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Kane judge candidates want user-friendly system

Two candidates for Kane County circuit judge say they would advocate to make the judicial system more user-friendly but they have different views on how to go about it.

Republican David Akemann said an electronic filing system could help some non-felony cases be resolved more quickly and reduce the frequency of court appearances for attorneys and the general public.

Democrat John Dalton, meanwhile, said the judiciary could make a greater effort to manage its caseload though “strict continuance policies and more efficient trial-management techniques.

Both Akemann and Dalton are seeking a circuit position once held by former chief judge and appellate justice Peter Grometer. Whoever is elected Nov. 2 will not have the authority alone to implement systemic changes, but would have a voice among more than a dozen judges who report to Chief Judge F. Keith Brown.

Dalton, a veteran trial attorney, said Kane County's criminal caseload, which stood at 5,101 as of Friday, is a “complex problem that has been exacerbated by dwindling financial resources.

Without additional funds for prosecutors, public defenders and support staff, he said, judges must use more scrutiny when it comes to preparing cases for trial or resolving them early.

That could be done, Dalton said, in part by ordering individual case schedules, limiting opening and closing statements, and holding trials on consecutive days rather than splitting them up over several weeks or months.

“A number of reports have been written for other court systems that experienced this problem, and we could learn a lot from them without reinventing the wheel," he said. “Every major metropolitan area has dealt with these issues.

Akemann, a former Kane County state's attorney, said an electronic filing system where attorneys and defendants can access case materials and file appearances in some instances could play a key role in alleviating some of the burden.

In addition, he said, giving judges instant access to language interpreters over the phone and staggering court calls to deal with fewer cases at a time, could free up both judges and attorneys to get more done.

Beyond that, Akemann said, efficiency comes down to “the artistry, if you will, of an experienced jurist."

“How you do better is you keep track of a case and you monitor it closely," he said. “You get the parties together and sometimes you have to urge them along. It takes something more than just someone with a robe on it takes someone who knows the system."

Court Administrator Doug Naughton said Kane County's criminal caseload once stood at between 7,000 and 8,000 cases. But that number has diminished in recent years, he said, due to the success of programs such as drug court, mental health court and arraignment court, where the focus is on resolving cases before they get to trial.

Also expected to help is the arrival of three new circuit judges and possibly an associate judge later this year.

“We are probably lower now than we were 2½, three years ago," Naughton said, adding the caseload is comparable to those of similar sized counties such as Winnebago and Will. “We're real close."

John Dalton