Unclogging The Courts Idaho Criminal Justice Workers Gather To Identify Problems, Solutions

From crowded jails to overwhelmed courthouses, Idaho’s justice system is swamped - and the situation is likely to get worse before it gets better.

That was the bleak news offered Tuesday by a panel of professionals in the system.

“If you take a snapshot of the state of Idaho, you get a picture of what America would like to be,” Kootenai County Prosecutor Bill Douglas said. But, “things are changing and things are changing fast.”

Corrections workers from across the state gathered in Post Falls for the annual Joint Congress of the Idaho Juvenile Justice Association and Idaho Correctional Association.

The four-day conference offers workshops on topics such as treatment of sex offenders and programs for juvenile offenders.

On Tuesday, the talk turned to the besieged system.

Idaho Supreme Court Justice Cathy Silak pointed out that Idaho courts are currently handling 33 percent more felony cases than they did four years ago.

In 1994, the Kootenai County prosecutor’s office filed 650 felony cases, Douglas said. He predicts that by the time 1995 is over, his office will have filed 900 to 1,000 felony cases - a 35 percent increase.

That growth accompanies a chronic lack of courtroom space to try the cases, Douglas said.

“Those problems are going to get worse before they get better,” he said. “It’s like trying to fit 100 pounds of sand into a 25 pound bag.”

Douglas and Silak blamed much of the problem on illegal drugs.

In 1991, 757 felony drug cases were prosecuted in Idaho, Silak said. That number is expected to increase to 1,844 in 1995, she said.

Although Tuesday’s panel brought bad news, speakers also offered solutions.

“We need to be much more intelligent about the way we deal with sex offenders in Idaho,” said Thomas Hearn, a social worker who treats sex offenders.

There are now 650 sex offenders on probation and parole in Idaho and another 500 or more in the prison system. Meanwhile, there is no in-patient treatment to prevent them from repeating their crimes, he said.

In order to prevent repeat offenders, he suggested:

Specialized treatment for all sex offenders in prison.

Exhibitionism be upgraded to a felony on the third offense.

A classification system for offenders who have been released, based on their risk to the community. Communities should be notified about high risk offenders.

Special licensing for therapists who treat sex offenders to make sure they provide quality treatment.

“We need to study the problem, change some laws and, like it or not, spend money on the problem,” Hearn said. “Failure to do so is going to cost us - in human costs and financial costs.”

In order to prevent kids from breaking the law early, speaker Frank Wilkey, a teacher and former police officer, suggested changing school curriculum to include lessons about Idaho’s laws.

“A lot of times we have kids making decisions and they’re uninformed when they make those decisions,” he said.

Douglas said the public needs to realize that it’s worth putting more money into the justice system.

Silak said the Supreme Court intends to ask the Legislature for additional judges to help deal with the justice system crush.

“We want to preserve what is an excellent criminal justice system,” she said. “We don’t want that court system to slide.”

, DataTimes ILLUSTRATION: Color Photo; Graphic: Idaho courts getting crowded