SD15 - Study of the Scheduling of Juvenile Traffic Cases and Issuance of Licenses


Executive Summary:
Background

The 1998 General Assembly adopted Senate Joint Resolution 180 requesting the Office of the Executive Secretary (OES) “to study alternatives for the scheduling of juvenile traffic cases and the issuance of licenses” to juveniles in the juvenile and domestic relations district (J&DR) courts. The resolution raised two specific issues:

(1) Many J&DR courts schedule traffic hearings early in the day causing juveniles charged with traffic offenses to miss school.

(2) Virginia law requires juveniles to appear before a J&DR court in order to obtain a driver’s license. When large numbers of juveniles and parents participate in such licensing ceremonies at any one time, crowd control rather than driver responsibility may become the focus of the event.

The resolution reflected the sense of the General Assembly that the processes developed to handle both the issuance of licenses and the sanctions for violations of the responsibilities imposed upon issuance of the license should reflect the importance with which the Commonwealth views both school attendance and driver responsibility.

Approach

In response to SJR 180, the following actions were undertaken.

(1) A comprehensive review of current traffic case scheduling procedures and practices in Virginia’s J&DR courts was conducted by the OES. This included the development and distribution of a survey of juvenile court judges in cooperation with the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) and Department of Education (DOE) traffic safety programs. Approximately two-thirds of the state’s 101 J&DR court judges completed the survey which sought their input on current scheduling practices for traffic cases as well as the juvenile driver’s license ceremonies.

(2) Telephone interviews were conducted with several J&DR court clerks from across the state in order to discuss both the scheduling of juvenile traffic matters and driver’s licensing ceremonies. Several clerks also submitted written answers to questions regarding their current docketing practices in these matters.

(3) A review was completed of current practices and materials used by several courts in their juvenile licensing ceremonies. This included interviews with judges, clerks, members of the bar and others.

(4) Traffic case scheduling was reviewed in the context of the overall challenges Virginia’s Juvenile and Domestic Relations District Courts face in finding adequate amounts of time to hear and dispose of all of the case types within their jurisdiction.

Major Issues and Findings

The study found that there are several factors influencing the setting of juvenile traffic case dockets. Among these factors are the size of the courts’ total caseloads and the need to find adequate time periods for all case types to be heard and effectively disposed. This is particularly true given the statutory time requirements within which many cases heard by the J&DR courts must be concluded. Scheduling for the appearance of law enforcement officers is another significant factor. Early morning traffic dockets allow officers just coming off of their shifts to have their cases heard before going off duty. Otherwise, they have to return later in the day for hearings. This practice also helps in significantly reducing the amount of overtime that must be paid by localities for the officers’ attendance in court.

Judges and court personnel also consider school attendance and the schedules of attorneys and parents. Several courts indicate that juvenile traffic cases are scheduled early in the day in order to get parents and juveniles out of court as early as possible. Many judges indicated that school schedules should be the primary factor considered in scheduling juvenile traffic cases for court hearings. Others disagreed. These judges said that while justice system officials must be sensitive to juveniles missing school to appear in court, they also believe that what may be learned about the consequences for violating the law, including the inconvenience of having to appear in court, constitutes a valuable lesson, in and of itself.

Judges participating in the survey also were asked to assess the impact of altering juvenile traffic hearings to avoid or minimize conflicts with school hours. Most indicated that such a change may have major negative effects on the ability of the court to manage its total caseload. This is particularly true with regard to the hearing of contested criminal and civil cases, such as contested custody matters, which require lengthy uninterrupted periods of time. Typically, J&DR courts hear these matters in the afternoon. Thus, the consequences of altering the dockets must be carefully reviewed. In addition, the larger overall issue facing Virginia’s juvenile and domestic relations courts is balancing the needs of all litigants, parties, law enforcement, and human service agency personnel who come before the J&DR courts given the finite number of hours available each day for hearing the different types of disputes within their jurisdiction.

Since mid-1997, the Calendar Management and Delay Reduction Program for Virginia’s Juvenile and Domestic Relations District Courts has been underway. Through this effort, J&DR courts throughout the state are evaluating their docketing and scheduling procedures for all types of juvenile matters, including juvenile traffic cases. A major theme of this program is that court dockets must be examined holistically with regard to the laws governing required case processing activities, as well as the interests of all participants in the J&DR court process. Many courts across the state have begun to make significant progress toward reducing delay and better serving their communities by making significant changes to their docketing and calendar management procedures for all types. The study concludes that each J&DR court in Virginia should develop a caseflow management and delay reduction plan and in developing such plans, consideration should be given to scheduling juvenile traffic cases in the afternoon.

With regard to the licensing ceremonies, the results of the survey of judges indicated that the majority of such ceremonies involve less than 100 teens and parents. Most J&DR courts schedule their ceremonies in the afternoon after school hours or in the evenings. When asked to estimate the ideal size for the licensing ceremonies, the majority of judges replied that 100 or fewer people best assured a meaningful ceremony and one where the message of driver responsibility could be best conveyed.

A number of judges surveyed expressed the belief that factors such as the dignity of the proceedings, the demeanor of the judge, and the content of the program had a greater influence than did size in determining the quality of the ceremony. Where large numbers of juveniles and parents are scheduled to appear, close coordination is necessary they said between the court, bailiffs and other law enforcement officers, as well as officials of the facility where the ceremony is being conducted. Thus, the effectiveness of the ceremonies in impressing upon teenagers’ minds highway safety and the seriousness of their responsibilities as drivers is, in the opinion of these judges, more related to these factors than it is to size.

The study also found that a number of J&DR court judges are very involved with state and local educational and highway safety groups. Working cooperatively, they are continually improving the design and content of their licensing ceremonies in order to present a basic message of juvenile traffic safety and driver responsibility.

The study concludes that licensing ceremonies should be held in the late afternoon and evening and should involve 100 or fewer students. Judges also are encouraged to continue their collaborative efforts with highway safety groups to ensure that licensing ceremonies feature driver responsibility as their primary focus.

Recommendations

Recommendation 1: Courts should schedule licensing ceremonies in the late afternoon or evening so that they do not conflict with school schedules.

Recommendation 2: Courts should schedule licensing ceremonies so that 100 or fewer students participate in the ceremony but in no event should the ceremony involve more than 200 students.

Recommendation 3: Each J&DR court should develop a Calendar Management and Delay Reduction Program. In developing this program, and while taking into account the needs of all participants, the court should determine whether juvenile traffic dockets can be scheduled to minimize conflicts with school schedules.

Recommendation 4: A team of J&DR court judges and clerks should be appointed to review the “Resource Guide” scheduled for completion in early 1999 and other materials currently being developed by the Department of Motor Vehicles and the Department of Education and incorporate them into existing education programs for J&DR court judges and clerks.

Recommendation 5: Judges of the J&DR courts should be encouraged to continue collaborative efforts with state and local agencies and highway safety groups to ensure that licensing ceremonies feature driver responsibility as their primary focus.

Recommendation 6: The OES should develop for use by all J&DR courts a questionnaire for parents and teens attending the ceremonies in order to assess their perceptions of the program and solicit comments and suggestions for improving the ceremonies. In addition, OES should assist the courts in the administration, analysis and reporting of results of the survey.