Ben Trotter is serving Churchill County as the Justice of Peace and running for reelection to his second six-year term.
Trotter moved to Fallon in 1995 to take a job with the Fallon Police Department where he worked as an officer, detective, and sergeant for over 15 years. In 2010 he was one of five law enforcement officers who filed to run for sheriff against Richard Ingram. Ingram’s wife, Brenda is running against Trotter this year for his Justice of the Peace seat.
As a candidate, Trotter is known for his door-to-door campaign style, and regularly visits as many voters as possible during election season. After covering the county with personal visits, he was elected as sheriff in 2010 and served two terms. He was elected as Justice of the Peace in 2018, after visiting nearly every voter in the community again.
One of Trotter’s goals for the Justice Court was to use technology to make the court more accessible and efficient for everyone including the public, Sheriff’s Office, prosecutors, and defendants. When he was elected, Trotter began implementing measures to accomplish this, including instituting hearings available virtually.
“The COVID-19 pandemic, while offering challenges, also offered opportunities to fully implement this goal,” Trotter said. Today, the Sheriff’s Office rarely is required to transport prisoners to the Justice Court for hearings as they can appear from the jail building on camera before the court. Technology is also used nearly daily to allow a variety of parties to appear for hearings remotely.
Judge Trotter believes that the government can and should be efficient and cites the 2017 high water event in Churchill County as arguably the single best example of this efficiency. “While we the decision-makers played large roles in the successful avoidance of a serious flood issue, it was the collaboration between numerous state and local governmental entities and local non-government groups such as the
‘farmer brigade’ that made it all happen and that set up viable, permanent, protections for our community.”
In addressing issues raised by his opponent, Trotter said he finds the risk assessment provided by Churchill County’s Court Services Department extremely valuable and provides him with, often, critical information upon which to make pre-trial release without bail decisions. However, the risk assessment is a tool and is not in itself, the deciding factor or a mandate that a judge must follow.
Judges are required to make decisions based on various levels of proof depending on the issue at-hand. Concepts such as “beyond a reasonable doubt”, “probable cause”, and “clear and convincing evidence”, while possibly defined in words are not actually quantifiable, hence the need for a judge to weigh the evidence and decide. In other words, the determination of whether, say the “clear and convincing evidence” standard has been met, is the decision of the judge, made after hearing arguments and weighing facts. This decision is likely to vary notably between different judges.
Last Friday the court held a bail hearing for a defendant who was high risk according to his risk assessment score, but the prosecution and public defender agreed with the court that there were factors that did not show up in that score that permitted the defendant to be released and supervised before trial. Furthermore, Judge Trotter indicates that, while some defendants released before trial may be given a second chance to come into compliance with the court’s orders, the court is very resistant to any further opportunities, even if lobbied for by the involved attorneys.
“It would be counter-productive for a judge, to demonstrate being “tough on crime,” to not take seriously the mandates passed down by the higher courts or the legislature. Understanding the direction our state government is leaning regarding incarceration of defendants and the scrutiny the judiciary is under in Nevada, this type of action by judges could inspire stricter requirements or even direct orders that erode the independence and discretion of the judiciary.”
Judge Trotter said that after a career in public safety, the safety of the public is a critical consideration in these bail hearings. He encourages people to visit or watch the court on Zoom on Thursday mornings each week to see first-hand how the court functions. Zoom log-in information is on the Justice Court website.
Additionally, Trotter explained how the court schedule often changes and is reliant on many variables including attorneys, district attorneys, and multiple defendants, resulting in delays and cancelled hearings. Charges that sitting Judges treat the Justice of the Peace position as part-time are regularly made by challengers, without a Georgia cknowledging the many other tasks that come with the position. In addition to his court duties, Trotter often uses his time to write grants, develop the budget, assist staff, research new court rulings and opinions. Trotter has also attended over 700 hours of formal judicial training.
He also explained that elected officials in Churchill County do not get vacation time or sick time and he has in some instances used gap time in the calendar for personal needs. Trotter said he is in the courthouse nearly every day of the year and on call 24/7/365 and the court is now required to hold hearings on the weekends.
“If someone questions my work ethic, they have not been paying attention for the past 14, or maybe 29, years. The way I campaign for election, the immense amount of community service I have done, and my availability at work on a daily basis should remove questions about my commitment to my duties and service beyond those duties.”
“I am so grateful to have had the privilege of serving this community and for this community’s support and recognition to making things better for all of us. I am excited to continue to guide this important court through the next six years and ask the citizens and Churchill County for their vote on June 11.”
Ben Trotter has a campaign website: www.BenTrotter4Justice.org
Comment
Comments