Court of appeals

     Two times Nevada voters have nixed a proposed state court of appeals. But the idea has again resurfaced in Carson City.
      Under the current system, the Nevada Supreme Court hears appeals directly from local district courts. The high court now has a backlog of 2,300 cases and it sometimes takes years to resolve an appeal. Supporters of an intermediate appeals court believe it could filter out enough cases to ease the burden on the high court and speed the course of justice.
      Creating the court, which would cost taxpayers at least $2 million a year to operate, requires a change in the state constitution. Thus, SJR14 must pass the Legislature this year and in 1999 before it goes to the voters for final ratification in 2000. The Senate this week voted unanimously for the measure, sending it to the Assembly.
      State Sen. Mark James, a Las Vegas Republican, pushed the resolution, arguing that without an appeals court, "We are putting the brakes entirely on the wheels of justice." He believes another plan, to increase the number of justices on the high court from five to seven, is a short-term approach.
      The Supreme Court has made modest strides of late in dealing with its burgeoning caseload. But critics of the current system argue hard work and increased efficiency alone won't solve the problem. Maybe. But they nevertheless face an uphill climb in their effort to convince an electorate which twice before has rejected an appeals court as an expansion of the legal bureaucracy.