WE CAN DO BETTER

WE CAN DO BETTER

Part 1

By Alan Miller, Candidate for Judge Superior Court II

There are problems within the county court system. In the next several weeks, I will post my proposals that outline how I think we can do better. 

Efficiency and Timeliness 

One of the primary problems with the Dearborn Superior Court II is inefficiency. It is not unusual to wait 10, 20, sometimes 30 minutes or more for a hearing. This sort of delay is a regular occurrence for this particular court; one that you do not often see in Dearborn Superior Court No. 1 or Dearborn Circuit Court.  

It is also not unusual to be made to wait outside the courtroom due to overcrowding inside. Cases in this court can drag on for months and sometimes years. It is not unusual to wait days, weeks and sometimes months for a decision from the court.

These inefficiencies result in increased operating expenses for the court--- increased supplies and staffing costs among them. This does not take into consideration the lost wages, vacation time, and transportation costs lost by those appearing before the Court. 

There are fixes to this problem: some easy and some not. In any event, there has been minimal effort to address these issues internally.  

Here is how I think we can do better. 

Court starts on time 

Currently, the court’s schedule generally begins at 9:00 a.m. Often times, however, court will not actually begin until 9:15 or 9:30. Not only is this disrespectful of the individuals who appear before the court, this also puts the remainder of the day’s schedule behind, creating undue stress on those appearing before the court. 

Court starts earlier  

As judge, not only will I appear in court promptly at the assigned time, I would also like to begin court at 8:00 a.m., similar to what is already done in Dearborn Circuit Court. This change recognizes the fact that emergency matters can and often times do present themselves during the course of a given day, thus allowing the court time to deal with such issues. 

Parties must appear on time 

Currently, it is not unusual for attorneys and other parties to come to court late. While this is understandable in some instances, in others, there is simply no explanation provided. On some occasions, court can grind to a halt while an attorney or party is located. This too is disrespectful of the court’s time, as well as the time of others waiting to appear before the court. If an attorney or party is more than 10 minutes late for their hearing, their case will be moved to the end of the morning’s docket. If a spot opens up earlier, the court will hear their case earlier. The daily goal of the court will be to keep the court’s docket moving along and avoiding unnecessary delay as much as possible. 

Decisions will be made in a timely manner 

Often times, decisions are delayed for days, weeks, and sometimes months. This occurs even where there are agreements between the parties, only needing a judge’s signature for approval. While each and every decision a judge makes should be deliberate and in accordance with the law, the task of making the decision should be done in a timely manner. A basketball referee does not reflect on his decision for days and weeks on end after blowing the whistle. He or she makes the call and moves on to the next decision. While the decisions made by a judge are far more important, the basic idea remains the same. 

If elected, I will make decisions in a timely manner, keeping in mind that delaying a decision places undue stress on the parties waiting for the ruling, as well as the court’s docket.

This is the first part of my platform statement; a detailed proposal for how to improve our current justice system. It will be released over the next several months through facebook.com/makeitmiller2012 and makeitmiller2012.com. PLEASE feel free to forward this to your friends and family.
Thanks for your continued support!

Alan Miller