Miscellaneous

Costs: Pass 'Em On

By Anne Skove, Esq.

How do courts deal with budget shortfalls? The same way any other business does: pass the cost onto the consumer.

Florida's legislature has just approved a 10% increase in court fees. Users who file for divorce, contest traffic tickets, or sue negligent motorists will start coughing up the extra money July 1.

It's for a good cause, but court fees exist on a trajectory. This neverending upward arc of fees and fines eventually turns into an access issue.

We say government should be run like a business, but we don't really mean it. Sure, courts should be run efficiently and without wasting taxpayer money. But courts have an obligation to ensure access for all. In forma pauperis exceptions apply to the poorest of the poor. The rest of the world needs access, too. Divorce costs, the cost to sue someone for negligence, and even traffic tickets should not be exorbitant.

Once upon a time COSCA even shot out standards on this topic. The standards promote access to courts over surcharges.

That $80 million has to come from somewhere, though. Let's just hope nobody is barred from court because of it. Other state courts suffering from budget shortfalls, take note.

See House, Senate Approve Plans That Would Raise Court Fees, Russell Ray, Tampa Tribune (April 23, 2008).

Full post as published by court-o-rama.org on April 23, 2008 (boomark / email).