Published: April 30, 2008 04:26 pm            

Fair and swift — New judgeship vital to effective system

A little ceremony, a few remarks, the swish of an ink pen and its done. Mercer County’s 9th Judicial Circuit has an extra judge.

Gov. Joe Manchin ceremoniously signed the bill, which will add judges to three circuits in West Virginia, during an event Wednesday afternoon at the Mercer County Courthouse. It was a long haul to a two-year journey, but one that was important to the fairness and equity of our local judicial system.

During the past several years the caseload in Mercer County’s circuit has steadily increased, and the county has long been ranked among the top three statewide in terms of need for a new judge.

How overloaded is our local court system?

A report provided to the West Virginia Legislature earlier this year showed the 9th Judicial Circuit had a need for 3.54 judges. “This is a difference of 1.54 judges over the current two positions,” the report stated. “In other words, the two judges of the 9th Judicial Circuit are handling the caseload that should be managed by more than three judges.”

Along with the 9th Judicial Circuit, the 24th and 30th circuits also ranked among the top three in the state for overloaded dockets.

These circuits, too, will be afforded relief with an extra judge thanks to legislation passed by lawmakers earlier this year and now signed into law by Manchin. The addition of an extra judge to these three circuits was imperative in order to provide a fair, speedy and effective justice system for all people served by these regions.

No matter an individual’s place in the justice system — victim, defendant, attorney or member of the jury — he or she should trust that our court system is impartial, productive and swift. Overloading judges with an excess number of cases is not the best means to this end.

We must give praise to our county’s current two judges — Derek Swope and Bill Sadler, who have worked diligently to handle a huge volume of cases. But we must point out that we never believed the current system was fair to these two men, nor the many others involved in our local court cases.

No one should be expected to juggle the exorbitant number of cases that crowd the 9th circuit’s docket each week.

We must also extend high praise to Judge Swope for his tireless work these past two years to see that legislative action was passed to provide relief to the overloaded circuits within the state.

Rallied by support within the community, Judge Swope fought a tough battle for the benefit of all people in Mercer County.

The addition of a new judge to the 9th Judicial Circuit has been high on our priority list for quite some time, and it is rewarding to see that this vital need has now been met.

We extend our appreciation to Gov. Manchin, Judge Swope, state legislators and the many, many other individuals who put much time and work into the effort to bring aid to Mercer County’s crowded court system.

        

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