
1,541
15,589
6,136
1,299
5,985
1,272
13,895
5,665
763
9,210
1,307
14,232
6,131
1,352


District Court

The East Central Judicial District is served by eight judges and two judicial referees. The judges are divided into criminal and civil divisions with four judges assigned to each division. One judge in each division rotates every 32 months. The judicial referees continue to hear most juvenile cases, small claims cases and certain types of domestic relations cases such as child support enforcement, paternity and divorce motions. In addition to Cass County, a judge routinely travels to Traill County one day per week and to Steele County at least one day every five weeks to handle the business of the court in those counties.

The District has two Interactive Television Systems which are used to conduct mental health hearings wherein patients and/or doctors may testify in court without having to leave the State Hospital. In addition, arraignments are held using the ITV system connected to the Cass County Jail. The use of these systems has resulted in savings of taxpayer dollars by eliminating the cost of transports and freeing up time for doctors to spend with their patients as well as reducing security risks during transports and hearings. An ITV system is also available through Steele County and has been used in inclement weather or emergencies which have enabled the court proceedings to take place as scheduled.

The East Central Judicial District and its sister district, the Southeast Judicial District have formed a Unit II Caseflow Management Committee which is working on drafting case flow procedures and standardizing docket currency practices within the unit. In addition, the Clerks of Court (both state-funded and contract clerks) continue to meet on a regular basis to address issues related to case processing and standardizing procedures wherever possible. They also participate in hands-on training regarding the proper use of UCIS, the clerk’s computerized information system. The meetings are held throughout the unit providing clerks the opportunity to observe other work environments and procedures first-hand.

Juvenile Court

Juvenile Court has, in effect, erased the borders between the districts and utilizes staff from throughout the Unit to meet the needs of both districts. This has involved sharing staff in border areas to avoid duplication of travel from each office as well as temporary assignments to assist other areas in times of need.

Cass County continues to operate a juvenile drug court program and in 2005 twenty-one youth participated in drug court. We continue to be dedicated to the restorative justice model, positively empowering parents, victims and youth. Programs such as Offender Accountability Conferencing, Life Management, Tracking, Keys to Innervisions, Victim Impact Panel and Victim Empathy are some of the programs used in reaching this goal.

Unit II has worked diligently to develop consistency in the use of CMS (our case management system) and YASI (Youth Assessment Screening Instrument). The Unit managers meet every other month and all court officers and managers meet twice a year to maintain the flow of communication and work on uniform procedures. With this in mind, we have developed a system on internal audits to ensure the program and the assessment tool are being used properly.

Report of the Southeast Judicial District
The Honorable John T. Paulson, Presiding Judge
Rodney Olson, Trial Court Administrator


District Court Judges: John T. Paulson, Presiding Judge; James M. Bekken; Ronald E. Goodman; JohnE. Greenwood; RichardW. Grosz; and Mikal Simonson.
Number of Counties in District: 11
District Court Chambers: Ellendale, Jamestown, New Rockford, Valley City, and Wahpeton.

Southeast
Judicial District Caseload
for Calendar Years 2004 and 2005


Case Filings/
Dispositions
2004
(F)      (D)
2005
(F)     (D)

Civil
Small Claims
Admin Traffic
Criminal
Juvenile
3,598
795
17,067
4,985
236
2,099
331
6,303
2,868
196
3,481
745
14,424
4,805
201
5,005
788
14,616
5,808
304

District Court

The Southeast Judicial District is served by six judges who are located throughout the eleven county district. There are five chambers which serve the citizens based on geography and population. The New Rockford chamber serves the northern portion of the district and the Ellendale and Wahpeton chambers serve the southern portion of the district. The center portion of the district is served by the Jamestown chambers and the two-judge chamber in Valley City. Judges as assigned outside their area of concentration as the need arises.

The District continues to use an Interactive Television System for many mental health hearings wherein patients and/or doctors may testify in court without having to leave the State Hospital. The use of this system has resulted in savings of taxpayer dollars by eliminating the cost of transports and freeing up time for doctors to spend with their patients.
The Southeast Judicial District and its sister district, the East Central Judicial District have formed a Unit II Caseflow Management Committee which is working on drafting case flow procedures and standardizing docket currency practices within the unit. In addition, the Clerks of Court (both state-employed and contract clerks) continue to meet on a regular basis to address issues related to case processing and standardizing procedures wherever possible. They also participate in hands-on training regarding the proper use of UCIS, the clerk’s computerized information system. The meetings are held troughout the unit, providing clerks the opportunity to observe other work environments and procedures first-hand.

Juvenile Court
&
Juvenile Court has, in effect, erased the borders between the districts and utilizes staff from throughout the Unit to meet the needs of both districts. This has involved sharing staff in border areas to avoid duplication of travel from each office as well as temporary assignments to assist other areas in times of need.
Staff continue to be dedicated to the restorative justice model, positively empowering parents, victims and youth. Programs such as Offender Accountability Conferencing, Life Management, Tracking, Keys to Innervisions, Victim Impact Panel and Victim Empathy are some of the programs used in reaching this goal. Some of these programs are facilitated by contract agencies and were recently expanded into the Southeast District from the East Central District.

Unit II has worked diligently to develop consistency in the use of CMS (our case management system) and YASI (Youth Assessment Screening Instrument). The Unit managers meet every other month and all court officers and managers meet twice a year to maintain the flow of communication and work on uniform procedures. With this in mind, we have developed a system on internal audits to ensure the program and the assessment tool are being used properly.