Miscellaneous

Fourth Estate Assists Third Branch

By Anne Skove, Esq.

Who knew that a liberal arts education would come in handy when writing (as-yet un-invented) blog post headlines?

Minnesota courts have been feeling some pain, and their chief stepped up to the plate. Chief Justice Magnuson told the state legislature that cuts in court funding put "people's lives, liberty and happiness [...] on the line."

The press agrees. Citing the enormous and widespread consequences of not funding courts, one editorial backed the chief on the funding issue. Here are a few real-life scenarios:

• Jurors: Gas prices ramped up juror transportation costs. Budget cuts forced courts to reduce juror pay from a whopping $20/day to a scant $10/day.


• Economy: Bad economic times cause an increase in case filings. From simple collections cases to major bankruptcies, from foreclosures to dissolution of stressed marital unions, court business is up when the rest of the country is down.


• Court employment: Cuts thus far have frozen positions or eliminated them altogether. There being only so many hours in a day, fewer employees mean more delays (this is particularly true when considering efficient, hard-working Minnesotans!). Fewer employees also mean more work for judges, who end up spending more time on non-judicial tasks. Overworked court staff and judges can lead to burnout, which brings turnover. Higher turnover means a loss of institutional knowledge, which damages long-term success.

So there you have it, a few solid arguments for court funding from a state in the midst of major cuts.

See Put Courts at Head of Funding Line, Star Tribune (September 24, 2008).

Full post as published by court-o-rama.org on September 25, 2008 (boomark / email).