August 18, 2021
While a great deal of focus has been placed on how much funding courts receive, another key aspect of budgeting is the level of government responsible for funding courts. Over the last several hundred years many, but not all, states have shifted from a model in which local government funds local courts to either a mixed model or a state-funded one.
The history of United States state courts, like that of the English system upon which most states are based, is one of local justice administered, managed, and funded locally. In 1975 Carl Barr wrote Separate But Subservient: Court Budgeting in the American States where he noted it was not until the 1970s forward that states began to transition to complete or near-complete state funding. Why the shift? Carlson and his co-authors (2008) identified several reasons: the need for local fiscal relief, the inadequacy or unpredictability of local revenue, and a sense of unequal justice across the state.
Carlson et al. ultimately described a situation in which the shift to state funding provided three main benefits:
- Adequate: trial courts must have "that level of funding which allows all cases to be heard and adjudicated in a just, legal, timely, and cost-effective manner."
- Equitable: the "quality of justice a litigant receives in a case should not vary depending upon which court in the state hears the case."
- Stable: courts need a "predictable" revenue stream in order to be able to plan and implement
Today, most states continue to rely on a mix of funding sources (state vs. local) for their trial courts. The data below comes from a Fall 2020 survey of State Court Administrators.
| State/Territory | How are your trial courts funded? |
| Alabama | General Jurisdiction Courts: Entirely state funded / Limited Jurisdiction Courts: Entirely locally funded |
| Alaska | General Jurisdiction Courts: Mostly state funded / Limited Jurisdiction Courts: No response |
| Arizona | General Jurisdiction Courts: Mostly locally funded / Limited Jurisdiction Courts: Mostly locally funded |
| Arkansas | General Jurisdiction Courts: Evenly divided between state and local funding / Limited Jurisdiction Courts: Evenly divided between state and local funding |
| California | General Jurisdiction Courts: Mostly state funded / Limited Jurisdiction Courts: N/A (my state does not have this type of court) |
| Colorado | General Jurisdiction Courts: Entirely state funded / Limited Jurisdiction Courts: Entirely state funded |
| Connecticut | General Jurisdiction Courts: Entirely state funded / Limited Jurisdiction Courts: Entirely locally funded |
| Delaware | General Jurisdiction Courts: Entirely state funded / Limited Jurisdiction Courts: Entirely state funded |
| District of Columbia | General Jurisdiction Courts: Entirely federal funded / Limited Jurisdiction Courts: N/A (my state does not have this type of court) |
| Florida | General Jurisdiction Courts: Mostly state funded / Limited Jurisdiction Courts: Mostly state funded |
| Georgia | General Jurisdiction Courts: Mostly locally funded / Limited Jurisdiction Courts: Entirely locally funded |
| Guam | General Jurisdiction Courts: Mostly locally funded / Limited Jurisdiction Courts: N/A (my state does not have this type of court) |
| Hawaii | General Jurisdiction Courts: Entirely state funded / Limited Jurisdiction Courts: Entirely state funded |
| Illinois | General Jurisdiction Courts: Mostly locally funded / Limited Jurisdiction Courts: N/A (my state does not have this type of court) |
| Indiana | General Jurisdiction Courts: Mostly locally funded / Limited Jurisdiction Courts: Mostly locally funded |
| Iowa | General Jurisdiction Courts: Entirely state funded / Limited Jurisdiction Courts: Entirely state funded |
| Kansas | General Jurisdiction Courts: Evenly divided between state and local funding / Limited Jurisdiction Courts: Entirely locally funded |
| Kentucky | General Jurisdiction Courts: Entirely state funded / Limited Jurisdiction Courts: Entirely state funded |
| Louisiana | General Jurisdiction Courts: Mostly locally funded / Limited Jurisdiction Courts: Mostly locally funded |
| Maryland | General Jurisdiction Courts: Mostly locally funded / Limited Jurisdiction Courts: Mostly state funded |
| Massachusetts | General Jurisdiction Courts: Entirely state funded / Limited Jurisdiction Courts: No response |
| Michigan | General Jurisdiction Courts: Mostly locally funded / Limited Jurisdiction Courts: Mostly locally funded |
| Minnesota | General Jurisdiction Courts: Mostly state funded / Limited Jurisdiction Courts: No response |
| Missouri | General Jurisdiction Courts: Mostly state funded / Limited Jurisdiction Courts: Mostly locally funded |
| Montana | General Jurisdiction Courts: Entirely state funded / Limited Jurisdiction Courts: Mostly locally funded |
| Nebraska | General Jurisdiction Courts: Entirely state funded / Limited Jurisdiction Courts: Entirely state funded |
| Nevada | General Jurisdiction Courts: Mostly locally funded / Limited Jurisdiction Courts: Mostly locally funded |
| New Hampshire | General Jurisdiction Courts: Entirely state funded / Limited Jurisdiction Courts: Entirely state funded |
| New Jersey | General Jurisdiction Courts: Entirely state funded / Limited Jurisdiction Courts: Entirely locally funded |
| New Mexico | General Jurisdiction Courts: Entirely state funded / Limited Jurisdiction Courts: Entirely state funded |
| New York | General Jurisdiction Courts: Entirely state funded / Limited Jurisdiction Courts: Mostly locally funded |
| North Carolina | General Jurisdiction Courts: Entirely state funded / Limited Jurisdiction Courts: Entirely state funded |
| North Dakota | General Jurisdiction Courts: Entirely state funded / Limited Jurisdiction Courts: Entirely locally funded |
| Northern Mariana Islands | General Jurisdiction Courts: Mostly locally funded / Limited Jurisdiction Courts: No response |
| Ohio | General Jurisdiction Courts: Mostly state funded / Limited Jurisdiction Courts: Mostly locally funded |
| Oklahoma | General Jurisdiction Courts: Mostly locally funded / Limited Jurisdiction Courts: No response |
| Oregon | General Jurisdiction Courts: Entirely state funded / Limited Jurisdiction Courts: Entirely locally funded |
| Pennsylvania | General Jurisdiction Courts: Mostly locally funded / Limited Jurisdiction Courts: Mostly locally funded |
| Puerto Rico | General Jurisdiction Courts: Mostly state funded / Limited Jurisdiction Courts: N/A (my state does not have this type of court) |
| Rhode Island | General Jurisdiction Courts: Entirely state funded / Limited Jurisdiction Courts: No response |
| South Carolina | General Jurisdiction Courts: Mostly locally funded / Limited Jurisdiction Courts: Mostly locally funded |
| South Dakota | General Jurisdiction Courts: Entirely state funded / Limited Jurisdiction Courts: N/A (my state does not have this type of court) |
| Tennessee | General Jurisdiction Courts: Entirely state funded / Limited Jurisdiction Courts: Entirely locally funded |
| Texas | General Jurisdiction Courts: Entirely locally funded / Limited Jurisdiction Courts: Entirely locally funded |
| US Virgin Islands | General Jurisdiction Courts: Entirely state funded / Limited Jurisdiction Courts: N/A (my state does not have this type of court) |
| Utah | General Jurisdiction Courts: Mostly state funded / Limited Jurisdiction Courts: Mostly locally funded |
| Virginia | General Jurisdiction Courts: Mostly state funded / Limited Jurisdiction Courts: Entirely state funded |
| Washington | General Jurisdiction Courts: Mostly locally funded / Limited Jurisdiction Courts: Mostly locally funded |
| West Virginia | General Jurisdiction Courts: Entirely state funded / Limited Jurisdiction Courts: No response |
| Wisconsin | General Jurisdiction Courts: Entirely state funded / Limited Jurisdiction Courts: Entirely locally funded |
| Wyoming | General Jurisdiction Courts: Entirely state funded / Limited Jurisdiction Courts: Entirely state funded |
How are courts funded in your state, and what impact does that have on your judiciary? Follow the National Center for State Courts on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, or Pinterest and share your experiences!
For more information, contact Knowledge@ncsc.org or call 800-616-6164.