Pike courts straining under caseload and tight budget

Judge Joseph Kameen reports on the state of courts Milford — “Increases in the overall criminal and miscellaneous docket from the year 2004 to 2008 represent a 50% increase in caseload for the Court over that time period,” according to Pike County President Judge Joseph Kameen. “The largest increase has been in adult criminal prosecution. Not only has adult criminal caseload increased, but the severity of crimes being prosecuted has also increased. Serious crimes place a significantly heavier burden in terms of time and cost on the entire court system,” Kameen writes. The judge’s comments appear in his new 19-page,“State of the Court Report,” which details court operations and issues facing the county court system. As president judge, Kameen manages the entire county court system, which employs some 50 persons and had a $3.2 million budget in 2008. Including adult, juvenile, domestic, summary appeals and miscellaneous criminal actions, the court handled 1,344 criminal cases in 2008, compared to 989 in 2004, Kameen detailed. Kameen notes that county budgetary support has not matched the workload increase. a comparison “reveals a 50% increase in caseload over the last 5 years while the county taxpayer burden increased less than 15% over the same five year time period... When reviewed in light of caseload, budget and employee base, it is clear that over the last five years the Court is handling 50% more cases and has added a second judge and related staff with little budgetary increase other than an inflationary factor.” The judge also has concerns about the 1873 courthouse. “The County presently has two judges but only one courtroom. A second makeshift courtroom has been created out of the Prothonotary’s old office. In addition, the courthouse has no available conference rooms for attorney/client conferences, no interview rooms for Protection From Abuse applicants, no room to sequester witnesses, not even a room to keep adversarial parties separate and apart. If a citizen comes in requesting a Protection From Abuse Order, anyone using the law library must be evicted so the room can be used as the interview room. At times, witnesses have to be kept out of the courthouse in order to insure their safety.” Judge Kameen has requested a special meeting with the County Commissioners to address the status of the Pike County Courthouse and to discuss goals of the Court over the next five years. The meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, April 21, at 2 p.m. in the County Commissioners’ meeting room in the Administration Building. Judge Kameen has recently reached the halfway point of his 10-year term and has prepared the detailed report of the Court’s operation, budget, employees and procedures for consideration by the Commissioners and public. The Judge has noted that too often the public is not fully aware of the Court’s duties or what the Court actually does on a daily basis. This lack of information can cast a shadow over the entire judicial system. The meeting will highlight the significant growth which the Court has experienced over the past ten years. The Court is inviting public comment and input on how to best address future needs of the Court. The public is invited to attend. Copies of the Judge’s State of the Court Report can be obtained by contacting the Judge’s office at 296-6216. Copies of the report are also available on the Court’s website at http://court.pikepa.org.