MEDINA MUNICIPAL COURT

Transcription

1 MEDINA MUNICIPAL COURT 2010 Annual Report DALE H. CHASE, JUDGE NANCY L. ABBOTT, CLERK

2 MEDINA MUNICIPAL COURT 2010 ANNUAL REPORT MARCH 31, 2011 Medina City Council & Mayor Medina County Commissioners The following is the yearly report of operations for the Medina Municipal Court as required by Ohio Revised Code Sec The Court received new filings of 14,326 cases and terminated 14,281 cases. These cases generated $4, of disbursements, which include bond and civil judgments. TOTAL O.V.I. CASES FILED * Year Cases * Operating a vehicle under the influence of alcohol or drugs The Brunswick Mayor s Court, which is within the Court s jurisdiction, submitted the following information: CASE TYPE CASES FILED CASES TRANSFERRED TO MEDINA MUNICIPAL COURT Traffic 3, OVI Criminal Other Unknown 1 TOTAL 4,

3 PROBATION DEPARTMENT Marirose Power, Chief Probation Officer More than 1,100 cases were referred for presentence investigation and 88 sealing-ofrecord investigations were also completed. Over 500 traffic cases were reviewed prior to sentencing. Four hundred fifty-six new offenders were placed on probation. Of these 42% were convicted of an OVI offense, 11% were convicted of drug offenses, 11% were convicted of underage alcohol use, 8% were convicted of theft/property crimes, 4% were convicted of domestic violence or related offenses, 4% were convicted of driving under suspension or other serious traffic offenses. The remaining 20% include various criminal charges such as resisting arrest, assault, telephone harassment and cruelty to animals. The department conducted over 3,300 reporting appointments and required nearly 1,700 drug tests. The probation department also supervised those not on the probation caseload who were assigned to electronically-monitored house arrest, community service and bond reporting. Seventy-five individuals were charged with violating conditions of probation. ALCOHOL TREATMENT FUNDS AND JAIL COSTS The Court collected $51, for the Indigent Drivers Alcohol Treatment Act (IDATA) in These funds can be used to pay for treatment of indigent defendants. The Court also collected $29, for Driving Under the Influence of Alcohol jail costs, which was paid to the Medina County Auditor. The Court disbursed to townships, cities, Medina County and the State of Ohio a total of $12, from funds collected under the Driving Under the Influence of Alcohol Act. These funds may be used by the arresting agencies for equipment, training, and enforcement of driving under the influence of alcohol laws. 3

4 BAILIFF S OFFICE Carl Meding, Bailiff Bailiffs are responsible for courtroom and building security, attending to the Court s electronic recording system, overseeing the activities of all individuals present in the building and on the grounds, and supervising the security personnel who operate the Court s metal detector and screen all persons entering the building. One Deputy Bailiff is responsible for the service of subpoenas and other court papers throughout the Court s jurisdiction, including executing evictions and Court ordered sales of property. In 2010, the Bailiff s Office supervised 139 evictions, a 6.9% increase compared to (See Table #1) The Bailiff s Office actively pursues people who have failed to appear at Court or have otherwise ignored Court orders. During 2010, the Court s bailiffs physically arrested 105 defendants and cleared a total of 560 warrants by all means. (See Table #2) The enforcement of warrants for fines and costs due resulted in payments of $58, This warrant activity also includes the publication and distribution of the Court s Most Wanted Posters, which allows the community to assist in resolving outstanding warrants. A unique program administered by the Bailiff s Office is the entry of information on certain convicted defendants into the Federal National Crime Information Center s (NCIC) supervised release file. This file helps track those convicted defendants who have been placed on probation. The program began in April 2006 and is the only program authorized at the municipal court level in Ohio to independently enter these probationers in NCIC. In 2010, the Court recorded 184 contacts with other law enforcement agencies dealing with these probationers. These contacts include traffic citations more serious matters such as OVI, felonious assault, drug trafficking, domestic violence and leaving the country. 4

5 TABLE #1 EVICTION ACTIVITY (FORCIBLE ENTRY AND LOCK CHANGE) YEAR NUMBER OF EVICTIONS The activity of the warrant enforcement bailiff is reflected in the following report: TABLE #2 TOTAL NUMBER OF WARRANTS RESOLVED: 560 TOTAL NUMBER OF DEFENDANTS: 534 WARRANTS RESOLVED BY ACTION TAKEN: Executed By Arrest: 105 Came to Court After Home Visit: 103 Came to Court After Phone Contact: 247 Came to Court After Warrant Block Letter: 83 Resolved Via Most Wanted Poster Program 41 NUMBER OF HOME VISITS MADE: 681 5

6 CONTINUING EDUCATION All judicial seminars are through the Judicial College of the Supreme Court of Ohio unless otherwise noted. Judge Chase is an active member of the Ohio Association of Municipal/County Court Judges Judge Chase attended the following association meetings and seminars: February 2010 Association of Municipal/County Court Judges of Ohio 2010 Winter Conference June Ohio Courts Summit September 2010 CLE Teaching: A View From the Bench, Medina County Bar Association. Magistrates Lawrie, Leggett and Dougherty are active members of the Ohio Association of Magistrates. Chief Magistrate Lawrie continues to serve on the Supreme Court of Ohio s Commission on Technology and the Courts. Chief Magistrate Lawrie attended the following association meetings and seminars: April 2010 Ohio Association of Magistrates 2010 Spring Conference: Probate Issues You Need to Know, Substance Abuse, Promoting Professionalism on and from the Bench, Evidence by Numbers, Hot Topics in Municipal Court Law, Ohio Legal History August 2010 Judicial College Faculty Planning Meeting September 2010 Ohio Association of Magistrates 2010 Fall Conference Report on Judiciary, Leading Cases from the Supreme Court of Ohio, OPERS Update, Access to Courts, Change Resilience: Communicating for a Positive Experience Chief Magistrate Lawrie presented the following Judicial College seminars: July 2010 Electronic Legal Research (2 courses) In August 2010, Magistrate Lawrie participated in the Supreme Court of Ohio s Judicial College Annual Faculty Planning Meeting. At this meeting about 50 judges and magistrates planned the courses that the Judicial College will present to judges, magistrates, and court personnel in Magistrate Leggett attended the following association meetings and seminars: September 2010 Ohio Association of Magistrates 2010 Fall Conference Report on Judiciary, Leading Cases from the Supreme Court of Ohio, OPERS Update, Access to Courts, Change Resilience: Communicating for a Positive Experience, The Public Perception of Justice: Judicial Intervention in Film, Culture and Interpreters Magistrate Dougherty attended the following association meetings and seminar: April 2010 Ohio Association of Magistrates 2010 Spring Conference: Probate Issues You Need to Know, Substance Abuse, Promoting Professionalism on and from the Bench, Evidence by Numbers, Hot Topics in Municipal Court Law 6

7 COMPUTER DEVELOPMENTS Rich Armstrong, Management Information Specialist The court employs a Management Information Specialist to coordinate all technology applications. Norton Antivirus was updated to Symantec Endpoint for more thorough protection of the network and new backup power supplies were installed. Upgraded network switches were installed to increase the bandwidth available. The Court transition to the new computer system and Case Management Client Server software from Civica Systems of Englewood, Ohio is continuing with the Civil application remaining to be installed. The software is continually upgraded throughout the year. New software was installed for the Criminal/Traffic Division, Probation and document scanning. The Clerk s office continued to receive upgrades to their printers. The existing printers are being converted to copy/scan devices to enhance efficiency. These are being connected to the scanning system as the computers are updated. The probation department scans new cases as they are received and continues to scan historical records into the imaging database. The imaging database allows documents to be stored in digital format and printed on demand. This increases the efficiency of the department, prevents misplaced files, saves time in retrieving the files and reduces space required for storage. The website is hosted by Blue Domino and continues to be maintained by Uplink/MSS of Medina and Civica/CMI of Englewood. The website now allows lookups based on case scheduling for both Criminal and Traffic as well as Civil cases. The Court s Annual Reports may be viewed online at the Court s website. Online Court Access is available via the Court s website: FOREIGN LANGUAGE INTERPRETING SERVICES The Court continues to see an increase in the number of criminal and traffic cases involving defendants who do not speak English and require assistance in their native language to understand the court proceedings. The Court contracted with Language Line Services of Monterey, California to provide language translation for short court proceedings (approximately 5 to 10 minutes in length) and with Monarca Language Services, a Medina business, for all other translation services. The Judge performed 55 weddings in WEDDINGS 7

8 CASE FILINGS AND TERMINATION STATISTICS Lori A. Henry, Court Administrator The following is a report of the Medina Municipal Court on cases filed and terminated for each case type as established by the Ohio Supreme Court. The information provided is taken from the Administrative and Individual Judge Reports of the Ohio Supreme Court. CRIMINAL & TRAFFIC CASES FELONIES Cases Filed: Cases Terminated: MISDEMEANORS Cases Filed: 1,690 1,804 1,941 1,981 1,877 Cases Terminated: 1,672 1,809 1,816 1,864 1,818 D.U.I. Cases Filed: Cases Terminated: TRAFFIC Cases Filed: 8,193 9,678 10,958 10,912 10,696 Cases Terminated: 8,050 9,808 11,012 10,799 10,605 CIVIL CASES PERSONAL INJURY/PROPERTY DAMAGE Cases Filed: Cases Terminated: CONTRACTS Cases Filed: 1,573 1,764 1,717 1, Cases Terminated: 1,544 2,062 1, F.E.D. (Forcible Entry & Detainer) Cases Filed: Cases Terminated: OTHER CIVIL Cases Filed: 1,223 1,534 1,694 1,528 1,445 Cases Terminated: 1,380 1,759 1,573 1,366 1,394 SMALL CLAIMS Cases Filed: Cases Terminated: TOTAL FILED: 14,326 16,504 18,012 17,393 16,730 TOTAL TERMINATED: 14,281 17,275 17,482 16,713 16,350 8

9 CASE LOAD COMPARISON BY ARRESTING AGENCIES TOTAL TRAFFIC AND CRIMINAL CASES FILED Agency Brunswick Hills Twp ,065 1,406 1,367 1,195 Brunswick City Chippewa Lake Division of Wildlife Hinckley Twp Lafayette Twp Litchfield Twp Liverpool Twp Medina City Bldg. Dept Medina County Parks Medina Co. Drug Task Force Medina Dog Warden Medina City Police 2,027 2,893 3,341 3,438 3,320 Medina City Fire Dept Medina City Water Dept Medina City Zoning Medina Sanitation Dept Medina Township Police Medway Enforcement Group Metro Parks Montville Township Police , North Royalton Ohio Bureau Workers' Comp Ohio Investigative Unit Dept. of Agriculture Ohio Dept. Liquor Control Ohio State Patrol 3,070 3,444 4,069 3,976 4,588 Private Citizens Sheriff Dept S.P.C.A Spencer Village State of Ohio Strongsville Zoning Violations Chippewa Lake - Zoning EPA Chippewa Village Constable Lodi Medina Township - Zoning Ohio Dept of Tranportation Total 10,240 11,757 12,984 13,146 13,001 Reactivated Cases Total 10,607 12,296 13,661 13,790 13,560 9

10 CASE LOAD COMPARISON BY ARRESTING AGENCIES DRIVING UNDER THE INFLUENCE OF ALCOHOL CASES Agency Brunswick Hills Twp Brunswick City Chippewa Lake Hinckley Twp Lafayette Twp Liverpool Twp Medina City Medina County Parks Medina Twp Metro Parks Montville Twp North Royalton Ohio State Patrol Sheriff Dept Spencer Village Total Reactivated Cases Total CASE LOAD COMPARISON BY ARRESTING AGENCIES TOTAL OTHER TRAFFIC CASES Agency Brunswick Hills Twp ,294 1,256 1,055 Brunswick City Chippewa Lake Division of Wildlife Hinckley Twp Lafayette Twp Litchfield Twp Liverpool Twp Medina City 1,263 1,993 2,330 2,486 2,451 Medina County Parks Medina Twp Metro Parks Montville Twp North Royalton Ohio State Patrol 2,829 3,207 3,812 3,645 4,113 Sheriff Dept Spencer Village State of Ohio Strongsville Total 7,927 9,259 10,522 10,495 10,323 Reactivated Cases Total 8,193 9,678 10,958 10,912 10,696 10

11 CLERK OF COURT NANCY L. ABBOTT The following is a Statement of Receipts and Disbursements of the Medina Municipal Court for the period January 1, 2010 through December 31, BOND ACCOUNT Cash Receipts: Balance as of January 1, , Total receipts for , Disbursements: Total disbursements for , Adjustments 7, Balance as of December 31, , CIVIL / LANDLORD-TENANT / TRUSTEE DIVISION Cash Receipts: Balance as of January 1, , Cash Receipts 1,895, Adjustments Disbursements: Court Costs 311, Bailiff Fees 7, Computer Legal Service Fee 10, Computer Capital Improvement Fund 36, Court Administrative Fee Bank Processing Fee 7, Special Projects Fund 72, Paid Judgments & Adjustments 1,331, Returned Security for Costs 55, Medina Sheriff Fees 0.00 State Fees 88, Foreign Sheriff Fees Miscellaneous Total Civil Disbursement to Medina City 447, Total Other Civil Disbursements 1,477, Balance as of December 31, , CRIMINAL/TRAFFIC ACCOUNT Cash Receipts: Balance as of January 1, Total CR/TR Receipts for ,340, Bank Interest (Sweep Account) 0.00 Total Receipts ,340,

12 City Disbursements: City of Medina Finance Director City Police Fines 92, State Highway Patrol Fines 76, Building Code Fines 0.00 Zoning Fines Medina Street Maintenance 1, Reimbursed Jury & Witness Fees 1, Expungement Fees 0.00 Court Costs 491, Court Reporter Costs 36, Indigent Drivers Alcohol Treatment Act 14, Computer Legal Service Fund 27, Medina City DUI Enforcement Act 2, Medina City Drug Enforcement Act 2, Probation Service Fund 135, Computer Capital Improvement Fund 92, Special Projects Fund 214, Bank Processing Fee 18, Indigent Interlock Fund 20, Total Criminal Disbursements to Medina City 1,228, County Disbursements: Treasurer - County of Medina Brunswick City Fines: Sections 12, All Other Sections 5, Aud. Cir , Medina City Police Fines - State Code: Sections 18, All Other Sections 23, Aud. Cir , % Ohio State Patrol Fines Sections 17, All Other Sections Aud. Cir , Brunswick Hills Police Fines: Sections 33, All Other Sections 6, Aud. Cir , Chatham Township Police Fines: Sections 0.00 All Other Sections Aud. Cir Cleveland Metro Parks Sections All Other Sections 0.00 Aud. Cir Hinckley Police Fines: Sections 72, All Other Sections 4, Aud. Cir ,

13 Lafayette Police & Constable Fines: Sections 3, All Other Sections Aud. Cir , Litchfield Police & Constable Fines: Sections 1, All Other Sections Aud. Cir Liverpool Township & Constable Fines: Sections All Other Sections 0.00 Aud. Cir Medina County Park Fines Sections All Other Sections 0.00 Aud. Cir Medina Township Fines: Sections 40, All Other Sections 9, Aud. Cir , Montville Township Fines: Sections 53, All Other Sections 12, Aud. Cir , Spencer Village Fines: Sections 2, All Other Sections 1, Aud. Cir Chippewa Lake Fines: Sections 0.00 All Other Sections Aud. Cir Expungements: 1, Indigent Application Fee: 17, Medina County Dog Warden Fines: Highway Maintenance Fund: 2, Jury & Witness Fees: 1, Medina County Park Fines: Medina County Liquor Fines: Medina County Sheriff Fines 58, STATE DISBURSEMENTS: Treasurer, State of Ohio: OSP Fines 95, Victimes of Crime 72, General Fund 0.00 Expungements 1, Seat Belt Fines 27, Liquor Fines Justice Program Service Fund 0.00 Child Safety Act Drug Law Enforcement Fund 25, Indigent Driver Interlock Fund Indigent Defense Support Fund 243, Indigent Driver Alcohol Treatmen 10, Total State Distributions 478,

14 MISC. DISTSRIBUTIONS: Neil Hassinger, Medina County Sheriff - Fees: 9, Medina County Auditor - Sheriff DUI Enforcement: Medina County DUI Jail Costs: 29, Brunswick City Clerk - Fines & Costs: 39, Brunswick City Clerk - DUI Enforcement: 2, Cleveland Metro Parks - Fines: 2, Cleveland Metro Parks - DUI Enforcement: 0.00 Lafayette Police Fees: 5.00 Lafayette DUI Enforcement: Spencer Village Fines: 18, Spencer Village DUI Enforcement: Hinckley Police Fees: 3, Hinckley DUI Enforcement: Hinckley Resolution Fines 0.00 Brunswick Hills Police Fees: 4, Brunswick Hills DUI Enforcement: Montville Twp. Police Fees: 4, Montville Twp. DUI Enforcement: 1, Montville Twp. Resolutions Fines: Medina Twp. Police Fees: 3, Medina Twp. DUI Enforcement: Medina Twp. Resolution Fines: 0.00 North Royalton DUI Enforcement: Chippewa Lake Village Fines: Ohio State Patrol DUI Enforcement: 3, Ohio State Patrol Drug Enforcement: 0.00 Medina County Treasurer - Law Library: 7, Ohio Department of Natural Resources: 2, Ohio Board of Pharmacy: 15, Ohio Public Safety Fees: 0.00 Capital Recovery Collections 11, SPCA Fines: 1, Ashland County Sheriff: 0.00 Cuyahoga County Sheriff: Erie County Sheriff: 0.00 Fairfield County Sheriff: 0.00 Franklin County Sheriff: 0.00 Lorain County Sheriff: Stark County Sheriff: 0.00 Summit County Sheriff: Wayne County Sheriff: Misc. Medina County Sheriff Fees: TOTAL CRIMINAL & TRAFFIC DISBURSEMENTS: $2,340,

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18 Respectfully submitted: MEDINA MUNICIPAL COURT MARCH 31, 2011 DALE H. CHASE, JUDGE NANCY L. ABBOTT, CLERK 18