Court Funding News

Cash-strapped courts in Kentucky will close temporarily when 3,300 court workers are furloughed without pay for three days between August and October. See Gavel Grab for details. 

The sprawling Los Angeles County court system, which already lopped $70 million from its budget this fiscal year, will slash an additional $30 million in the coming months by laying off workers, closing courtrooms and axing a Juvenile Court program, court officials said Tuesday.

A wrinkle in the cost-saving plan to close Cook County’s suburban courthouses on weekends has been ironed out, officials say — but the county won’t see anywhere near as much savings as what was originally estimated at nearly $2 million.

Because of court funding cuts, "Our justice system is shambles. The sky is falling. This is not crying wolf," former U.S. Solicitor General Theodore Olson warned in California. Check out Gavel Grab for more. 

Budget shortfalls have caused “a pretty devastating impact in lots of states” on court services, said Judge Kevin Burke, president of the American Judges Association. For more, read Gavel Grab.

If budget cuts approved by Congress for January take effect, some federal civil trials may be suspended and court personnel reduced. Find out details from Gavel Grab. 

Former Attorney General Edwin Meese III and ABA President William T. Robinson III have joined sides to sound an alarm about the bedrock importance of adequate court funding. For details, see Gavel Grab.

The news is replete with stories of local courts closing, limiting services, and even delaying or halting jury trials. In order to give a broader  view of the situation, the National Center for State Courts has just released a national survey of the impact of budget cuts to the state judiciaries. The NCSC survey, conducted from July to October, polled state courts about what measures have been taken to respond to budget reductions. Read details in Gavel Grab.

Forty-two states have reduced their court budgets considerably, according to a new survey by the National Center for State Courts that examines the impact of funding shortfalls on state judiciaries. For more, visit Gavel Grab.

Court funding failures in states nationwide are so severe that they “are resulting in the failure to deliver basic justice,” David Boies, co-head of an ABA task force on court funding issues, warned in a New York Times article. Read details in Gavel Grab.

A judge sided with Bainbridge Municipal Court Judge Kate Carruthers in her lawsuit against the city of Bainbridge Island over its decision to cut her hours and pay. Read more...

A national radio audience got a chance to learn about the budget crisis facing state courts when NPR broadcast an interview with Mary McQueen, president of the National Center for State Courts. Read details on Gavel Grab.

“Rebuilding Justice” represents an effort to crystallize some of the challenges that the courts face, and to mobilize support for solutions. I wrote it for a general audience, and enlisted Dirk’s assistance so as to include some on-the-ground examples of both solutions and problems. Read more in Gavel Grab.

In response to state court budgets across the nation being slashed, The Economist reports increased delays and backlogs of cases, compromising enforcement and justice. Read more in Gavel Grab.

The continuing slashing of funds to state courts downgrades our way of life, says legal analyst Andrew Cohen, who cast a starkly personal quote in an Atlantic article. Read details in Gavel Grab.

An annual report by the State Court Administrative Office in Michigan recommends eliminating 45 trial court judgeships to save the financially strapped state $8 million annually. See Gavel Grab for details.

In one week the New York Times has published hard-hitting editorials on the state court funding crisis, ABA recusal guidelines and religious intolerance toward a Muslim judge nominee. See Gavel Grab for more.

The state court funding crisis is hurting not only individuals, but it's also harming the delivery of justice and the democracy as a whole, a New York Times editorial warns. To learn more, see Gavel Grab.

Florida Gov. Rick Scott “should step into the breach” and match with determined action his pledge to make court funding a priority, an Orlando Sentinel editorial urges. Find out more from Gavel Grab.

Four months after $170 million in funding was cut from New York state courts, there already is a “serious and widespread” impact, the New York County Lawyers Association reported. Learn more from Gavel Grab.

Judicial officials filed a report with the Legislature yesterday to advance court relocation plans, but a top judge said the number of closures could be reduced and hundreds of layoffs averted if lawmakers embrace a request for $32 million in midyear funding.

Gov. Rick Scott, a Republican, told prosecuting attorneys he will make Florida court funding a priority, and he also said efficient court systems are imperative. Find out more from Gavel Grab.

Money to pay for an adequate court system will be a priority for the Scott administration, Gov. Rick Scott told prosecuting attorneys Monday, but also challenged the court system to be efficient.

Retired Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor is calling on lawyers and judges to “wake up” to the financial bind facing our courts, and to take action. For more, see Gavel Grab.