|
News Release
December 30, 2008
|
|
Contact:
|
Steve Davis, Court Communications Officer, (515)
725-8058
|
Task Force Recommends Improvements to Iowa's
Magistrate System
Des Moines, December 30, 2008— Results of the first systematic assessment of Iowa's magistrate system
in nearly 30 years are available online at http://www.iowacourts.gov/Reports/ The assessment is the product of a one-year
study by the Limited Jurisdiction Task Force of the Iowa Supreme Court. The
court formed the task force to examine Iowa's 34-year old magistrate
system and determine if it is "meeting
the needs of local communities for equal, accessible, and high caliber justice
and, if not, identify what improvements or systemic reforms are required to
meet those needs."
Iowa
magistrates have authority to handle small claims (up to $5,000), simple
misdemeanors (traffic and ordinance violations), initial appearance in all
criminal cases, and seized property cases and jurisdiction to handle adult
mental health and substance abuse commitment cases. Every county has at least
one resident magistrate who, under the Code of Iowa, may be a lawyer or a lay
person, though preference is given to lawyers who apply for magistrate positions.
Magistrates are appointed by county magistrate appointing commissions and serve
four-year terms. The position is part time.
Members of
the task force were "impressed with the commitment, work ethic and job
performance of magistrates throughout the state of Iowa" and determined that
changes should be implemented legislatively and by the supreme court to address
"problems existing today that affect the quality of judicial services."
The task
force concluded that magistrate workloads vary significantly across the state
with some magistrates performing less than 10 hours of judicial duties per week
while other perform more than 30 hours a week. It was also determined that in a
substantial number of Iowa's less populated counties, the magistrate is the only
judicial offer who resides in the county and is responsible for handling all
(or almost all) of the after-hours-on-call duties throughout the year. Less
populated counties also have fewer attorneys living in the county. For example,
if one of the three lawyers residing in a county is the county attorney, there
are only two attorneys available for appointment to the magistrate position.
The task
force identified 13 recommendations to address the disparities in workload, the
limited pool of qualified candidates in some counties, the increased complexity
of civil and criminal laws, and the problems related to the handling of mental
health and substance abuse commitments.
# # #
2008
Iowa Supreme Court
1111 East Court Avenue
Des Moines, IA 50319
515-281-3952
