Judge candidates call for swift justice

In the race for Division III associate circuit judge, efficiency seems to be key.

Local lawyer Jeffrey Dix and incumbent Gary Kamp are vying for the position, with the winner to be selected by voters Tuesday.

Dix said the question of efficiency was among the factors that persuaded him to run for associate judge. He pointed to the hundreds of disqualifications against Kamp every year and said they "have basically turned Division III into a part-time job."

The disqualification requires a judge from Perry or Bollinger County to take over the case. Dix said the paperwork involved for this transition and the fact that the visiting judges only hold court one day each month slows down the process.

He also claims those disqualifications stem from a dislike of the way defendants are treated in court.

But Kamp said he's never had an ethical complaint filed accusing him of not treating parties fairly. Disqualifications happen to every judge, he said, and for a number of reasons.

"[Defendants] basically use it for two reasons," he said. "either to make an accommodation where they don't have to come to court as often and only have to see a visiting judge once a month, or they're concerned that if their client is adjudicated guilty that they may be more accountable with me than with somebody else."

He pointed out that the majority of the disqualifications were coming from defendants and "couldn't tell you the last time a prosecutor has disqualified me."

Other times, judges make the call to disqualify themselves. If there's a conflict or perceived conflict, Kamp said it's required.

"When you've lived in the county for all your life and you have as many relatives and friends in the county as I have, you see these people with regularity," he said. "So if I see one of my friends or relatives come in, I have to disqualify myself. ..."

Kamp, too, is focused on making Division III more efficient and said he's been working with other state and local officials on a pretrial release program for nonviolent offenders. The idea is to put the offenders on an electronic monitoring system and out of jail, back to their jobs, while their case is being processed.

"It will help with the overcrowding problems as well as keeping people working and keeping them productive," he said. "The bulk of the cost will be borne by the person who is being released. There might be some indigent people, where county may have to pick up the cost, but the cost of using the monitoring system and the probation service is far less than the daily cost of boarding a prisoner inside the jail."

But Dix has plenty ideas of his own to help the court become more efficient. For starters, he would like to go from one to two dockets each week, a move he said would give attorneys more options to set and reschedule cases.

"A lot of times, we as defense attorneys get hired the day before court," he said. "If we can't be there, we need at least two days a week where we can reschedule it and get the cases moving."

The Monday docket for the Division III associate judge coincides that of the circuit judge, meaning the county courthouse in Jackson is filled with inmates and their friends or families attending the proceedings, Dix said. If elected, he said he would like to discuss a new system where inmates would be brought to see circuit judges in the morning and associate circuit judges in the afternoon.

"It's a security risk," he said. "They haven't had anything happen that I know of yet, but just that many defendants with that many family members ... and you need that many deputies all at the same time, which cuts down on other things they could be doing."

Dix also has been in talks with officials from the veterans' hospital in Poplar Bluff, Missouri, about a veterans' misdemeanor court.

srinehart@semissourian.com

388-3641

Pertinent address:

Jackson, Mo.