Sean C. Morgan
Of The New Era
Operating without a judge for part of the year, Sweet Home Municipal Court handled fewer cases in 2006 than in 2005, but revenues were higher.
When the city chose not to renew a contract with Judge Larry Houchin in September, Sweet Home Justice Court handled the Municipal Court’s violations for about four months. Interim judges handled misdemeanor cases.
“The four months Municipal Court operated without a contracted judge will have a direct impact on the statistics presented in this report,” city Finance Director Pat Gray said.
She recently presented the Finance Department’s annual report to the City Council. The Municipal Court is part of the Finance Department.
Municipal Court normally handles violations and misdemeanors that occur within the city limits. Justice Court handles violations in the Sweet Home area outside the city limits.
The city received $168,919 in revenue in 2006, up $12,820 from 2005. The city handled 627 violations, down from 673, and 424 misdemeanors, down from 534.
The court averaged 12 trials per month during the eight months it had a contracted judge. The court had 97 trials total, down from 158 in 2005. The court had only 68 trials in 2004.
The court suspended 309 driver’s licenses, down from 533. Many of the suspensions are the result of nonpayment of fines. The court suspended 711 in 2002 and 721 in 2003.
The court issued 188 warrants in 2006, down from 358 in 2005 and 302 in 2004. In 2002, the court issued only 127. Warrants are issued when defendants fail to appear as ordered or fail to comply with their sentences or when the city attorney or judge requests a warrant be issued.
The court imposed $259,616 in fines in 2006, down from $293,935 and comparable to 2004 when the court imposed $263,846 in fines. In 2002 and 2003, the court imposed $212,000 and $216,000 in fines.
The court began 2006 with $954,000 owed to it in fines, down from $1.1 million in 2005.
Over the year, the Municipal Court turned $198,000 over to a collections agency, down from $266,000 in 2005. The court received $77,700 from its collections process, up from $76,100 in 2005.
Offenders who do not pay or respond to the court in a 90-day period are turned over to a collection service, Gray said. This is with the understanding that it will be easier to collect something on a more current account than one that is several years old.
After payments and turning fines over to collections, the court ended with $792,000 in fines owed, down from $954,000. The court has $2.5 million owed to it under the collections process.