2010 Annual Report - Supreme Court of the Virgin Islands

to the Court in fulfillment of their On-the-Job Training from
mid-February through May 2010. These students were assigned
to Administration, Traffic, Probate and the Civil Divisions.
Throughout the year, there were also four college students who
– in fulfillment of their graduation requirements - completed
their internship with the Superior Court. They interned in the
St. Thomas-St. John District, without compensation, in the
following divisions: Accounting and Finance, Marshals and the
Probation and Parole Divisions.
INTERAGENCY COOPERATIVES
The Court participated in a series of initiatives that involved
various community activities and agencies as indicated below:
a) Education: The Court has traditionally accepted that it
shares a responsibility, with the community, to contribute
positively to the education of our youngsters. In this regard,
the Superior Court continues to enmesh educational goals
with its more traditional role to implement and interpret
the law. In Fiscal Year 2010, the Superior Court did so, in
part, by hosting 19 field trips and welcoming 524 students
to the Court during the fiscal year. Territory wide, the
Court committed the time of judges and other court staff to
take time out to speak to students visiting its sites, thereby
ensuring a meaningful educational experience.
b) Bureau of Corrections: The Court, in Fiscal Year
2010, entered into a cooperative effort with the Bureau of
Corrections that permitted prisoners housed abroad to visit
with their families residing in the Virgin Islands through
electronic means. The Court coordinated with mainland
prisons and the BOC, as well as local families, and provided
use of its videoconferencing facilities to schedule prisoner
visits with families for the holidays. This effort served a total
of thirty-three (33) prisoners’ families Territory wide: eleven
(11) in the St. Thomas-St. John District and twenty-two (22)
in the St. Croix District. These efforts were well-received and
offered families who would not otherwise be able to visit
their imprisoned family members the opportunity to see
and converse with them from thousands of miles away. This
project was well-received and is slated to continue in Fiscal
Year 2011.
c) Office of Highway Safety: The Court continued to work,
with this agency, on efforts to accomplish an electronic
citation process that would improve the efficiency and
timely delivery of service, as well as streamline the job of
police traffic officers. This effort included a commitment
of the Court’s technology and Clerk’s Office staff to aid in
the planning efforts and the identification and procurement
of equipment, and training, as well as amendment to the
Court’s rules to accommodate the new processes. This
process is ongoing.
d) Law Enforcement Initiatives: The Court continued to
do its share in the area of law 39 enforcement, by providing
the services of its marshals to assist in the Carnival activities
in the St. Thomas-St. John District and in various law
enforcement and traffic initiatives.
e) Cashier Division: The Court continued to review and
revamp procedures in the Cashier Division and added money
counters in each district to improve accountability. Through
the Department of Finance, and its provision of Telecheck
machines, the Court was also able to expand its available
services to better serve the public.
f) Court Cooperatives: The Superior Court continued to
provide staffing assistance, as needed, to the Supreme Court
of the Virgin Islands and the District Court. On request, the
Court has provided court reporting services to the Supreme
Court to aid in hearings before that appellate tribunal; and
marshals to aid in the conference of Chief Justices hosted
by the Virgin Islands. Additionally, on request, this Court
continues to provide the services of its interpreters to the
District Court of the Virgin Islands, as needed, and also
makes unused courtrooms available for use by the other
courts in the territory.
(g) VI Bar Association: The Court provided its facilities to
a private forensics company and local attorneys, to make
it possible for members of the local bar to obtain training
toward mandatory continuing legal education credits. This
effort made it possible for attorneys, judges and others in
the legal community to obtain training in Forensics DNA, in
each judicial district.
SUPERIOR COURT’S FY 2010:
STATISTICAL INFORMATION
Revenues collected by the Superior Court come from various
sources, and they are deposited into several funds: the General
Fund, the Transportation Trust Fund, the Solid Waste Revolving
Fund and Special Funds. The revenue sources for these funds
includes: Marriage Applications, Marriage Licenses, Marriage
Ceremony, Certified Marriage Return, Filing Fees, Traffic Fines-
Costs and Penalties, Probation Administrative Fees, Pretrial
Administrative Fees, Photostatic Copies, Certified Documents,
Divorce Decree, Notary Fees, Handicap Parking, Superior Court
Fines and Costs, Forfeiture of Bail, Criminal Fines-Costs and
Penalties, Inheritance Taxes, Conservation Fines, Litter Fines,
Costs and Penalties in addition to Miscellaneous Revenues.
Revenues collected increased from $1,611,259 to $1,820.115;
this represents a change of +$208,856, or 11%. Additionally, this
amount is enhanced as a result on one (1) single payment of
$108,070 that was made in the last quarter of the fiscal year.
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