More than million cases keep judges busy

Lady Justice is not only blind -- she's busy, too.

Nevada's court system handled more than 1 million cases in fiscal year 2010 that ended June 30. Not surprising is that judges in Clark County were the busiest in the state. Surprising is that judges in neighboring Nye County -- tiny by population standards compared to Washoe County -- are the second busiest, according to the Nevada Judiciary Annual Report released Thursday.

The reason could be attributed to the high number of Clark County residents who file for divorce in Pahrump, 55 miles away, where divorce can be a less time-consuming and less expensive process. Nevada is a "concurrent jurisdiction" state, meaning lawsuits and divorce actions can be filed anywhere.

According to a statement from Supreme Court Chief Justice Ron Parraguirre, the 10th annual report provides a detailed look at the state's court system .

"The report details not only the workloads of every court in the state, but also provides information about the numerous programs that have made our court system one of the most progressive in the country," Parraguirre said.

Nevada has been near the forefront of judicial reform, establishing alternatives to dealing with defendants in trouble because of drug or alcohol addictions.

The programs have been established despite the substantial per-judge case load in the state.

"The number of cases filed per judicial position at the trial courts in Nevada continues to be among the highest in America," said Parraguirre. "Despite the workload and the economic downturn, the door to justice in Nevada remains open."

The Supreme Court had 2,266 filings, up from 2,152 in 2009, making the state's highest court the second busiest in the nation behind West Virginia's.

Neither state has an intermediate appellate court. Nevada voters in November shot down a ballot question addressing an intermediate court.

The high court disposed of 2,419 cases, roughly 250 more than the previous year, and reduced its pending caseload from 1,667 in 2009 to 1,514 this year.

Statewide, courts handled 165,864 criminal cases, 160,748 civil cases, 67,141 family cases, 13,847 juvenile cases and 615,270 traffic and parking cases.

In Clark County's Eighth District, 2,225 nontraffic cases were filed per judge. In the Fifth District comprised of Nye, Esmeralda and Mineral counties, the case load was 1,644. Rounding out the top four are Washoe County's Second District with 1,488 cases per judge and Elko County, home to the Fourth District, with 1,360 per judge.

The four busiest justice courts are at Las Vegas, Sparks Reno and Carson City. The case load in Las Vegas is a stunning 11,274 nontraffic cases per judge. The three northern justice courts averaged about 4,100 cases per judge.

While three of the busiest justice courts are in the north, three of the busiest municipal courts are in the south, with North Las Vegas Justice Court leading the way at 4,531 nontraffic cases. Las Vegas and Henderson municipal courts handled 4,319 cases per judge, and the fourth busiest in Reno with 2,052 cases.

Contact Doug McMurdo at dmcmurdo@reviewjournal.com or 702-224-5512 or read more courts coverage at lvlegalnews.com.