Justice Court 2017 Budget Presentation

Justice Court – What We Do 2017 Proposed - $493,550. A 11.2% increase from the 2016 Budget of $443,724 The Summit County Justice Court has jurisdiction over all traffic violations, infractions and Class B and C Misdemeanors which occur in Summit County. This includes citations issued at the Port of Entry and wildlife and boating violations occurring in our recreational areas. In addition to the traffic and criminal matters, the court also has jurisdiction of all Small Claims civil matters filed in Summit County. Jurisdiction of the Small Claims court is limited to matters under $10,000 for money damages only. A pool of local attorneys volunteer to serve as Judge Pro Tems to hear these cases.

Justice Court – What We Do Judge Kerr presides in all cases and serves as the County Magistrate to reviews all probable cause statements filed by law enforcement on a daily basis and make bail determinations. The court is staffed with a Court Administrator and three full-time clerks who handle all matters from answering phones and customer questions, scheduling hearing, case filings and reviews, receipting payments and accounting of posted bail, recording in court proceedings, record keeping and accounting. The court works on a daily basis with jail personnel, the staff of the prosecutor’s office for Park City and the Summit County Attorney’s office and the various law enforcement agencies and private defense attorneys.

Justice Court – Case Load

Data Points

S.W.O.T. Analysis – justice court Strengths Our personnel - Highly skilled & experienced Judge, Clerks and Court Administrator. Well equipped facility with tech and security improvements Continued high judicial performance evaluations. Prompt, efficient polite and fair. Weaknesses Need more treatment options for defendants and more funding sources to assist with costs. Public Transportation to the Court is very limited. Mandatory sentencing guidelines limit creative options. Need more treatment options not jail and fines. Opportunities Increased utilization of paperless technology to increase efficiency and security of confidential data. Upgrades to web site for information and payments. Dedicated county probation department for better supervision to decrease recidivism Threats Mental Health and Substance providers limited programs and facilities threaten recovery and increase recidivism. Continued increased appointment of public defenders for indigent defendants may increase costs. Declining revenues.

Personnel – Justice Court Our office consists of the Judge, a Court Administrator and three Court Clerks We have maintained same staffing levels since early 2000.

Budget Analysis – Justice Court 2017 is in-line with 2016 expenses with the increase for salaries and benefits for existing staff.

Questions?