"The wheels of justice grind slowly, but they grind exceedingly fine."
- Modern variant of a quote attributed to the Greek philosopher Sextus Empiricus
The wheels of justice in Cole County's 19th Judicial Circuit are turning at an efficient pace.
To recognize the circuit's operations, the O'Toole Award recently was presented to the Cole County judiciary for efficiently managing and processing cases during fiscal year 2014.
The award was presented to Cole County Presiding Circuit Judge Pat Joyce by Missouri Supreme Court Chief Justice Mary R. Russell.
"This award, now in its 17th year, reflects the continuing commitment of the Missouri judiciary to processing cases in a timely manner," Russell said. "We are proud to continue Judge Daniel O'Toole's legacy of promoting efficiency in the operation of the courts, and we thank those circuits that reach this benchmark of service to the public."
Among the state's 45 judicial circuits, Cole County's was one of 10 honored for its 2014 operations. In addition, this marks the 12th time the circuit has received the award.
"This recognition was especially important during the year that the court records were automated," Joyce said. "The court appreciates all of the hard work of the circuit clerk as well as the Cole County Bar in achieving this honor."
The award is named for the late judge who served as the first chairman of a committee to establish time standards for processing cases. The standards became effective in 1997 and serve as guidelines for the time various kinds of cases should take to handle. For example, half of civil cases should be disposed within 12 months, and 90 percent of civil cases should be disposed within 18 months.
The standards, however, do not equate efficiency with haste. The guidelines recognize some cases are more complex and require more time. They are designed as tools to achieve the overall goals of efficiency, productivity and quality of justice rather than as absolute requirements.
To qualify for the award, a circuit must achieve at least five of the 10 case-processing time standards and must not be more than 5 percent from achieving the remaining standards. The 19th circuit met five of the 10 standards and was within 2 percent or less of another four standards.
We congratulate the judges and administrators of the 19th Judicial Circuit for achieving this honor and we commend them for their efficient service to the people.