Supreme Court Adopts New Circuit Court Civil Rules

About a year ago, the Supreme Court and the Board of Judicial Policy and Administration initiated an effort to address the increasing cost and delay involved in civil litigation in Wyoming’s courts. It began with a survey of the bench and bar attitudes about those problems and how they may be addressed. Not surprisingly, the results of that survey confirmed that both lawyers and judges believed that civil litigation took too long and costs too much. At last year’s bar convention, a panel discussion addressed the issues in general and one of the most obvious solutions that emerged was to increase the jurisdiction of the circuit courts to help relieve the increasing demands on the district courts and better utilize the circuit courts.  The underlying assumption was that cases could move more quickly and efficiently in circuit courts.  The first step was the passage of legislation to authorize the increase in jurisdiction to $50,000. During that process, the legislature made it clear that it expected the rules of procedure applicable in circuit court would be reviewed and revised, if necessary, to encourage expeditious handling of cases in circuit court.  The circuit court judges undertook that effort with the assistance of the Institute for the Advancement of the American Legal System with the goal of providing discovery proportional to the size of the case, greater pre-trial case management, and prompt trial settings. The draft prepared by the circuit court judges was then reviewed and commented upon by the Wyoming Bar Association’s Permanent Civil Rules Advisory Committee. Ultimately, the rules were approved by the Board of Judicial Policy and Administration and the Supreme Court. These rules will become effective July 1, 2011 to coincide with the effective date of the legislation increasing circuit court jurisdiction.  Congratulations are in order to all who assisted in the effort.

The Rules can be found on our website at:

http://www.courts.state.wy.us/CourtRules/CourtRulesOrders.aspx

Wyoming Supreme Court Announces New E-Pay System

The Wyoming Supreme Court announced today that a new electronic payment (e-pay) system for citations is available online at epay.courts.state.wy.us.  The new system was developed entirely in-house by the Supreme Court information technology staff and is available for payment of citations in all twenty-nine circuit courts. 

The e-pay system was first installed in Cheyenne in January and then subsequently rolled out across the entire state.  To date, over $325,000 has been collected over the e-pay system, and on one particular weekend when the courts were closed, almost $4,000 was collected. 

Designed to be convenient for the user, the e-pay system also reduces the amount of time clerks are spending taking credit card transactions over the phone.  Citation payments can now be made over a secure website from any location using the Internet, twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week.  “The new electronic payment system is quite sophisticated,” stated Chief Justice Kite.  “International payments are accepted and currency conversions are handled automatically. We are very proud of our staff for developing a system that increases the efficiency of our branch of government, while at the same time provides a tremendous service to the individuals who use the system.  We appreciate the legislative support in adopting a statute that facilitated the implementation of this system,” she added.

Fifth Graders Visit the Wyoming Supreme Court

For the past three Tuesdays, Justice William U. Hill met with over thirty classes of fifth graders here in Cheyenne.  The combined three days of program involved about 650 kids who were hosted by the Wyoming Supreme Court and the Legislative Services Office.  Students learned about the Judicial Branch and were given the opportunity to ask Justice Hill questions.  “Folks might be very surprised at the many excellent legal questions that occur to fifth graders,” Hill said.  Justice Hill explained the difference between trial courts and appellate courts, as well as discussing how the Judicial Branch operates.  Students were surprised to learn that the Wyoming Supreme Court does not hire judges and some students expressed interest in the law.  The program is designed to give kids a real look at the Wyoming court system and dispel ideas that they learn from watching court proceedings on television.

Wyoming Supreme Court Goes on the Road

The Wyoming Supreme Court left Cheyenne and held oral argument at the Pinedale High School on April 27^th, and the Jackson Hole High School on April 28^th.  We  acknowledge and thank Judge Tyler, Rachel Ryckman,  and the members of the Sublette County bar, and Judges Radda and Day and members of the Teton County bar, who went into the schools and spent time with the students preparing them for the arguments prior to the court’s visit.  The students were very attentive and had some great questions for the court after the cases were heard.   We believe this type of participation from the bar helped make this one of the most successful and worthwhile trips the court has ever taken. The court would also like to thank Tina Olson, Appellate Counsel at the Public Defender’s Office, Terry Armitage, Deputy Attorney General, Leda Pojman, Senior Assistant Attorney General, and Stewart Young, Director of the Prosecution Assistance Clinic at the University of Wyoming College of Law and Special Assistant Attorney General, for agreeing to accompany the court and make their arguments in Pinedale and in Jackson.  The Justices also enjoyed a luncheon in their honor at the County Library in Pinedale, a reception hosted by the Wyoming State Bar and the Teton County Bar at the National Museum of Wildlife Art, and a luncheon sponsored by Rotary and the Jackson Hole Chamber of Commerce in Jackson.