A huge increase in the number of children in need of services during the past year has put a strain on the Vigo County court system.
So much so that Judge David Bolk of Vigo Circuit Court and Superior Court 3 says that starting in April, his court will begin hearing some juvenile cases for the first time in 25 years.
Vigo County’s judges are in the process of putting together a caseload allocation plan as required by the state every two years to assess the workload and function of the courts. While the Division of State Court Administration recently released the 2013 statistics, Bolk said the preliminary 2014 numbers are being used locally to develop a plan for submission to the state in May, for implementation in 2016.
“I like to say we’re always chasing history when we look at this,” Bolk said of the statistics. “We’re looking at the past year to try to plan for the year ahead.”
Some interesting facts have turned up, such as the increase in some juvenile cases filed.
CHINS are children who have been neglected or abused, who may have been removed from their homes, or may still be residing with parents or guardians. Since there is a federal requirement that these cases must receive periodic hearings and reviews, Vigo County Juvenile Court with Magistrate Judge Dan Kelly is a busy court.
“That’s kind of put a strain on us,” Bolk said of the increase case numbers.
The preliminary 2014 figures show that 344 new CHINS cases were opened. That is a big jump from 2013, when 297 CHINS cases were filed. But the number has been growing each year since 2010, when 110 new CHINS entered the court system.
As far as juvenile delinquency cases, however, the number of new cases is declining. Those are cases that would be criminally charged if committed by an adult.
Another statistic that has drawn notice, Bolk said, is the decline in misdemeanor arrests filed in Division 5 court. In 2013, Division 5 was by far the busiest in the courthouse, handling the majority of drunk driving cases and drug court, with a total of 500 misdemeanor cases filed. But in 2014, the new cases dropped to 318 filings. The total number of new cases filed in 2013 in Division 5 was 1,061, while the new cases filed in 2014 dropped to 591.
Judge Michael Rader has noticed the decline in drunk driving cases being filed, and he said that although he is unsure of the cause, the drop is a good thing.
“So long as we are keeping drunk drivers off the road, I am glad to see the numbers go down, Rader said. “The decreased case load will allow Division 5 to focus more on the Drug Court Program and to hear some of criminal cases now assigned to other courts.”
Judge Bolk also noted that the small claims cases filed was down about 15 to 20 percent during the past year. Small claims cases are filed in Division 5 and Division 4, and in 2014 they accounted for 42 percent of the court cases filed in Vigo County. The number of small claims filings in a year has been as high as 7,500, Bolk said, and the 2014 figure is the lowest it has been in six years.
On another brighter note, the number of new divorces and mortgage foreclosures are declining.
The 2013 statistics show that 714 divorce petitions were filed. That number dropped to 601 new filings in 2014.
As for mortgage foreclosures, Vigo County’s high point came in 2006 with 612 filings, Bolk said, which was about two years before the mortgage crisis was felt nationally. By 2013, the foreclosure filings had dropped to 303. And in 2014, new filings were down to 243 for a 20 percent reduction from the prior year.
Interestingly, Terre Haute City Court remains the busiest court in Vigo County, seeing more than 48 percent of all cases filed in 2013. Of the 34,349 cases filed — civil, criminal, juvenile and civil violations such as traffic and ordinance tickets — 16,560 of those new cases were filed in city court in 2013.
Looking at the caseload statistics helps determine where resources are allocated in the courts. Vigo County has six elected superior court judges. Bolk also serves as circuit court judge. However, the caseload shows that 10.52 judges are needed to handle all of the cases active in the court system. That judicial need has been felt for several years.
The statistical information for 2013 and prior years has been published at publicaccess.courts.in.gov/icor/report. It was compiled from quarterly case status reports filed with the Division of State Court Administration by each trial court. All trial courts annually file a summary report on court revenue and a report on court expenditures and budget.
A disclaimer on the website states that the information presented at the site is not an exact accounting of funds or of every judicial decision. It is based on aggregate summary data and presents an overview of the workload and function of the Indiana judiciary.
The information detailed provides a factual basis for long-term judicial planning in the State of Indiana.