Caseflow management team examines county's backlog

Changes meant to clear a backlog of felony cases in Yakima County Superior Court are critical as the number of cases reached 1,600 this spring.

About 30 prosecutors, public defenders, judges and other court staff met with a team of four specialists in caseflow management Tuesday for a presentation on the benefits of changing the way the county handles felony cases.

The team's visit is funded by a grant from the federal Bureau of Justice Assistance.

The team arrived here Monday and leaves today.

The court's presiding judge, Ruth Reukauf, told the group that the change was necessary in order to keep the system running. Earlier, Texas judge Sharen Wilson, part of the review team, had explained how an overcrowded jail pushed her county outside of Fort Worth to improve its case management.

"This is an opportunity to put some pieces in place to be proactive before we reach that crisis number," Reukauf said.

Starting Jan. 2, two of the court's eight judges will be dedicated to the pre-trial processing of all cases. That should leave the remaining judges more time to handle the 70 or so trials that happen each year, matching the nationwide average of about 3 percent.

Ken Ramm, chief criminal deputy prosecutor, said prosecutors were under the impression that they handled more trials -- about 5 percent. Misperceptions about how far behind the caseload is or the amount of work aren't uncommon in other courts, members of the review team said.

Both prosecutors and defense attorneys had become used to repeated continuances. Thursday dockets to check on the status of cases often had 140 to 250 defendants, with some hearings lasting an average of 43 seconds, said Dan Fessler, director of the county's public defenders.

The new system will require everyone to adapt, Ramm said.

"It's going to be a change of culture with regard to what we have been doing," said Ramm, who is among three applicants to replace retiring chief prosecutor Ron Zirkle.

The others are county deputy prosecutor Troy Clements and Assistant U.S. Attorney Jim Hagarty.

The goal is for lesser felonies to be handled in five to seven months. Serious crimes like rape and murder would be resolved within a year, although difficult cases could take longer across the board.

Harold Delia, administrative consultant for the court system, said he hopes to see the active caseload reduced to 400 cases at any one time.

Fessler said he favors the changes as long as they allow everyone to meet the stated goals of spending more meaningful time in court.

The task force that developed the proposal will continue to meet in order to evaluate progress and make changes where needed, Reukauf said.