Talbot releases Restructuring Report
DETROIT (AP) - Detroit's once-troubled 36th District Court is returning to local management after a 16-month overhaul that cut millions in costs and brought many changes, from self-serve kiosks to pay fines to an end to free parking for judges.
The Michigan Supreme Court on Wednesday ended the assignment of special administrator Michael Talbot. Nancy Blount, already the chief judge of 36th District Court, now is in charge of running it.
Talbot was appointed in May 2013 after the National Center for State Courts found a culture of financial instability, bad customer service and inadequate use of technology. He is credited with reducing costs by nearly $6 million, partly through pay cuts, layoffs and insurance changes.
The court handles a variety of matters: traffic tickets, lawsuits up to $25,000, landlord-tenant disputes and initial hearings in major felonies. More than 1 million cases are handled each year.
"There were a lot of people who wanted to do a good job here but had little to no direction. So they made up their jobs," Blount said in a report summarizing improvements. "And they had no concept of how their jobs fit into the broader scheme of case processing until now."
The court's 31 judges must pay for parking and be on the bench by 9 a.m. so clerks can process files without having to work overtime, the report says.
Talbot turned in his keys at a news conference Thursday. He's also a judge on the Michigan appeals court.
Under the leadership of Talbot, dozens of reforms were implemented to improve service to the public and increase efficiency.
"A smoothly functioning judiciary is a critical layer of the foundation of a thriving city," said Blount. "The citizens of the city, the lawyers and other users of the court as well as our employees deserve a better court, and we are committed to continue our transformation."
"I commend Judge Talbot and Chief Judge Blount for driving change to improve service to the public," said Michigan Supreme Court Chief Justice, Robert P. Young, Jr. "Thanks are due to the entire team at the 36th District Court for their hard work and commitment to giving the people of Detroit an efficient, well-run court that treats everyone with dignity and respect."
"I'm proud of the results and of everyone who works in this courthouse," said Talbot. "They had to make a lot of sacrifices, yet they produced a turned-around court. That's heroic."
Key accomplishments highlighted in the report include:
- Reducing lines and improving service by, among other steps, opening more courtrooms;
- Permanently assigning judges to specific dockets, grouping courtrooms together by type, adding arraignments, expanding magistrate duties and installing monitors listing litigants and their assigned courtrooms;
- Improving fiscal accountability by balancing the budget, reforming the collection process, cutting costs, renegotiating union contracts and containing rising health care costs; and,
- Management reforms, including improved communication with judges and staff, recruiting new and experienced managers; and building bridges with community leaders to explain the reform process and enlist their support.
The Talbot report builds on the findings of a recent one-year review conducted by the National Center for State Courts that called the transformation of the 36th District Court "remarkable."
Published: Fri, Sep 19, 2014
––––––––––––––––––––
Subscribe to the Legal News!
https://test.legalnews.com/Home/Subscription
Full access to public notices, articles, columns, archives, statistics, calendar and more
Day Pass Only $4.95!
One-County $80/year
Three-County & Full Pass also available
