Miscellaneous

Saved by the Bill

By Anne Skove, Esq.

Rural Iowans will not have to travel far to find a magistrate after all. See Rural Justice, court-o-rama (April 26, 2009).

Part of the problem here (and, we suspect, in many places) is blind reliance on consultants. Consults consult. They might recommend, but they do not dictate.

Here, the National Center for State Courts (of which we have fond consulting memories) provided the state court administrator with a formula for gauging workload. Some argued that the scheme did not conform to Iowa law.

The legal question was never answered. Rather, the state legislature stepped in. An amendment to the appropriations bill provides that where the state court administrator fails to give notice (as already required -- goes the argument -- by state law), any reapportionment (such as the one just attempted) is void.

When dealing with consultants, realize and remember that they only serve in an advisory capacity. They do not make decisions. Any decisions based on consultant information or reports should be vetted thoroughly. We've been wanting to blog about this topic for some time now, and this situation provides a good illustration. Accountability is a difficult and increasingly rare thing.

See Bill Headed to Governor Delays Magistrate Reapportionment, Butch Heman, Daily Times Herald (April 29, 2009).

Full post as published by court-o-rama.org on April 29, 2009 (boomark / email).