ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Friday, September 6, 1996 TAG: 9609060012
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV-2 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
DATELINE: CHRISTIANSBURG
SOURCE: LISA K. GARCIA STAFF WRITER
Local law enforcement officers, the Montgomery County commonwealth's attorney and the county's presiding Circuit Court judge met Thursday to discuss lengthy delays in scheduling some criminal cases for trial.
Commonwealth's Attorney Phil Keith conceded in a recent interview that some criminal cases have lingered for as long as two years before coming to trial and a few other criminal cases have been dismissed because of delays.
"There are so many cases and so many attorneys ... the system has just broken down," Keith said.
Circuit Judge Ray Grubbs, Keith and law enforcement officials Thursday discussed the system used to assign court dates for cases.
The goal of the meeting, according to Keith and other officials, was to streamline the system now used to set court dates and to speed up the disposition of cases.
One local police chief, Mike Jones with Virginia Tech's campus police force, said his officers were concerned about several cases that were dismissed against defendants because the "speedy trial" time limit ran out before the case was brought to trial.
Keith said fewer than five cases were dismissed within the last 12 months because of the speedy trial rule.
"Five is too many and one is too many," Keith said of the dismissed cases. "Obviously there is a problem."
The meeting addressed a current logjam of cases that needed to get through the court, Keith said after the session.
"A couple of the chiefs of police offered us a secretary for 10 hours a week each," Keith said.
That temporary help and three extra court sessions scheduled in December will dispose of some drug cases that have been awaiting trial, Keith said.
Keith said a more long-term solution will come from a joint effort of the law enforcement officials and a Criminal Law Committee created by the Montgomery, Floyd, Radford Bar Association. That group is set to meet Sept. 19.
The current system has caused problems as the prosecutor's caseload increased.
Previous to 1976, Keith said, Montgomery County used a single day in court where defense attorneys, the commonwealth's attorney and the judge sat down and decided which cases would be heard on which days. This docket call system is used four times a year in most of the surrounding counties.
But in 1976, Keith said, Circuit Judge Kenneth Devore decided the docket call system was "a waste of the attorneys' time" and assigned the chore to the commonwealth's attorney's staff.
Keith said court dates are set by sending a letter to a defense attorney to confer on court dates. The defense has the option to ask for a continuance by filling out an attached form.
"Most are good about it," Keith said, "but some attorneys tend to put it on the back burner." Keith said cases can deteriorate if they sit too long as witnesses grow stale.
The ongoing task of scheduling has become so cumbersome that it has overwhelmed the current staff, according to Keith. "We have one secretary who spends the majority of her time trying to set court dates."
Larry Lehman is the special agent in charge of the state police drug suppression division and one of the men included in Thursday's meeting. One of the officers he supervises is a member of the Montgomery County Drug Task Force, which has had some cases linger for two years before going to court.
"My problem is not with the commonwealth's attorney's office," Lehman said.
The problem, according to Lehman, is getting court dates for cases. He said the meeting was initiated by local law enforcement leaders to "discuss the availability of court dates."
Jones, with Virginia Tech's Police, said his officers have been among those who asked for something to be done.
"My officers raised a number of issues critical of the commonwealth's attorney's office," Jones said. After the meeting, Jones said he was extremely pleased with the results and believed everyone who attended was, too.
The commonwealth's attorney has to meet requirements for a speedy trial once a judge has found evidence to forward a case to the grand jury. The commonwealth's attorney has five months to get the case to Circuit Court if the defendant is held in jail. If the defendant has been released on bond, then the law allows nine months to get the case tried in Circuit Court; unless, of course, the defense and the prosecution agree they both need more time.
Although Keith admitted change in the system is needed, he denied the current problems are in any way his fault. He said he tried to get more help for his office and recently sued the State Compensation Board to get another secretary and to promote Assistant Commonwealth's Attorney Peggy Frank. But Keith said it does not appear his efforts will succeed.
In that lawsuit, Keith pointed out that neighboring Pulaski County has the same number of attorneys (three) and support staff (two), yet its population is only half that of Montgomery County. From 1991 to 1995, the Montgomery County Circuit Court caseload rose from 806 to 1,100 - an increase of 36 percent.
Questions about Keith's physical health are still on the lips of some critics, but Keith said those people are way off target.
"My health is terrific; my tumor has been shrunk back and it's dormant," Keith said of his decade-long battle with a brain tumor.
Keith was out of work for seven weeks in the summer of 1995 to undergo radiation treatment. The tumor caused him some loss of mobility and he still uses a wheelchair to go to and from court, but is getting therapy to improve his walking.
"I leave for physical therapy at 3:30," Keith said of his twice-weekly sessions. To more than make up the lost time, Keith said he works both Saturday and Sunday a total of 10 hours.
Keith said much of the decision on scheduling cases for trial is up to the circuit judge. "Judge Grubbs is really interested in getting these cases tried quickly," Keith said. "And so am I."
LENGTH: Long : 109 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: (headshot) Keith.by CNB