A regular Source feature, Undercurrents explores issues, ideas and events as they develop beneath the surface in the Virgin Islands community.
Tales of justice delayed are hardly uncommon throughout the United States, and in the Virgin Islands they abound: high-profile white collar cases that take more than two years just to get to trial, judgments that wait a year for a judge’s signature, mortgage foreclosures that languish for five or six years, lengthy will probates that tie up joint assets and force a surviving spouse into poverty.
Regardless of the cause for any single delay, or the level of its legitimacy, the cumulative result is a general undermining of public confidence in the legal system.
But starting June 1, the Superior Court will be operating under deadlines designed to change all that.
Presiding Judge Darryl Donohue issued an order in April establishing “time standards” for the disposition of cases in the Superior Court. It was not immediately published but was circulated to other judges and attorneys throughout the territory.
National time standard models established by the American Bar Association and the National Center for the State Courts served as the guide for developing standards in the territory’s court system.
Individualized standards apply to every type of case, as well as common motions and requests.
For instance, a mortgage foreclosure, or other civil case deemed a “basic, track one” case, should be resolved within 270 days of filing. A “standard, track two” civil action such as one for declaratory judgment, may take up to 540 days. A “complex, track three” civil case such as a class action suit or a wrongful discharge suit should be resolved within 730 days. And an “expedited” civil action, including a request for a Temporary Restraining Order, or a Small Claims action, should be cleared within 30 days.
Criminal case deadlines are tied to the seriousness of the crimes being adjudicated. For misdemeanor charges that could result in a sentence of up to six months, the disposition of the case should take no more than 120 days, or roughly four months. For relatively minor felony charges, with potential sentences of one to five years, the time standard for disposition is 180 days. For felonies meriting five to 20-year sentences, 270 days, and for the most serious felonies, 365 days, or one year.
As for Probate, “standard” cases may take up to 540 days, or roughly a year and a half. But an expedited case, including summary administration, settlement without administration, wills for safekeeping, ancillary probate matters and the registration of a foreign will, should be resolved in no more than 90 days.
There are even time standards for things like record searches (30 days,) requests for electronic transcripts (5 days,) and requests for paper transcripts (90 days.)
Ernest Morris, president of the V.I. Bar Association, applauded the presiding judge’s order. Morris is also with the legal counsel’s office at the Legislature.
“Right now cases can just linger on forever and it’s not fair to the people, it’s not fair to the attorneys, and actually it’s not fair to the Court,” Morris said. So the establishment of time standards “is something that we’re very happy to see …At the very least, it gives us a timeframe.”
He predicted that the deadlines will force the V.I. Justice Department to exercise “more prosecutorial discretion” in bringing criminal cases and that they will help clear the backlog of both criminal and civil cases.
But he warned that the court will not be able to function adequately if it isn’t properly funded – an argument Donohue has made in the past at budget hearings before the Legislature.
Dovetailing with the time standards, there is also a move to create a ”speedy trial law” in the Virgin Islands. Morris said Sen. Kenneth Gittens has a proposal in the works, and the bar is reviewing it. As currently drafted, it would deal only with criminal matters, not civil cases. Failure to meet deadlines would result in the dismissal of charges.
The order establishing time standards at the Superior Court does not include such an enforcement mechanism.
In explaining the rationale for establishing the time standards, Donohue wrote in his order, “The Superior Court, in an effort to address the challenges of delay in the administration of justice within the trial court, has embraced as its mission a commitment to improve the quality of justice and increase public confidence in the courts through the implementation of an efficient, uniform system of case management which will reduce backlog, promptly resolve disputes, and improve service to the people of the Virgin Islands.”
The deadline must apply to all cases and motions filed on or after June 1, and “may” apply to pending cases.
