LOCAL CIRCUIT CITED FOR TIMELINESS

• It was the second consecutive year the 32nd Judicial Circuit was honored.

By Tony Hall

Justice comes a bit swifter in the 32nd Judicial Circuit than in other parts of the state, and now the courts have an award to prove it.

Everyone who works in the circuit's courts in Bollinger, Perry and Cape Girardeau counties can take credit for the circuit's second award recognizing its quickness, said William Syler, presiding circuit judge.

Only the 32nd and the 14th Judicial Circuit, which includes Howard and Randolph counties, met timeliness guidelines set by the State Court Administrator's office.

To qualify for the Daniel J. O'Toole award, named for the former St. Louis judge who led the first committee on time standards, a circuit must achieve five of 10 timeliness goals and be within 5 percent of fulfilling all others.

Last year, when the award was first presented, the 32nd and 14th circuits were also the only winners.

That only two of 45 state circuit courts met standards for timeliness isn't a sign of failure, Syler said. "These are ideals instead of objectives," he said. "No one meets all of the goals."

Dick Steele, who has practiced law in the area for 30 years, said the award isn't a surprise to anyone who works regularly in the 32nd. "It shows what lawyers here have known all along," he said.

In other circuits, judges are not as available and court clerks are not as efficient, Steele said. Judges work harder here as well, which he said is a necessity with the dramatic increase in court cases that has occurred since he became an attorney.

The work ethic extends to juries, too, Cape Girardeau lawyer Al Lowes said. In almost every trial where jurors are asked by a judge if they would rather go home and return the next day or stay late to finish, they choose to stay late, Lowes said.

The judges, especially Syler, deserve the award, said Lowes.

But the increased emphasis on timeliness is not entirely beneficial because it has added bureaucracy, he said. Lawyers have been asked to keep track of more court records, which Lowes said increases the cost of litigation.

Lowes has noticed the time pressure on judges. If nothing has been done with a case within 60 days or so, Syler will call, Lowes said.

"Bill (Syler) is always bugging everybody about this or that," Lowes said. "But it's because those people in Jefferson City are putting pressure on him."

Instead of trying to ratchet up the speed of justice, Lowes thinks the Court Administrator's office should leave well enough alone.

People get sick, go to funerals and have other circumstances in their lives that slow down the courts, he said. "They have to understand lawyers are human, too," Lowes said.