THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, February 14, 1996 TAG: 9602140383
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY ANGELITA PLEMMER, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: PORTSMOUTH LENGTH: Medium: 93 lines
Responding to a request by the city's chief judge, the Supreme Court of Virginia has begun an extensive review of the Circuit Court clerk's office to determine why Portsmouth's courts are the slowest in the state and are staggering under the state's biggest backlog of cases.
An examiner with the state's high court began reviewing Portsmouth's court files Monday, starting with an inventory of all pending criminal cases.
Chief Circuit Court Judge Norman Olitsky, in a November letter to Robert Baldwin, executive secretary of the state Supreme Court, wrote:
``The judges of the Third Judicial Circuit have concerns with the recent reports and surveys relating to the pending cases per judge and the length of time for trials to be completed in this Circuit.
``I respectfully request any assistance the Supreme Court deems necessary to rectify the above as well as any other matters relating to the procedures of this court. I sincerely believe that we can remedy the problems that now exist.''
Olitsky refused to comment on the letter. But in an interview Monday, Baldwin said Olitsky's request prompted the review, and that the Portsmouth statistics are cause for concern.
``It could be an accounting problem or it could be something else,'' Baldwin said. ``It obviously indicates something that is worth looking into.''
In 1994, there were 5,526 cases filed in the city's Circuit Court. And while 5,723 cases from 1994 and previous years were concluded, 11,101 cases were still pending, saddling Portsmouth with the highest backlog of cases in the state.
The average number of pending cases per judge in Virginia in 1994 was 1,543. In Portsmouth, the number was 2,775.
Olitsky's plea for help comes on the heels of a record 37 homicides in 1995. Portsmouth has had the highest violent crime rate in South Hampton Roads for several years. It also ranked among the top 25 cities in the nation in per-capita homicides in 1993.
Facing criticisms of poor law enforcement and a lenient court system, top law officials recently have tried to speed up the judicial process. Commonwealth's Attorney Martin Bullock and Police Chief Dennis Mook said their departments are working together to try to issue arrest warrants within 72 hours of a murder, make an arrest within five days and bring suspects to trial within five months.
And now the review by the Supreme Court will allow officials to take a close look at the number of pending cases, the length of trials and the record-keeping procedures, to see how they affect the city's criminal-justice system.
``We're going in and just looking at how everything is processed . . . and look at how something can be improved,'' Baldwin said.
While Supreme Court officers periodically visit each of the 121 Circuit Court offices throughout the state, only about five such comprehensive visits are conducted anywhere in the state each year.
Hampton Roads in 1994 had four of the five slowest criminal courts in Virginia, according to the state Supreme Court: Portsmouth, Chesapeake, Virginia Beach and Newport News. Norfolk, which in 1993 was the fifth slowest court in Virginia, has taken measures to speed up the process.
Three years ago, Norfolk officials, working with a private consultant, came up with several ideas to speed up Norfolk courts. Two new strategies included hooking up to the state's case-management system, and allowing the court, rather than the Commonwealth's Attorney's office, to generate the criminal docket. It is too early to know if the measures are working, Norfolk officials said.
In Portsmouth, Supreme Court examiner Paul DeLosh began his review of court records in computer files and manual files on Monday.
``I'm focusing on the criminal side,'' said DeLosh, a technical assistant for the Supreme Court. ``I'm looking at an entire function.''
The process will take several weeks, he said, and will involve tracking cases from the time charges are filed to the time they are tried. It will also involve tracking defendants from the time of their arrest to the end of their trial.
``I'm going to try to review their processes and then make recommendations,'' he said. ``Then it will be up to (the clerk) to implement them.''
Those recommendations could include procedural changes or hiring additional staff. ILLUSTRATION: Graphic
VP
PENDING CASES PER JUDGEIN PORTSMOUTH:
STATE AVERAGE IN 1994 OF CASES PER JUDGE:
SOURCE: Virginia Supreme Court, 1994 figures
[For complete graphic, please see microfilm]
by CNB