# How could we streamline small claims court? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [August 2, 2009, 1:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-could-we-streamline-small-claims-court/505055 "2009-08-02T13:56:44Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 3\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![UncleNito](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/7cd45c/32.png) [@UncleNito](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UncleNito)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2009, 6:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-could-we-streamline-small-claims-court/505055/21 "2009-08-08T18:42:38Z")
> [@Oakminster](#): > > Doesn’t really work that way. Sometimes it takes more than a week to serve process on the Defendant. His time to respond doesn’t start until he is served. He may have a counterclaim, and if he does, the plaintiff needs time to respond to that, witnesses may have to be subpoena’d, the case may need to be removed to a higher court, etc. > > Also, at least in my state, our equivalent to small claims court only hears civil cases two days a week. The other three days are the misdemeanor criminal docket, preliminary hearings/setting bond on felony arrests, etc. In my jurisdiction, the small-claims complaint is just a form you fill out by hand, and the defendant does not respond until the initial hearing. The date is set when the Defendant is served. I filed in mid-July and my hearing is mid-August. I have no idea when the trial will be, though. I learned this after I blew an afternoon drafting a complaint. :smack: I definitely would NOT want to have a retired or unqualified judge in exchange for a quicker trial date. Even if I lose, I’d rather know that it was because I was wrong all along. ---
**Author:** ![mhendo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mhendo/32/3159_2.png) [@mhendo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mhendo)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2009, 7:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-could-we-streamline-small-claims-court/505055/22 "2009-08-08T19:15:21Z")
> [@the\_first\_supraliminal](#): > > Something’s wrong with a system where there is always a line, like the DMV. Why? Sure, in an ideal world you could just walk into a DMV, head to the counter, and have your issues dealt with immediately. But the people behind those counters have to be paid, and that money has to come from somewhere. If you want shorter lines (or no lines at all) at the DMV, you’re going to have to raise taxes and/or raise fees for things like drivers licenses, registration, etc., etc. People complain every time taxes and fees like this are increased, and yet those same people often also complain that there are lines at the DMV. Go figure. > [@the\_first\_supraliminal](#): > > If everyone is being delayed by 6 weeks, what we need is to bring back a retired judge to sit for 5 weeks to clear the backlog. Then every future case can be tried the week after it’s filed. I for one need that rent deposit back now, not six weeks from now. Well, as **Oakminster** has pointed out, there are specific procedural issues that would present a problem here. Also, is this retired judge going to sit on the bench for free? If not, who’s going to pay him or her? One reason the backlog exists in the first place is that there aren’t enough people to deal with the cases at hand. And the reason there aren’t enough people is that the courts have a budget, and don’t have unlimited amounts of money to throw around. They don’t understaff courts just to piss you off; they have to work with limited resources, and unless you’re willing to increase those resources the problem is unlikely to go away. ---
**Author:** ![TBG](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c89c15/32.png) [@TBG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TBG)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2009, 1:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-could-we-streamline-small-claims-court/505055/23 "2009-08-10T01:53:04Z")
> [@AskNott](#): > > “Who made you judge and Judy?” “Who made you judge, Judy, and executioner?” [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-could-we-streamline-small-claims-court/505055.md?page=1)