Judge Juanita Rice's Response To 7NEWS Investigation
Nov. 7, 2002
Good Afternoon, Mr. Koveleski, I find it very disappointing that you are compelled to draw erroneous conclusions about the Judicial Conference. Over the years, I have attended a dozen or more of these conferences. Although all judges are required to attend the conference, they are not required to attend a certain number of classes. Each judge attends sessions that are valuable to their specific docket assignment and to meet the three-year CLE requirement. The reality is that the courtrooms in which we as judges are working, are extremely high stress, fast-paced, and are physically and emotionally demanding environments in which every item that crosses our path has the potential to change the life of an individual or entire family into perpetuity. I work in the domestic division where my 9- to 12-hour days are consumed with shaping the lives of children and parents who are involved in hotly contested disputes such as dissolutions, legal separations, allocation of parental responsibility, legal separations and child support. It is no secret that our courts are understaffed. Since December 2001 I personally have either been down one or two support staff. Since July 1 my division clerk and I have been balancing the business of my court with a constant routine of answering phone inquiries, scheduling and hearing cases, entering data, and compensating for not having a court reporter or support person in the courtroom to record proceedings. In the fall, winter, and spring seasons, I generally work Saturdays. I also work part of most paid state court holidays and I work at least two nights a week late in the evening. My docket starts with parties and counsel at 7 or 7:30 A.M. Monday through Friday. Feel free to come and examine my docket schedule any given day. Also, check with my chief judge, if you like, as to the hours I keep on a weekly basis. I care about the outcome and customer service delivery in my cases. I love my job and despite the presently challenging work conditions in my division, I am delighted to serve the public every day. You seem concerned that I pre-registered for one class on Tuesday afternoon of the conference, but then failed to attend that class. I chose to attend an earlier class which was more valuable to me, for which I had not pre-registered, and instead utilized the hotel's spa facility when the later class was scheduled. You seem to think the conference activities were on an 8 to 5 schedule. This is not the case. There were scheduled activities starting very early in the morning and going into the evening hours. In addition to attending the conference, I was asked to present early on Monday morning to more than 120 judicial officers on the topic of Restraining Orders in Domestic Relations Cases. I spent many hours of my personal time preparing for the presentation to my colleagues at Judicial Conference so that I could share my experience and expertise. I did not request the CLE time I was entitled to for all of that preparation for the presentation. You have implied that I played hooky on taxpayer funds during Tuesday afternoon. I took 90 minutes out of my total time at the conference and paid for my spa use personally. For your infoffilation, the class I attended at 1:30 on Tuesday was called the Impact of Trauma and spoke to the fact that judicial officers need to take care of themselves as we experience secondary trauma every day on the bench. You have asked if I felt I wasted taxpayer money. No, Mr. Koveleski I believe the taxpayers are getting more than their money's worth every day of the week in our courts and my division. Sincerely,
Judge Juanita Rice
Good Afternoon, Mr. Koveleski, I find it very disappointing that you are compelled to draw erroneous conclusions about the Judicial Conference. Over the years, I have attended a dozen or more of these conferences. Although all judges are required to attend the conference, they are not required to attend a certain number of classes. Each judge attends sessions that are valuable to their specific docket assignment and to meet the three-year CLE requirement. The reality is that the courtrooms in which we as judges are working, are extremely high stress, fast-paced, and are physically and emotionally demanding environments in which every item that crosses our path has the potential to change the life of an individual or entire family into perpetuity. I work in the domestic division where my 9- to 12-hour days are consumed with shaping the lives of children and parents who are involved in hotly contested disputes such as dissolutions, legal separations, allocation of parental responsibility, legal separations and child support. It is no secret that our courts are understaffed. Since December 2001 I personally have either been down one or two support staff. Since July 1 my division clerk and I have been balancing the business of my court with a constant routine of answering phone inquiries, scheduling and hearing cases, entering data, and compensating for not having a court reporter or support person in the courtroom to record proceedings. In the fall, winter, and spring seasons, I generally work Saturdays. I also work part of most paid state court holidays and I work at least two nights a week late in the evening. My docket starts with parties and counsel at 7 or 7:30 A.M. Monday through Friday. Feel free to come and examine my docket schedule any given day. Also, check with my chief judge, if you like, as to the hours I keep on a weekly basis. I care about the outcome and customer service delivery in my cases. I love my job and despite the presently challenging work conditions in my division, I am delighted to serve the public every day. You seem concerned that I pre-registered for one class on Tuesday afternoon of the conference, but then failed to attend that class. I chose to attend an earlier class which was more valuable to me, for which I had not pre-registered, and instead utilized the hotel's spa facility when the later class was scheduled. You seem to think the conference activities were on an 8 to 5 schedule. This is not the case. There were scheduled activities starting very early in the morning and going into the evening hours. In addition to attending the conference, I was asked to present early on Monday morning to more than 120 judicial officers on the topic of Restraining Orders in Domestic Relations Cases. I spent many hours of my personal time preparing for the presentation to my colleagues at Judicial Conference so that I could share my experience and expertise. I did not request the CLE time I was entitled to for all of that preparation for the presentation. You have implied that I played hooky on taxpayer funds during Tuesday afternoon. I took 90 minutes out of my total time at the conference and paid for my spa use personally. For your infoffilation, the class I attended at 1:30 on Tuesday was called the Impact of Trauma and spoke to the fact that judicial officers need to take care of themselves as we experience secondary trauma every day on the bench. You have asked if I felt I wasted taxpayer money. No, Mr. Koveleski I believe the taxpayers are getting more than their money's worth every day of the week in our courts and my division. Sincerely,
Judge Juanita Rice
