Two judges at the Limestone County Courthouse in Athens, above, implemented priority lists a couple of years ago to get major cases tried. The district attorney says the priority lists have helped prosecutors and defense attorneys.

Limestone County is the fastest-growing county in Alabama. The county was up to more than 94,000 people in 2017. With that growth comes more traffic tickets and other crimes, some of them major, such as child abuse, rape and murder. In an effort to keep the wheels of justice moving in Limestone County, circuit judges Robert Baker and Chadwick Wise have implemented priority lists so prosecutors and defense attorneys know which major cases will be tried next.

Limestone County District Attorney Brian Jones credits the priority lists for major cases with resolving many more cases since they were implemented two years ago. Still, moving cases through the system is still not easy.

“Every case that comes through the Limestone County court system is a priority to everyone involved,” he said. “Scheduling cases for trial is a complicated process. The age of the case, the severity of the charge, whether the defendant is in jail, along with other factors, must be considered. The reason more cases have been tried in the last two years than ever before is because the trial lists give the state, defense and the judge more input into scheduling, and it also puts the state and the defense on notice of what cases are coming up to be tried and in what order.”

In the past, Jones said the circuit court would have a 300-case plea docket on Friday, and Jones would choose the cases for trial to start that next Monday.

“Under that system, it was too easy for the defense bar to say they didn’t expect their case to have to be tried and they’re not ready to try it,” Jones said. “Now we have a running trial list, which lets everyone know their case is coming up. If their case is not reached this jury term, they’ll know to be ready for the next jury term.”

Returning to the Limestone County Courthouse on The Square in Athens from the temporary judicial center further south on Jefferson Street also makes life easier for everyone involved.

“Previously, the judges had to schedule around each other for courtroom space,” Jones said. “Now that each judge has his own courtroom, there is more flexibility to set cases for trial.”

But a shortage of revenue from tickets and other fees amid a continually increasing caseload will likely slow the process again unless the DA’s office can raise more money for prosecutors.

“Due to budget shortfalls, there are only four lawyers in this office,” Jones said. “As the revenue streams continue to decline, I will not be hiring another lawyer in the foreseeable future. As the caseload continues to grow, our ability to try even more cases is going to be limited by the lack of resources.”