How much do you know about the Circuit Court? It's busier than you might think
Unless you need to be in court for some reason, you might not think a lot about what goes on at the Washington County Circuit Court.
But it's a bustling place, with nearly 5,000 new cases filed last year. And that's not counting the pandemic backlog.
Administrative Judge Brett Wilson and Court Administrator Kristin Grossnickle recently reported to the Washington County Commissioners on the activity in the Circuit Court for 2022. Here's a snapshot, by the numbers.
Just how big is the court's caseload?
Last year, the court took on 4,975 new cases, Wilson said. That includes:
610 civil cases — these can include suits over car accidents, zoning regulations, anything that does not involve criminal or juvenile charges or family law.
2,929 family law cases — these involve divorce and custody cases. This was by far the highest portion of new cases filed.
217 juvenile justice cases
1,219 criminal cases
That translates to an average of nearly 100 new cases filed per week.
"Now one of the important statistics to look at is comparing the total number of cases filed versus total number of cases we are able to clear from our dockets," Wilson said.
Last year, the Circuit Court cleared 5,292 cases "as we continue to pare down the backlog that had built up due to the COVID shutdown," he said.
That's more than 100 per week.
Cases cleared included:
562 civil cases
3,355 family law cases
202 juvenile justice cases
1,173 criminal cases
"Criminal-case flow remains our most difficult challenge in Washington County," Wilson said. COVID restrictions that lingered into 2022 and prohibited jury trials for a time contributed to the backlog.
But also affecting the criminal case backlog is the courthouse itself — of the Circuit Court's seven courtrooms, only three meet security standards for criminal trials.
Now that operations are fully open, however, Wilson said the clearance rate should "greatly improve in 2023."
Is there trouble getting enough jurors in the pool?
Jurors returned last March, and for 2022 the total number of jurors called reached 3,063, although not all of them were used. They served for 60 criminal trials and 15 civil trials.
But the "no-show" rate for potential jurors runs between 15% and 20%, Wilson said, and that has resulted in occasions when there aren't enough jurors in the pool, "and we have to continue a case instead of resolving."
Previously:'There's a true cost': Missing jury duty can cause further delays for a backlogged court
Thanks to legislation approved by the Maryland General Assembly, the daily pay rate for jurors doubled Oct. 1 from $15 per day to $30 per day. In Washington County, Grossnickle said, that rate is supplemented with a mileage reimbursement of 30 cents per mile, and an extra $5 per day if jurors serve past 6 p.m.
Parking near the courthouse has been a challenge for jurors, Grossnickle said, as some parking areas used previously are no longer available. And that has led to some jurors not reporting. She said the court would be seeking money in its Fiscal Year 2024 budget to pay for juror parking.
Besides trials, what else happens at the Circuit Court?
In addition to court cases, the clerk's office processes property records, business licenses and other official documents. Last year, Grossnickle said, the office:
Recorded 23,278 land records (paper and electronic)
Issued 930 marriage licenses
Performed 390 civil marriage ceremonies
Issued 2,335 business licenses
The judiciary also sponsors both spoken and sign language interpreters for the courts, who must complete a certification process first. Last year, interpreter services were provided 152 times, Grossnickle said; 118 for Spanish-speaking litigants. The court has also provided sign language interpreters as well as those who speak French, Mandarin Chinese, Russian and Haitian Creole.
The court also opened a Self-Help Center last spring, which provides resources for litigants who represent themselves, and hired a law librarian last fall to help them.
How many people does it take to run the Circuit Court?
With the volume of work facing the Circuit Court, an additional judge was added last year. That brought the total to six judges and one magistrate. Supporting them are:
a court administrator
seven judicial assistants
seven court reporters
a law librarian
four assignment personnel
six part-time bailiffs
six law clerks
four grant personnel — a family services coordinator, permanency planning liaison, adult drug court coordinator and adult drug court case manager
In addition, the Clerk of the Circuit Court's office employs:
the elected clerk
a chief deputy clerk
a court operations manager
five court operations supervisors
a jury clerk
a fiscal clerk
21 judicial clerks
All the work, and the staff required to manage it, takes up a lot of space. The current building replaced a courthouse that burned down 151 years ago, and the Circuit Court now also occupies the mid-20th-century annex that once housed county offices. Construction of a seventh courtroom was completed in 2020. The court's report to the commissioners notes the need for more space for juries and security.
But when Commissioner Randy Wagner asked what "the biggest handicap and need" might be for the court, Wilson noted that an immediate issue is getting people into the building.
"I think the short-term thing that would help for both security and comfort of the public is the entranceways. You know, on Summit Avenue is a very small vestibule, and a very small interior area that has to fit the metal detector, as well as the scanning device, the sheriff's personnel and the law library."
A capital case, for example, might require a pool of 100 to 120 potential jurors, in addition to attorneys and other parties.
"The line can be quite long out there, and in inclement weather, it's very dangerous situation for the persons who are coming in. It's also a difficult situation for security."
This article originally appeared on The Herald-Mail: Washington County Circuit Court steams through thousands of cases
