Justice of Peace plan takes shape

A meeting between county commissioners, Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office representatives and Justice of the Peace Jay Sheffield clarified plans for unifying the county’s two justice of the peace locations as the Eureka annex prepares to close at the end of the year. 

Sheffield said criminal cases in the county’s north end can be handled entirely on Vision Net, a video conferencing program the county already uses. Sheffield and Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office Capt. Bo Pitman proposed that the video conferencing equipment be set up in the North Lincoln County Law Enforcement Center. The preliminary discussion suggested that Sheffield could handle criminal cases on Thursdays, the only day when the staff of four deputies has two deputies working. 

Eureka Commissioner Mike Cole asked if the move of court hearings into the law enforcement building would require any further training for dispatchers. Sheffield replied that would not be necessary. 

Lincoln County Undersheriff Brent Faulkner passed out printed images of the inside of the building. Effectively, the dispatcher would simply have to instruct the visitor to look into the camera and television displaying Sheffield’s face.

The proposed plan would install a telephone and fax machine into the law enforcement building. Any documents a visitor would need following a criminal or citation hearing would be faxed to the individual. Sheffield stressed the importance of maintaining the current phone number for the Eureka annex to continue serving people potentially unaware of the change. 

Small-claims hearings, civil cases and landlord-tenant issues will be conducted in person.

“I think those cases need to be seen in person,” Sheffield said. “I like to get a feel for those things. Nonverbal communication is important there.”

Six small-claims cases have been filed in Eureka this year. The group was confident that Sheffield could handle those cases by scheduling monthly trips north. Where those cases will be handled remains undetermined. The courtroom now used by Justice of the Peace Stormy Langston, who narrowly lost to Sheffield in the November election, may be used by Sheffield. However, another room in the building may serve as the scene. Sheffield said he can hold court as long as he has a table with ample space for himself and the conflicting parties. Sheffield said he has no issues traveling north for a bench trial, however it is likely that jury trials will be held in Libby.

As for concerns with how the county will handle protective orders, Sheffield said he did not expect significant difficulties.

“There is a lot of misconceptions on how that works,” Sheffield said. “First off, if you are a victim of domestic violence, obviously, you call 911 and the Sheriff’s Office comes to your house, it’s that simple. To show the level of issues - I asked - there was one partner-family member assault case filed this year. While that is important and we want that to be zero, it is not as rampant as public perception may have it.”

There have been 10 protective orders filed this year in the northern part of the county. Sheffield said he will work to provide civil forms online. Sheffield suggested a victim in Eureka could fill out the appropriate paperwork and fax it to Sheffield’s office in Libby. A justice court clerk could notarize the document, get Sheffield’s approval and fax the forms back to Eureka.

Sheffield stressed the importance of handling matters quickly. Commissioners will discuss action points during Wednesday’s meeting. It remains to be determined when county workers will move the physical documents from Eureka to Libby.

“I’d rather spend a little money up front to make a smooth transition,” Commissioner Tony Berget said.