Attorney O's Midnight Musings: Connecticut Law » Connecticut Judicial Branch

Connecticut Judicial Branch Announces that Remote Access is Now Available for Civil Court Orders & Notices

Irene C. Olszewski, Esq. — Thu, 29 Dec 2011 22:30:47 +0000

The Connecticut Judicial Branch recently announced that it is making all disclosable documents relating to court orders and notices in civil cases remotely accessible to the public through the Judicial Branch’s website.

Individual case summaries are available through the Civil/Family Case Lookup section of the website here. Cases that will not be accessible remotely include sealed cases, cases containing sealed documents and cases that are not posted electronically because of the Violence Against Women Act of 2005.

The availability of complaints, summonses and other documents in civil cases is expected during 2012, once the Judicial Branch has verified that personally identifiable information, such as Social Security numbers, is redacted from the original documents that are e-filed with the courts.

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Closing Courts, Law Libraries and Other Judicial Services: The Impact of the Connecticut Budget Cuts

Irene C. Olszewski, Esq. — Thu, 21 Jul 2011 02:08:02 +0000

In a report dated July 15, 2011, Chief Court Administrator Judge Barbara Quinn outlined the cuts to the Judicial Branch’s budget. They are devastating. Appendix E of the report summarizes the courthouse, law library and other closings required to meet the budget cuts:

Danbury Juvenile Matters courthouse
• The 71 Main Street facility, which presently houses juvenile court and support enforcement offices, will close.
• Danbury juvenile court matters will be moved to Stamford juvenile court and Waterbury juvenile court.

Enfield GA 13
• The Enfield GA 13 will close.
• Move all Enfield GA 13 matters to Manchester GA 12 and Hartford GA 14.
• COLP and the Records Center will remain in the facility.

Juvenile Probation Offices
• The Danbury Juvenile Probation Office will close, as the office is located in the Danbury Juvenile Matters courthouse, which is closing.
• The Rockville Juvenile Probation Office will close, as the office is located in the Rockville Juvenile Matters courthouse, which is closing.
• The Torrington Juvenile Probation Office will close, as the office is located in the Torrington Juvenile Matters courthouse, which is closing.

Law Library Closings
• The law library located in the Danbury Judicial District courthouse will close.
• The law library located in the Hartford Judicial District courthouse will close.
• The law library located in the Litchfield Judicial District courthouse will close.
• The law library located in the Putnam courthouse will close.
• The law library located in the Willimantic courthouse will close.
• The law library located in the Tolland Judicial District courthouse will close.
• Please note that last year, due to budgetary cuts, the Milford and Norwich law libraries were closed.

Middletown Support Enforcement office
• The Middletown Support Enforcement office located at 484 Main Street will close.
• Middlesex support enforcement office and docket will move to the New Britain Judicial District courthouse.

Middlesex Juvenile Matters courthouse
• The Middletown Juvenile Matters facility located at 230 Main Street Extension will close.
• Middletown juvenile court matters will be moved into the Middlesex Judicial District courthouse located at 1 Court Street.

New Haven Juvenile Detention Center
• The New Haven Juvenile Detention Center located at 239 Whalley Avenue will close.
• Detainees will be housed in either the Hartford Juvenile Detention Center or the Bridgeport Juvenile Detention Center.
• The New Haven Juvenile Matters courthouse will remain open.

Rockville Juvenile Matters courthouse
• The Rockville Juvenile Matters courthouse located at 25 School Street in Rockville will close.
• Rockville Juvenile Court matters will be moved to the Willimantic and Hartford courthouses for Juvenile Matters.

Torrington Juvenile Matters courthouse
• The Torrington Juvenile Matters courthouse located at 410 Winsted Road in Torrington will close.
• Torrington juvenile court matters will be moved to the Waterbury Juvenile Matters courthouse located at 7 Kendrick Avenue in Waterbury.

Read the entire report here.

My colleague, Ryan McKeen, posted Chief Justice Chase T. Rogers’ statement regarding the impact of the closings on A Connecticut Law Blog, here.

In a system that is already difficult enough to navigate, these closings will only serve to make matters worse.

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Leave Your Dogsled Home … the Courts are Closed!

Irene C. Olszewski, Esq. — Wed, 12 Jan 2011 18:52:27 +0000

It has been snowing for more than 12 hours as I begin to write this post. The meteorologists got this one right! The “up” side to this storm is that I will be able to spend the day in my jammies. The “down” side is that I can’t get to my office to catch up on the mountain of work I have sitting on my desk. Thus, my work for today will consist of posting to this blog.

Most people I’ve spoken to are also home today. The snowplows are out but they’re barely keeping up with the snow and drifts. I’ve been watching a few of my neighbors struggle with shovels. I say they heck with it. Let’s all just sit tight and wait for the Spring thaw!

The Connecticut Judicial Branch closed all courts in the State today due to the storm, so you can all leave the dogsleds at home. Although I didn’t have a case on the docket, I was relieved for my fellow colleagues who would otherwise have had to battle the gridlock on the city streets in order to appear for their cases. The Hartford Superior Court offers metered street parking – but there’s a parking ban in effect. It makes for an interesting day when the courts are open and a few thousand people are trying to find a place to park when there isn’t any street parking. Sure, there are some paid parking lots but they’re quite a walk. Not to mention that they’re full on a regular day when street parking is also available.

That brings me to the day’s ranting. It has long bothered me that so many court houses are built in cities rather than smaller towns. When a few thousand people are expected to show up in the same place at the same time, there has to be a place for all those cars to park. Metered street parking is a joke. In order to actually get one of those coveted spots, one has to arrive at the court house an hour before it opens. Even then, it’s a crap shoot. If you are lucky enough to find a street space, you have to buy a ticket for up to 2 hours of parking. That would be fine if it were actually realistic that you’re only going to be in court for 2 hours. Most people are there for the long haul. They spend the entire day running out to the meter to buy more time.

There’s the story of the lawyer who was arguing her case before the judge when she happened to look out the window and see a tow truck attaching a chain to her car! She asked to be excused and the judge, in his infinite wisdom, said no. She watched in horror are her car was towed away. After paying the parking fine, towing charges and taxi fare to the place they were holding her car hostage, she was out a couple of hundred bucks. It gets worse: she was in court on a pro bono matter – meaning she wasn’t getting paid!

I have personally been stuck going to court in Hartford more than once after huge storms have left mountains of snow on either side of the street. In the old days, before you purchased tickets for the parking spots, you had to put quarters into the meter located on the sidewalk next to your car. Basically, that meant that one was forced to climb through the huge snow bank in order to get to the darn meter. Suffice it to say that I don’t have boots that are high enough to protect me from that much snow. Worse, you never knew when the snow bank was going to cave in and thrust you into a pile of slush. It was not a pleasant experience.

Why don’t the nice people who build court houses build them in places that have enormous parking lots? Sure, some city courts do have parking lots but mostly, you’re on your own. Hey, if that’s not a viable option, how about scheduling shuttle buses every 15 minutes from large State-owned parking lots to the court houses? I know, that would cost too much and we don’t have any money in the budget for such logical line items. It’s far better to pay all of those people in all of those agencies to do all of those things nobody can figure out. But I digress.

In the end, there has to be a better way. As long as there are people, there will be a need for court houses. As long as there are court houses, there will be a need for parking. As long as there is a need for parking, the higher-ups will find a way to make a buck off the poor people who are already losing a day’s pay to hurry up and wait.

Oh well, there’s not much this lowly attorney can do to change the system – except to complain to you, my dear readers. To those of you stuck at home during this mighty storm, enjoy the day off. Pay the kid down the block to shovel your driveway and catch up on a good novel. To those of you stuck at work on this lovely day, I’m so gosh darn sorry!

No matter how this storm has altered your day, I offer you some professional advice:

When life gives you snow, make a snowman.

Jurors Beware: Failure to Report for Jury Duty will be Subject to a Penalty

Irene C. Olszewski, Esq. — Wed, 09 Jun 2010 01:49:47 +0000

You come home from a particularly grueling day at work only to find notice from the Connecticut Judicial Branch informing you that you’ve been summoned for jury duty. You’re thrilled, of course, because your desk at the office is piled high with work and the boss just told you at the morning meeting that he plans to put you in charge of the new company redevelopment project. That means plenty of over-time and a raise in pay. Now you might be able to buy that new car you’ve been eyeballing.

Re-reading the notice again, you discover that the date you are scheduled to show up at the courthouse to perform your civic duty coincides with that business trip to Arizona. The one you booked three weeks ago. The same trip during which the boss expects you to give the big presentation to the new management team.

This is most inconvenient. Whatever should you do?

You do have the right to request a postponement to another date within 10 months of the original date you were assigned. By all means, don’t skip out on jury duty. Under current law, failure to appear for jury duty is an infraction. However, effective October 1, 2010, if you fail to appear for jury duty, you will be subject to a civil penalty by a Superior Court judge.

Public Act No. 10-180 Sec. 3. reads:

Section 51-237 of the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective October 1, 2010): Each juror, duly chosen, drawn and summoned, who fails to appear shall be subject to a civil penalty, the amount of which shall be established by the judges of the Superior Court, but the court may excuse such juror from the payment thereof. If a sufficient number of the jurors summoned do not appear, or if for any cause there is not a sufficient number of jurors to make up the panel, the court may order such number of persons who qualify for jury service under section 51-217 to be summoned as may be necessary, as talesmen, and any talesman so summoned who makes default of appearance without sufficient cause shall be subject to a civil penalty, the amount of which shall be established by the judges of the Superior Court. The provisions of this section shall be enforced by the Attorney General within available appropriations.

If you’ve been summoned, you might want to review “YOUR GUIDE TO JURY DUTY: An obligation and an honor” which is published by the Connecticut Judicial Branch. The publication “Jury Service in Connecticut, What Every Juror Should Know” is available in Spanish and Polish.

If you are so inclined, I offer a brief History of Jury Duty (published on the United States District Court
Western Missouri website) for your review.

State Budget Cuts May Force Courthouse Closings

Irene C. Olszewski, Esq. — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 04:08:29 +0000

The Governor’s veto of one of the bills approved by the legislature will cut the Judicial Branch budget by $7.8 million over the next two years, which may force the closing of at least three courthouses in Connecticut.

Read “Budget Cuts Likely Will Force Courthouse Closings“ for more information.

[Source: Connecticut Law Tribune]

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