Technology issue causes massive case backlog for court
By Lauren Trager
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ST. LOUIS (KMOV) — The St. Louis County Municipal Court system is working through a backlog of nearly 100,000 cases, dating back to the early 2000’s, according to the court director.
Courtney Whiteside spoke before a County Council Committee Wednesday, indicating they were dealing with a technological problem migrating the old cases onto a new system. Municipal court cases are most often traffic tickets, but could include other misdemeanor or ordinance violations, including, DWI, drug, stealing or domestic assault charges.
Whiteside said, per state requirement, the county fully transferred to a system called Show Me Courts in January. Previously, they used a system called Incode. The contract for that system ended Tuesday.
But she said there is currently no mechanism to electronically transfer the backlog of cases into the new system. So far, only 3,000 cases have been entered manually. Additional funding may be required, Whiteside said, to migrate the cases over to the new system.
“We are talking some very serious charges that are just sitting there,” said Councilmember Tim Fitch.
Council members peppered Whiteside with questions Wednesday, concerned that the backlog puts the courts at least eight to nine years behind. The problems significantly pre-date the pandemic, but Whiteside said there are currently 10,000-15,000 tickets which have not even been filed with the courts since the start of the pandemic, due to the technology issues they are facing.
Councilmember Shalonda Webb said she had concerns that people could have 20-year-old warrants in their name. Whiteside agreed. “Orders have not been signed, but I am working on things that will remedy that,” Whiteside said. That includes, she says, a possible amnesty problem, weighing the nature of the violations, the impact on the defendant or any victims, and the best interest of justice.
Whiteside said some 30,000 cases have already been dismissed. She says under a proposed plan, they would review cases that were issued before 2018 and make wholescale decisions about dismissing them.
“More minor cases, I would just get rid of them,” she said. But cases including domestic assault would not be dismissed and drug cases will be reviewed individually.
Whiteside took responsibility for the backlog, though she has only been in the position since 2019. The issue, she said, is of poor case management, including allowing too many continuances and not stringent enough consequences for defendants not showing up to court. She acknowledged some defense attorneys know how to game the system.
“The court system is culpable for letting our backlog go on so long,” she said.
The county is not alone in its requirement to migrate systems or it’s backlog. The St. Louis Municipal Courts are also required to make the change. We are told the city currently have a backlog of about 175,000 cases.
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