Department of Administrative Services
Reference: Appointment of Deputy Relief Judges
To: Mayor Gregory Mills and Members of City Council
Through: Marv Falconburg, Acting City Manager
Prepared By: Michelle Ramos, Court Administrator
Date Prepared: 3/11/2020
PURPOSE
To request City Council appoint current relief judges for the municipal court as deputy relief judges.
STRATEGIC FOCUS AREA
Strong Local Employment Opportunities
Safe, Active and Engaged Community
Strong Regional Relationships and Partnerships
BACKGROUND
Section 8.2 of the City Charter requires that Council appoint a presiding judge and such deputy judges as the Council deems necessary.
Currently the Municipal Court has one presiding judge and one deputy judge that have been appointed by council to cover the court dockets. Both the presiding judge and deputy judge have a contract that require a specific number of days to be worked in the courtroom. These judges also have other court commitments that can occasionally conflict with the court schedule. When a conflict in scheduling occurs the court relies on a relief judge for coverage. The following are three incidents where a relief judge would be utilized:
1. If a defendant requests the setting of a Jury Trial the matter is set on a non-court date in consideration of the court schedule, the City Prosecutor, the defendant or their attorney and the judge. The number of participants involved sometimes requires a setting on a date when neither judge would be available. The court would then contact one of the relief judges to find coverage for the case to ensure the defendant's right to a trial are kept.
2. There are also those occasions when an appointed judge may have a family emergency or sudden illness that can require a relief judge to cover an already full court docket. If the court was to reschedule a full court docket this would create an inconvenience to the defendants, the victims and any attorneys scheduled to appear. It would als...
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