FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
PRESS@RONBANE.COM
304-290-4601
WRITTEN BY WES NUGENT
(Morgantown, W.Va.) Monongalia County citizens can now get updated local court trends from Division 1 Magistrate, Ron Bane. A Quarterly Court Card from the Division 1 Magistrate is available to browse, download, and print from RonBane.com. Future editions are planned following the end of each calendar quarter, and will include additional information showing changes between quarters.
Monongalia County’s Division 1 Magistrate Quarterly Court Card is a free resource produced and distributed by Vote Bane. The product is designed to be easy to read and understand. The quarterly court card tracks important statistical data points that loosely correlate with categories available from the West Virginia Supreme Court, and more.
Information about the number of total cases and other categories, like felonies and misdemeanors, are intended to present the public with localized insights into the work of magistrate court and cases heard by Monongalia County’s Division 1 Magistrate. Court data is reported at the end of each month and made available at RonBane.com.
The card also tracks information Vote Bane monitors for possible consideration and future action, like the number of cases plead down. Cases plead down is an example of extra information not monitored or reported elsewhere in court statistics. Those cases represent felonies reduced to misdemeanors. According to Wes Nugent, Vote Bane Campaign Chair, circuit court cases can be referred back to magistrate court for any number of reasons. “The prosecuting attorney’s office may leverage a plea deal. In some instances, corresponding laws may benefit from legislative review to ensure they reflect reality. In other instances, it could be a sign that caseloads are out of balance within the system,” said Nugent.
“Monongalia County’s population has grown significantly since a fifth magistrate was lost. Today, Monongalia County’s Magistrate Court is one of the busiest lower courts in West Virginia. A fifth magistrate judge is essential to accommodate the public. By monitoring various data points over time, Vote Bane will use the Quarterly Court Card format to educate the public, and support efforts to continue to effectively and expediently administer justice by regaining a fifth magistrate,” Nugent added.
The quarterly court card reflects Monongalia County Division 1 Magistrate Court Data only, and doesn’t reflect cases in progress or other factors. Information provided herein is for educational purposes only, and should not be construed as official.
