Case filings are shown in the chart on the right. The judicial referee continues to conduct juvenile and child support cases in all eleven counties.
Administratively, the district court continues working towards the implementation of more uniform practices throughout the district. Criminal judgments and notices are now generated in the courtroom in a majority of the counties. As a result, defendants receive the documents immediately.
The Unified Court Information System (UCIS) continues to serve as a valuable case management tool to all Northeast judicial district personnel for managing cases. Monthly reports to judges have improved docket currency. The district currently has eight counties connected to the UCIS program. The district clerks of court meet on a regular basis to improve uniformity and practices with a portion of the meetings dedicated to improving UCIS usage.
Recently, multi-county jury panels have been used in the rural counties.
Juvenile Court
The juvenile court operates out of three primary sites: Bottineau, Devils Lake, and Grafton.
Juvenile court officers continue to implement the Balanced and Restorative Justice model. This is implemented through accountability conferencing, Keys to Innervisions, tobacco and shoplifting awareness classes, intensive tracking and electronic monitoring. More emphasis is being placed on community prevention programs in an effort to avoid out of home placements.
Restitution and community service are major components of balanced and restorative justice. A total of $50,497.87 was collected in restitution and 12,444 hours of community service completed.
The lay guardian ad litem program is being used in the district. Recruiting and training is ongoing. Lay guardians ad litem have proven to be very helpful especially in abuse and neglect cases.
The juvenile court has implemented a new computer program called Juvenile Court Management System (JCMS). This program is used by the court to enter information on specific juvenile offenders, generate statistical reports, and monitor trends within the juvenile court system.
| Case Filings/ Dispositions | 1999 (F) (D) | 2000 (F) (D) | ||
| Civil Small Claims Admin Traffic Juvenile | 2,768 924 12,656 5,001 354 | 3,206 1,041 10,441 5,309 354 | 2,698 921 11,371 5,037 459 | 3,383 938 11,510 5,719 459 |