Court leaders to address ABA task force about court funding crisis

Who:    American Bar Association Task Force on Preservation of the Justice System
What:   Hearing on court funding crisis and access to justice problems 
When:  Wednesday, Feb. 9, noon-5 p.m.
Where: Atlanta Marriott Marquis, Room A704, Atrium Level

Williamsburg, Va. (Feb. 8, 2011) — Two members of the National Center for State Courts’ (NCSC) Board of Directors will testify Wednesday before the American Bar Association’s (ABA) Task Force on Preservation of the Justice System, which is co-chaired by Theodore B. Olson, another member of the NCSC Board. The task force, which was established by ABA President Stephen N. Zack and is charged with exploring the impact of the underfunding of the judiciary on access to justice, will meet during the ABA Midyear Meeting, which will be held Feb. 9-14 at the Atlanta Marriott Marquis in Atlanta, Ga. 

Chief Justice Wallace B. Jefferson of the Supreme Court of Texas and Los Angeles attorney and television reporter Manuel A. Medrano will present testimony to the task force that addresses the nationwide court funding crisis, depletion of court resources, and the courts’ struggle to render its constitutional function to provide access to justice. They will be joined by Oregon Chief Justice Paul J. De Muniz, Georgia Chief Justice Carol W. Hunstein, and other court leaders.

The Georgia court system serves as an example of what is happening to courts nationwide during the budget crisis:

• The state’s judiciary received a 6 percent budget cut in fiscal 2011 on the heels of cuts slashing more than 14 percent of the budget two years prior.
• From 2008-10, the caseload has ballooned 10 percent, amounting to more than one million filings per year.
• Gwinnett County’s prosecutor was asked to cut costs by not trying criminal cases for five weeks — nearly 10 percent of the calendar year — preventing 9 percent of victims’ access to justice.
• Many Georgia courts are increasingly clogged, causing urgent and relatively simple matters like child-support hearings to require months of waiting.
• State court fee increases meant to help court funding shortfalls have simply shifted problems. Statistics at the end of 2010 showed a sharp spike in cheaper magistrate court cases after state court fees were raised dramatically.
• The 2009 state judiciary budget was .8 percent of the state budget.

 The National Center for State Courts, headquartered in Williamsburg, Va., is a nonprofit court reform organization dedicated to improving the administration of justice by providing leadership and service to the state courts. Founded in 1971 by the Conference of Chief Justices and Chief Justice of the United States Warren E. Burger, NCSC provides education, training, technology, management, and research services to the nation’s state courts.