Page 10 - Flathead Beacon // 8.17.16

NEWS
Montana Supreme Court Steps in to Redistribute ‘Heavy
Caseload’ in Flathead
District Court Judge David Ortley has not taken any new cases since spring in order to focus on backlog
BY CLARE MENZEL OF THE BEACON
With a backlog of cases stacking up in Flathead County District Court, the Montana Supreme Court has tem- porarily transferred more than 270 cases between departments in hopes of smoothing the transition when Judge David M. Ortley steps down from the bench in January 2017.
Ortley has not assumed any new cases since May, and over the last four-and- a-half months, 271 cases, including 44 pre-existing family law cases, have been transferred to Flathead County District Court judges Amy Eddy, Robert B. Alli- son, and Heidi J. Ulbricht. When Ort- ley’s successor takes the bench in Jan- uary, the clerk of court will begin the process of signing them back over to that department.
The Supreme Court has also perma- nently appointed six of Ortley’s cases to retired Flathead District Judge Kather- ine Curtis. They will remain under Cur- tis’ purview in 2017.
“The Flathead Judicial District is one of, by far, the busiest districts. They have an extremely heavy caseload ... we’re trying to stay on top of the caseload and make it manageable for the new judge,” said Montana Supreme Court Chief Jus- tice Mike McGrath, who noted that this is “not at all unusual.”
McGrath said the Supreme Court is currently taking similar measures with Justice Patricia O’Brien Cotter, who is retiring. Cases were also diverted in the fall of 2015 before former Flathead County District Judge Ted O. Lympus’ retirement. Last scal year, the state judicial branch spent $163,604.84 out- sourcing cases to retired judges across
Judge David Ortley. BEACON FILE PHOTO
Montana.
Ortley, who announced in August
that he would not seek re-election after six years on the district court, currently has 693 cases open, re-opened, pending, or active.
“It was decided, because of the volume of cases I had, both pending and awaiting decision, that I begin to cut back on the amount of time I spent in the courtroom so I could spend more time researching and drafting decisions,” Ortley said. “I am wrapping up all the cases I have with the goal of when the new judge, presum- ably Judge [Dan] Wilson, takes o ce, the current cases that are open are current and ready to pick up.”
Wilson is running unopposed in the November general election.
“At some point, I’m going to have to stop handling cases in court ... some- time early this fall,” Ortley continued. “Frankly, I’m trying to delay that as long as I can so as not to increase the burden.”
Since May, Ortley’s Flathead County District Court peers have assumed 244 cases that are generally “smaller, less complicated [and] relatively easy for a judge to absorb,” Ortley said.
“The cases that have been assumed are really assumed by judges that believe they can do justice to their own caseload and pick up new cases, and that’s di cult to ask of any judge,” he said.
It’s particularly di cult to ask judges to take on extra work in Flathead County, where there has already been “an extremely intensive caseload increase”
since 2009, according to McGrath. In 2009, the district court saw 4,703 cases, a total that shot up to 5,638 by 2015. Child abuse and neglect cases increased from 102 to 146 between 2009 and 2015, crim- inal cases increased from 853 to 1,020, and domestic-relations cases increased from 897 to 1,293, according to McGrath.
“That’s a pretty dramatic increase,” he said.
Unrelated to Ortley stepping down, Lincoln County District Judge James Wheelis, retired Flathead County Dis- trict Judge Stewart Stadler, and retired Missoula County District Court Judge Douglas Harkin have also assumed eight cases from Flathead County District Court.
After completing a recent workload study, the Supreme Court determined that, in order for district judges to have an appropriate caseload, Montana would need roughly 20 additional judicial appointments statewide, with 2.5 addi- tional judges in Flathead County, accord- ing to McGrath. Currently, 46 district court judges in Montana manage some 50,000 cases annually.
Next legislative session, McGrath will make the case for adding ve new judicial appointments statewide — one each in Flathead, Missoula, and Cascade coun- ties, and two in Yellowstone County. A single judgeship costs the state an addi- tional $500,000 per year, according to Supreme Court administrator Beth McLaughlin.
“It’s an expensive budget item — it’s not realistic to think the Legislature would do any more,” McGrath said. “We’re hopeful to think this will be well-considered.”
clare@ atheadbeacon.com
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AUGUST 17, 2016 // FLATHEADBEACON.COM