Litigation

NY Judge: Trying to ?Keep the Courthouses Open?

By Peter Hardin

“We’re going to try as best we can to keep the courthouses open,” New York’s chief judge said in response to another $70 million cut anticipated by a budget agreement between the governor and legislative leaders.

Before announcement of the budget accord, judicial officials already had proposed cutting $100 from a $2.7 billion budget, and the new plan nearly doubled that, according to an Associated Press article.

“At this point it’s going to be painful and it’s going to require additional layoffs and program cuts,” Chief Judge Jonathan Lippman said.

As state courts across the nation struggle to adjust to funding shortfalls, Gavel Grab periodically is highlighting impacts for different states, and their responses.

In Alabama this week, The Birmingham News spotlighted court funding cuts in an article entitled, “Jefferson County judges plan for reduced court operations under possible Alabama proration.”

“Reliable court funding essential to justice” was the headline for an editorial in the Daytona Beach (Fla.) News-Journal.

To learn more about the court funding crisis, check out these earlier Gavel Grab posts.

Full post as published by The Gavel on March 30, 2011 (boomark / email).