Evening star., 1960-10-10
Judge Reports
Case Backlog
Nearly Doubled
BY ROBERTA HORNIG
Star Stan Writer

way with Juvenile Court during
the past year, Judge Orm W.
Ketcham reported today.
In his second annual report
to United States Attorney Gen.
eral Rogers, Judge Ketcham
pointed out that go per cent
OF those cases involved delin-
quency or traffic charges.
The other 10 per cent, the
judge said, were dependency or
neglect cases.
The courts huge backlog of
cases, subject of much discus
sion and controversy, nearly
doubled during the past fiscal
year, the report said.
AS of June 80, the backlog
stood at an all-time high of
1867 cases-502 involving juv-
eniles, and 1,165 concerning
such adult matters as paternity
and non-Support.
Backlog Rose From 746
At the end Of the same
period in fiscal 1859, the courts
backlog came to a total of 746
cases.
Judge Ketcham has been
asking for more help to run
his court for the past two years
and has received backing from
the Senate, the District Com
missionerS and civic leaders.
However, a Senate-passed
bill that would have added two
judges to the court died with
the last session of Congress,
bottled up in the House Dis
trict Subcommittee headed by
Representative Davis, Demo-
crat OF Georgia. Davis, a critic
OF Judge Ketcham, has said
that he won't agree to any
legislation until he completes
a full investigation of the
court. He is expected to hold
hearings before Congress re-
convenes in January.
Judge Ketcham's report re-
fleets a substantial rise in ju-
venile delinquency in the Dis
trict, with 489 more complaints
registered against youngsters
under 18 last year than the
year before. Complaints totaled
3,246 during fiscal 1860, as
against 2,757 in 1859.
9O5 Cited for 1,O99 Offenses
The sharpest rise occurred in
the last quarter of the fiscal
year, between April l and June
80, when 905 youngsters COM
mitted 1,099 offenses. This
marked an increase of more
than 200 youths in trouble
compared to the number for
any of the preceding quarters.
In all, Juvenile Court dis
posed of 3,233 cases last year.
Adult cases also rose-by
some 237 complaints-last year,
the report shows. But the main
reason for the logjam here is
that Judge Ketcham considers
his court to be principally a
Juvenile court" and spends
about 10 per cent more time
on matters concerning youth
full offenders.
The court received 1,485 new
cases involving adults and had
total of 2,278 cases-includ-
ing a previous backlog and
continuing cases-to contend
with as well. 1t disposed Of
1868 adult cases.
Other Points in Report
Judge Ketcham's report also
showed:
/. A little more than half of
the 2,291 youngsters going to
court for delinquency had been
there at least once before. Some
300 Of them had been there as
many as five times.
2. There were 504 delin-
quents over II years in court
last year. The largest age group
of young offenders numbered
$40 in the 15-year bracket. The
youngest offenders - eight of
them-were 7 years old.
8. Only SOL girls-or one out
of seven children in court
were referred to the court.
Most of the girls in trouble,
over 200 of them, were IA or
Is years old.
4. Petty larceny, or thefts
amounting to less than $100,
was the most common offense
by juveniles referred to the
court. There were 437 of these
cases, with houSebreaking run
ming close second with 434
offenders. Other most frequent
kinds of crimes were unau-
thorized use of automobiles
(299); beyond control of par
ents (295); robbery (200); sim
Pile assault q98 and aggra-
waited assault (15D. There
were also two homicides and
five rape cases.
S. Judge Ketcham waived l05
of the more serious juvenile
cases over to the District Court,
where offenders are treated un-
der adult rules.
6. The judge committed 469
delinquent youngsters to the
Department of Public Welfare
and 108 to the National Train
ing School. He put 603 young
sters on probation to the court.
7. Of the total number Of
juvenile cases before the court,
377 were disposed Of by the
courts social service staff and
did rot come before Judge
z Kntcham