What Judges Want By Jessica Virden Mallett
Jessica Virden Mallett graduated from the UALR Bowen School of Law in December 2010 with High Honors. Shortly after graduation, she started working at The Law Offices of Peter Miller, P.A., were she specializes in personal injury law. She is licensed to practice in state and federal court, and is a member of the American Association for Justice, Arkansas Trial Lawyers Association, the Arkansas Bar Association, and the Pulaski County Bar Association. All judges are different. That’s one thing I have learned in my two short years as an attorney. Unless you have been in front of a particular judge or talked to someone who has, you may be walking into a courtroom blind. Because I will never know from experience, I sat down with my father, Bart Virden, the newly elected district judge of Conway County, to find out what he wants and expects in his courtroom. Me: So, as a judge, what do you want? Judge Virden: (Laughing) my own bathroom. No, don’t write that down! Me: That was a broad question to start 8
YLS In brief
www.arkbar.com
with. You’re the district judge of Conway County. What makes up that district court system? Judge Virden: There are five divisional courts in the district, Morrilton, Plumerville, Oppelo, Menifee, and Conway County divisions. Conway County district judge is a part time position, and I hold court in the five different divisions all in the same week, one week a month. My first week as judge, I had 1,600 cases on the collective dockets. Me: What type of cases do you hear? Judge Virden: Misdemeanor criminal offenses, small claims, and some civil cases. The misdemeanor criminal offenses category may be a bit misleading because traffic offenses are lumped in there as well. Me: What is your typical caseload? Judge Virden: I believe it is somewhere between 11,000 and 12,000 cases a year. Me: Of that, how many are criminal and how many are civil? Judge Virden: Like I said, traffic gets lumped in with the criminal category. Probably about 98% of my caseload is traffic and criminal offenses. Me: How many of the people who appear before you are represented by counsel? Judge Virden: Probably less than 5%. Me: What is an average day like in your courtroom? Judge Virden: Typically, court will start at 8:00 a.m. Usually there’s about a 32-page plea and arraignment docket with about 360 cases on it. Then there is the trial docket in the afternoon, which typically may have over 150 cases on it. On an average day, less than 25 of those will actually be tried. Me: With so many cases, why are there so few represented by counsel? Judge Virden: Mostly because of the cost of hiring an attorney compared to the fine they are facing if convicted. Now, commercial vehicle operators will often have an at-
torney because keeping a moving violation off their record is more important than for most other people. Janna Virden (Mom): Without an attorney, can they get a fair day in court? Judge Virden: Well, pro se litigants are supposed to be held to the same standard as attorneys, but they really don’t know the rules of civil procedure or evidence. I generally give pro se litigants a little more leeway. A lot of times they just want to tell their story, so I let them. However, I will say, people who hire attorneys usually get a better result than those that don’t, even with speeding tickets. Me: For new attorneys coming into your courtroom, what do you expect from them? Judge Virden: I expect them to know what they’re doing. (Laughs). But really, they need to be prepared. If they think they want to do trial work, go to work for a firm that lets them go to court. If they want to learn trial by fire, they should go to work for the prosecuting attorney’s office or the public defender’s office. When I first came out of law school, I clerked for Justice David Newbern on the Arkansas Supreme Court. Then I went to work for a lawyer who was the prosecuting attorney in Conway County at the time. Back then; district court was called municipal court. He tossed me in the middle of a case, and I was scared to death. The next time when municipal Court was coming around, I spend hours to get ready for each case. After it was over, I submitted a bill to him for going to court. The first thing on the bill was for court preparation. I had pulled the docket, looked up all the charges, and figured out everything I needed to prove in each case. He looked at the bill and told me that we didn’t do that for municipal court. But you really should. When you come into court, you should know all the elements of a case you have to prove. I’m also pretty casual, but I try not to use