Kentucky

I previously remarked how inflation has shrunk and substantially limited the civil jurisdiction of district court since it has  not been increased from its $4,000 limit in 1976.  With inflation over the last 30+ years, that would translate into nearly $15,000 in today's dollars.  See, SUGGESTED LEGISLATION: Upping the jurisdicitonal amount for district court is due.

I remarked on the other factor's which have impacted district court civil jurisdiction and the interplay of family courts and increased traffic court cases.

However, a country judge reminded me that as jurisdictional changes (either de jure or de facto) may have occurred these past 30 years, the number of district court judges has not necessarily increased throughout the state either.

I have taken the liberty to move/copy those comments from that post to here to encourage analysis of this situation.

the jurisdictional limit for civil cases in district court is not the only factor not adjusted for "inflation". since 1978 the number of judges in many circuits/districts has remained constant while the number of cases has skyrocketed. for example in my district the number of traffic offenses at the end of august 2007 exceeded the total number of traffic cases in 2006.

not all circuits have family court therefore the district courts continue to address domestic violence cases, paternity/child support cases, dependency, abuse and neglect cases, status offense cases. since many and eventually all circuit courts will be losing a great part of the case load to family court the circuit court will have the additional capacity to handle civil cases very nicely.

Thus, looking at the effects from time, inflation, changing caseloaads and volume, and jurisdictional tinkering in family court might require a comprehensive examination within the court system rather than making piecemeal changes during the legislature's two month sessions.  Otherwise, we might suffer from the doctrine of unintended consequences with changes we did not expect or desire.

But the fact of the matter is that today's district court and its cases is not the same as 1976 and not uniform throughout the state.  In any event, standing silently as the changes occur might not be the wisest course of action.  But should the KBA, the AOC, or an informal "formal" group of lawyers examine the problem and voice their concerns in a logical matter?   Here are some issues:

• Do we want to update the jurisdicitional amount, and if so, what is the number?
• Do we need to examine case loads in relation to the number of judges and based upon time (then versus now) as opposed to other jurisdictions?  For example, having the lightest case load in the state today may tell you less than the fact that the lightest caseload today is heavier/lighter than what existed in the past.
• How has family court jurisdiction and implementation impacted those  counties (district court and circuit court case loads) as opposed to those counties without a family court?
• Do we even want district courts handling small personal injury cases?
• Do we need to have lawyer commissioners or others to shepherd the small claims cases through the system should we increase small claims jurisdiction?
• Do we know what impact mediation has had on circuit court cases and do we wish to continue the apparent trend toward alternate dispute resolution by way or court-ordered versus voluntary participation, and what about the right to a jury trial and who bears the costs?
• Do we want to encourage more formalized training of mediators through the AOC progam and require certification of them (should we find that mediation is taking the pressure of of circuit court cases and trials)?
• What do we do with the senior status judges and their hours in relation to those counties in which the traffic court cases are increasing? (Which would require a formalized review of the senior status judges program which has apparently been placed upon the back burner since the last session.)
• An examination beyond case loads but rather into a time study of the hours worked per week and in what areas by the judges (and not just the district courts) might be on the table too?
• And more........