Do readers still want court news?

For more years than the current staff of the Custer County Chronicle has been employed at the paper, the Seventh Judicial Circuit Court News has been a feature of the paper. If you have read the paper, you know what it is. It is a record of every adjudicated Custer County case that takes place within the Seventh Circuit Court. It is sent to us every week by the Clerk of Courts office, which is located within the Custer County Courthouse.
The Court News lists every case, whether it’s a petty offense such as not having a seat belt on or speeding, all the way up to the most serious of crimes. Yes, the Custer County Chronicle has even had an adjudicated murder in the court news. The information tells the crime, the plea/outcome, and the penalties for pleading guilty to or being found guilty of whatever the offense. Sometimes those penalties can get very, very long.
It was only a few days ago that someone contacted the newspaper asking why the long, often laborious list of penalties is included in the case descriptions. The answer, we guess, is because that’s the way it’s always been. Somewhere along the line someone determined that laying out the entire list of conditions someone most follow as a result of their sentencing should be listed.
That isn’t the only question we get regarding the Court News, however. A handful of people over the past few months (and years) have questioned why the Chronicle continues to even print the Court News at all. The arguments against the Court News are usually in the same arena—that it kicks a person while they are down, is unneeded embarrassment for a person, and serves no real practical purpose.
The arguments for the Court News are pretty obvious. First and foremost, everything printed in the Court News is public record and is available to anybody who wants to acquire it. We have no magic password or special privileges. Literally anybody can go to the Clerk of Courts office and get the same thing we get every week. 
Secondly, many people are interested in the crime/issues (although a lot of it is petty offenses that aren’t going to exactly strike fear in the community) that is going on in their area, and what is being done about it. The Court News is a way to show for what the Custer County Sheriff’s Office and other law enforcement is stopping people, arresting people, etc., as well as how the Custer County State’s Attorney’s Office is dealing with what is given it. It’s transparency for the taxpayers.
Every so often, someone will call, text or stop in and ask that their case not end up in the Court News. Sorry, but that is a non-starter. For as long as we continue to do the Court News, we will put in every adjudicated case, no exceptions. If we were to leave certain people out based on their asking us to, friendship, acquaintance, etc., the entire thing loses its integrity. How are we supposed to explain to someone why their case was in the Court News, but someone else’s wasn’t? You cannot pick and choose like that, and frankly, people shouldn’t even ask us to do that. It will never happen. If people want to argue that we shouldn’t print any of it, however? That we will listen to. But one thing is for sure—it’s all of it, or none of it. You should also know that it is in only put in our print/email versions. It is not uploaded to our website.
What say you? Do you think we should axe the Court News? Do you think we should keep it? We are genuinely interested in what the community thinks. If you have a strong opinion one way or the other, let us know by giving us a call or emailing us at custernews@gwtc.net. We aren’t going to print any responses or names of people who respond. We are just gathering information. We want to know if we should continue with the Court News, or if it has run its course. We’re open to either outcome.
Oh, but don’t worry. The Sheriff’s Log isn’t going anywhere (as long as Seth will still write it). We know how that case ends—with lots and lots of unhappy subscribers.