1. Assembly Bill No. 51–Committee on Judiciary

CHAPTER........

AN ACT relating to the court system; requiring the district courts, justices’ courts and

municipal courts to submit certain statistical information to the court administrator;

requiring the court administrator to compile such information and submit an annual

report concerning the information to the director of the legislative counsel bureau;

and providing other matters properly relating thereto.

 

 

THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEVADA, REPRESENTED IN

SENATE AND ASSEMBLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

Section 1. NRS 1.360 is hereby amended to read as follows:

  1. 1.360 Under the direction of the supreme court, the court administrator
  1. shall:
  1. 1. Examine the administrative procedures employed in the offices of
  1. the judges, clerks, court reporters and employees of all courts of this state
  1. and make recommendations, through the chief justice, for the improvement
  1. of those procedures;
  1. 2. Examine the condition of the dockets of the courts and determine the
  1. need for assistance by any court;
  1. 3. Make recommendations to and carry out the directions of the chief
  1. justice relating to the assignment of district judges where district courts are
  1. in need of assistance;
  1. 4. Develop a uniform system for collecting and compiling statistics and
  1. other data regarding the operation of the state court system and transmit
  1. that information to the supreme court so that proper action may be taken in
  1. respect thereto;
  1. 5. Prepare and submit a budget of state appropriations necessary for
  1. the maintenance and operation of the state court system and make
  1. recommendations in respect thereto;
  1. 6. Develop procedures for accounting, internal auditing, procurement
  1. and disbursement for the state court system;
  1. 7. Collect statistical and other data and make reports relating to the
  1. expenditure of all public money for the maintenance and operation of the
  1. state court system and the offices connected therewith;
  1. 8. Compile statistics from the information required to be maintained by
  1. the clerks of the district courts pursuant to NRS 3.275 and make reports as
  1. to the cases filed in the district courts;
  1. 9. Formulate and submit to the supreme court recommendations of
  1. policies or proposed legislation for the improvement of the state court
  1. system; [and]
  1. 10. On or before January 1 of each year, submit to the director of the
  1. legislative counsel bureau a written report compiling the information
  1. submitted to the court administrator pursuant to sections 6, 9 and 10 of
  1. this act during the immediately preceding fiscal year; and
  2. 11. Attend to such other matters as may be assigned by the supreme
  1. court or prescribed by law.

Sec. 2. Chapter 3 of NRS is hereby amended by adding thereto the

provisions set forth as sections 3 to 6, inclusive, of this act.

Sec. 3. As used in this chapter, unless the context otherwise requires,

the words and terms defined in sections 4 and 5 of this act have the

meanings ascribed to them in those sections.

Sec. 4. "Chief judge" means a district judge who is chosen as the

chief judge of a judicial district pursuant to NRS 3.025.

Sec. 5. "Family court" means the division of the district court that is

established as a family court pursuant to NRS 3.0105.

  1. Sec. 6. In the time and manner prescribed by the supreme court, the
  1. chief judge of the judicial district or, if the district has no chief judge, a
  1. district judge designated by mutual consent of the district judges of that
  1. district, shall submit to the court administrator a report of the statistical
  1. information required pursuant to this section and such other statistical
  1. information as prescribed by the supreme court. The report must include,
  1. without limitation, statistical information concerning:
  1. 1. Those cases which are pending and undecided and the judge to
  1. whom each case has been assigned;
  1. 2. The type and number of cases each judge considered during the
  1. preceding month;
  1. 3. The number of cases submitted to each judge during the preceding
  1. month;
  1. 4. The number of cases decided by each judge during the preceding
  1. month; and

5. The number of full judicial days in which each judge appeared in

court or in chambers in performance of his duties during the preceding

month.

Sec. 7. NRS 3.0105 is hereby amended to read as follows:

  1. 3.0105 1. There is hereby established, in each judicial district that
  1. includes a county whose population is 100,000 or more, a family court as a
  1. division of the district court.
  1. 2. If the caseload of the family court so requires, the [presiding judge of
  1. the district, or the district judges by mutual consent in a district in which
  1. there is no presiding judge,] chief judge may assign one or more district
  1. judges of the judicial district to act temporarily as judges of the family
  1. court.
  1. 3. If for any reason a judge of the family court is unable to act, any
  1. other district judge of the judicial district may be assigned as provided in
  1. subsection 2 to act temporarily as judge of the family court.
  1. 4. A district judge assigned to the family court pursuant to subsection 2
  1. or 3 for a period of 90 or more days must attend the instruction required
  1. pursuant to subsection 1 of NRS 3.028. [Judges] District judges must not be
  1. assigned to the family court pursuant to subsections 2 and 3 on a rotating
  1. basis.
  2. Sec. 8. NRS 3.025 is hereby amended to read as follows:
  1. 3.025 1. [For the second and eighth judicial districts,] In each
  1. judicial district that includes a county whose population is 100,000 or
  1. more, the district judges of that judicial district shall [, on the first judicial
  1. day of each year,] choose from among [the judges of each district a] those
  1. district judges a chief judge who is to be the presiding judge of the judicial
  1. district.
  1. 2. The [presiding judge of the district] chief judge shall:
  1. (a) Assign cases to each judge in the judicial district;
  1. (b) Prescribe the hours of court; [and]
  1. (c) Adopt such other rules or regulations as are necessary for the orderly
  1. conduct of court business [.

3. On or before the 15th day of the month following, the presiding

judge of the district shall submit a written report to the clerk of the supreme

court each month, showing:

(a) Those cases which are pending and undecided and to which judge

the cases have been assigned;

(b) The type and number of cases each judge considered during the

preceding month;

(c) The number of cases submitted to each judge during the preceding

month;

(d) The number of cases decided by each judge during the preceding

month; and

(e) The number of full judicial days in which each judge appeared in

court or in chambers in performance of his duties during the preceding

month.] ; and

  1. (d) Perform all other duties of the chief judge or of a presiding judge
  1. that are set forth in this chapter and any other provision of NRS.

Sec. 9. Chapter 4 of NRS is hereby amended by adding thereto a new

section to read as follows:

  1. In the time and manner prescribed by the supreme court, the justice of
  1. the peace of a township or, if there is more than one justice of the peace
  1. of a township, a justice of the peace designated by mutual consent of the
  1. other justices of the peace of that township, shall submit to the court
  1. administrator a written report of the statistical information required
  1. pursuant to this section and such other statistical information as
  1. prescribed by the supreme court. The report must include, without
  1. limitation, statistical information concerning:
  1. 1. Those cases which are pending and undecided and the justice of
  1. the peace to whom each case has been assigned;
  1. 2. The type and number of cases each justice of the peace considered
  1. during the preceding month;
  1. 3. The number of cases submitted to each justice of the peace during
  1. the preceding month;
  1. 4. The number of cases decided by each justice of the peace during
  1. the preceding month; and
  2. 5. The number of full judicial days in which each justice of the peace
  1. appeared in court or in chambers in performance of his duties during the
  1. preceding month.

Sec. 10. Chapter 5 of NRS is hereby amended by adding thereto a new

section to read as follows:

  1. In the time and manner prescribed by the supreme court, the
  1. municipal judge of a city or, if there is more than one municipal judge
  1. for a city, a municipal judge designated by mutual consent of the other
  1. municipal judges of that city, shall submit to the court administrator a
  1. written report of the statistical information required pursuant to this
  1. section and such other statistical information as prescribed by the
  1. supreme court. The report must include, without limitation, statistical
  1. information concerning:
  1. 1. Those cases which are pending and undecided and the municipal
  1. judge to whom each case has been assigned;
  1. 2. The type and number of cases each municipal judge considered
  1. during the preceding month;
  1. 3. The number of cases submitted to each municipal judge during
  1. the preceding month;
  1. 4. The number of cases decided by each municipal judge during the
  1. preceding month; and

5. The number of full judicial days in which each municipal judge

appeared in court or in chambers in performance of his duties during the

preceding month.

Sec. 11. This act becomes effective on July 1, 1999.

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