JUDICIAL BRANCH FUNDING | hot topic
BUDGET CUTS = JUSTICE GAP? State Courts Play Defense as Funding Falls in Recession by Nathan Dickerson
KANSAS CLOSES COURTS LAWRENCE, KAN.—Furloughs of the state courts were posted on signage outside the Douglas County Clerk of the District Court office in Lawrence, Kan., in April. The Kansas court system was forced to take four furlough days because of budget cuts. (© AP Photo / Orlin Wagner)
15
» JULY/AUGUST 2010
of the services it spurred, such as increased compensation for court interpreters, are facing the chopping block. Because of the reductions, Hall noted, “some municipal courtrooms have already gone dark.” Washington is not alone. State courts across the country are struggling with the challenge of processing cases in a timely and efficient manner while absorbing the cuts imposed by limited budgets. State courts are turning to three primary strategies to cope with less funding: cutting spending, raising revenue and increasing efficiency.
CAPITOL IDEAS
The Great Recession that started in 2007 has state courts playing defense. That’s the way Washington State Court Administrator Jeff Hall sees it. As states slash budgets to match falling revenue, state courts are scrambling to accommodate increasingly restricted budgets. In fact, Washington’s Justice in Jeopardy Initiative Web site says it all: “There is a justice gap, and it is growing!” Washington’s initiative was started in 2002 to draft a sustainable and adequate plan for delivering justice in trial courts. The recession has reinvigorated the effort’s relevance as many
