Challenger vows to make city court more accessible

Valarie Eve is anxious to put 16 years of experience in the legal field to work as the next Whitefish City Judge.

After earning a paralegal degree, she worked as a paralegal in criminal defense and civil litigation firms. Later, she was an appointed city judge for Valier and Conrad, was a court clerk in Whitefish City Court and is currently a clerk in Flathead Justice Court.

All of this experience, she said, has given her a chance to see firsthand what improvements she would make in the court.

At the top of her agenda is making City Court fully accessible to the public. She would extend open court hours from two hours a day to six hours and would stay open during the noon lunch hour.

Eve also intends to open the court to more civil cases. Landlords, tenants, business owners, contractors and Whitefish residents in general would benefit from a fully accessible court, she said.

She maintained any increase in the number of civil cases handled by Whitefish City Court would be offset by the fees charged per case, which include a $35 filing fee, $20 fee for each answer filed and a $10 judgment fee.

Theres a lot of confusion with the public between civil and criminal cases and theres a need to explain it clearly, Eve said. I think thats what [this] City Court lacks, the ability to respond in laymans terms. I see it every day. People are scared, confused, angry and there are tons of emotions. With everyone who comes in, you have to realize the burden on their shoulders.

Eve also plans to use various programs and services available to the courts for sentencing purposes, such as the Balanced and Restorative Justice Program.

Its proving to be a valuable program, and its endorsed by our Supreme Court, she said.

The Youth Peer Court Program is a tool Eve would use for first-time youth offenders. She believes programs like this can reduce the number of repeat offenders and help offenders become productive members of the community. And since these are largely volunteer programs, it eases the financial burden of taxpayers, she said.

Domestic Violence Advocates is another program shed tap.

Eve is in charge of the civil mediation program for Flathead Justice Court. Trained mediators meet with both parties in civil cases to try to bring the case to settlement without a trial by judge or jury. The program has roughly an 85 percent success rate, Eve said, and she expects the same success if it were used in Whitefish City Court.

It is an injustice to the community to not use programs that help the court assure accountability and help to reduce repeat offenses, she said. These programs offer an avenue of providing accountability for the offender and an opportunity for parties to have a say in the outcome of their case.

Eve also would make use of the house-arrest program to shift the cost of incarceration from the taxpayer to the offender.

Eves campaign has centered around her belief that City Court should be a peoples court.

For many people, its their first contact with the justice system. I want people to leave feeling justice was done, she said. I believe in our Constitution. I believe that all powers flow from the people.

EVE WAS appointed city judge for Valier and Conrad in 1998 and served until 2000, when she and her family moved to Whitefish. She twice ran unsuccessfully for justice of the peace in Cascade County in 1994 and in Pondera County in 1998.

Throughout her most recent campaign, shes maintained that she would be open to new ideas if elected, and said she has the compassion and work ethic necessary to put new ideas into practice.

Features editor Lynnette Hintze may be reached at 758-4421 or by e-mail at lhintze@dailyinterlake.com