'We don't have enough people to get the work done:' Rural courts struggle with long wait times, lack of resources

But once inside the courtroom, things slow down.

Justice Ausby has experienced it firsthand.

"You gotta have patience. You gotta be dedicated. Because if not, it’ll make you want to give up," Ausby said.

In July 2023, a man was charged with her mother’s murder. After that, she expected the case to move quickly. More than six months later, she’s still waiting for justice.

"They tell me they are very busy and that they have a lot of other cases," Ausby said. "I do understand that. Please show me that this case means something to you."

Ausby said she’s been called to court several times for developments in the case. Each time, the case was continued for different reasons, and she has been sent home without answers to her questions.

"They may have reached out to me maybe one time. I have to do the reaching out. We should be on the same page," she said.

Ausby is one of many who reached out to WRAL News with similar concerns about a slow-moving court process in Halifax County.

Some people describe days of sitting on the bench waiting for their day in court. They often take days off work and arrange childcare to attend court. Many times, they are sent home with a new court date.

WRAL News found in Fiscal Year 2022-23, Prosecutorial District 7, which includes Halifax County, had some of the longest wait times in the state. Felony cases had a 667-day median age pending in court.

Senior Resident Superior Court Judge Brenda Branch has been working on tackling some of these issues since she was appointed last year. "Right now, I think the most significant challenge is not having enough attorneys," she said.

"Sometimes you have to wait for an attorney to come from another county that is an hour or an hour and a half away. You have to wait. It holds things up. If that attorney is in a trial in another county, you have to wait on that attorney, and you don’t have another attorney to appoint the case to," Branch said.

Kim Scott is the district attorney for the 7th District. She said the need for more attorneys is one of many issues that can slow down the court. "We are in an area where we’re lacking everything we need," Scott said. "We don’t have enough judges to cover our courts, we don’t have enough defense attorneys to represent defendants, [and] we don’t have enough people to get the work done."

Branch and Scott are working to improve the system.

"We all want the same thing, which is to move cases, but we want to be fair and just, first and foremost," Branch said.

"We experience what other fields experience, and that is people are not willing to move to our areas because of the reputation of your schools, the lack of housing and jobs, and the lack of recreation," Branch said.

In addition to the public defender office, the district added a drug treatment court to work with people who continue to appear in court with substance abuse issues.

Even with these improvements, Scott said there is more work to be done. "We’re working our best to get the job done. But it is a struggle every day," she said.