HD38 - A Study of the Need and Feasibility of Night Courts in Virginia


Executive Summary:
Major Issues and Findings

The 1997 General Assembly passed House Joint Resolution No. 488 requesting the Committee on District Courts (CDC) “to study the necessity and feasibility of establishing night courts in the Commonwealth.” In particular, the resolution cites the following factors as considerations for looking into night courts:

• increased demand on the district court system

• schedule disruptions for officers appearing in court

• inconvenience to witnesses who must take time from work to appear in court

• use of night courts in other jurisdictions to better serve their citizens

The study concludes that the need for and success of night courts rest very much on local circumstances, support and commitment to the program, not only by the court, but also by the other stakeholders who would be affected by night court implementation. In addition, financial impacts of night court implementation would have local as well as state-level aspects.

Night court sessions do not appear to be needed in order to expand the capacity of the district courts to hear cases. The addition of night court hours, however, could provide an opportunity for many individuals to make a court appearance, file necessary forms or papers and pay fines and costs without having to take time off from work. Night court hours might also serve the interests of some law enforcement departments.

Although the Code of Virginia does not explicitly address the issue of night courts, there appears that sufficient statutory authority currently exists to permit night court operation without any statutory changes. An existing CDC policy regarding hours of operation for the district courts in and of itself would not preclude night court operation, although it would complicate the process. Any decision to implement night courts would necessitate funding to support any additional costs that would be incurred in their operation. Furthermore, such implementation would require a major readjustment of the computer operation supporting the judicial branch.

Approach

Preparation of this report began with a literature review to identify how and where night courts were being used, as well as how they were structured. Information gathered from this review was supplemented by telephone interviews with selected courts to gather more detailed information about the program and its operation. In the process it became apparent that while there is no single definition or description of a night court, all provide some level of court activity outside normal business hours. How this is accomplished reflects the purpose for which a particular court was implemented and the specific needs of the jurisdiction. Accordingly, any decision about implementing night courts must address an extensive list of issues, including: purpose, matters to be heard/services provided, which courts to involve, frequency, hours of operation, security concerns, court and other staffing, computer support and cost.

An interdisciplinary project team within the Office of the Executive Secretary examined how night court operations could be used in the District Courts and what their benefits and impacts might be. This process included a review of the current status of the District Courts with respect to caseload, staffing, hours of operation, related Magistrate System functions, and the automated case management system that supports case processing and case management in the courts.

Early in the study it became apparent that the potential variations on night court were so numerous that pursuing each in detail would make the study too diffuse to be constructive. In order to frame the scope of the study to manageable proportions, the study team defined a number of parameters for the study:

• Consideration of night court would be limited to the District Courts

• Night Court operations would not only include cases heard in court, but also some range of clerk’s office functions.

• Local issues (such as facility modifications or construction; additional funding for security) would be identified, but detailed discussion of solutions was beyond the scope of the study.

Recognizing the complexity of these interlocking factors, the study presents three options for dealing with the issue of night courts:

1) Decide not to pursue /allow night court in Virginia

2) Conduct night court pilot project

3) Make decisions about the feasibility of night court on a locality by locality basis for courts interested in such a program.

Recommendations

The Committee on District Courts recommends Option 3. To implement that option, the CCD makes two recommendations:

• Recommendation 1 - The use of night court is more appropriate for the General District Courts than for the Juvenile and Domestic Relations District Courts.

• Recommendation 2 - Establish a procedure by which the Committee on District Courts can review and act upon proposals from individual courts that want to establish a night court operation.

Implementing Recommendation 2 would assure that courts seeking to establish a night court had considered all issues relevant to night court operation and had collaborated with the relevant stakeholders. If the request was approved and additional funding was required, the Committee on District Courts would initiate the needed budget request.