(Spirit Lake)– The Dickinson County Board of Supervisors Tuesday heard a report on the status of the court system in northwest Iowa. Judge Carl J. Petersen gave the update. One of the biggest changes, he says, is the consolidation of clerk of court positions…
“In District 3A, which is 10 counties that I work in on a routine basis, and four other District Court Judges that are my colleagues, that went from 10 clerks in about 10 years to three. And it’s my understanding that the Cherokee Clerk of Court, if there’s a transition or change there, that might also be folded in. So at a certain point, there’s a high potential we’ll have two Big C Clerk of Courts in northwest Iowa or in what I call 3A, and that’s significant.”
Judge Petersen added there’s been a substantial turnover in judges as well due to retirement, and he’s concerned over a looming shortage of court reporters…
“25 percent of our court reporters in the state of Iowa are at the rule of 88. 25 percent. And we’re only seeing maybe 5 to 10 to 15 new court reporters a year coming into the system. And what that means, again, it’s going to be a huge challenge. Court reporters are integral to not just creating a record, but they’re the administrative people for judges.”
Judge Petersen also commented on court room security, saying that’s lacking somewhat in Dickinson county…
“The courthouses that are similar to you guys, Clay county, Buena Vista county, they have a off-duty part-time officer present during court hearings, and Lyon county has that. They have two officers.”
He recommended a committee be formed to address the matter.
