Litigation

USA Today: Budget Crisis Snags More Courts

By Charlie Hall

USA Today, which on Wednesday published a front-page article on special-interest money and court elections, today took on another critical issue: the national funding crisis squeezing America’s courts.

According to today’s article, “Court budget cuts swift hand of justice“:

Unprecedented layoffs and courtroom closings across the country have resulted in recession-driven court delays, legal experts say.

At least 15 states have put court workers on furloughs, eight have cut pay, six have imposed layoffs, and six have closed courtrooms to save money in the face of state funding cuts, even as the number of legal cases is rising, according to the Virginia-based National Center for State Courts.

“The longer this continues, the more the public is going to feel it,” said Gregory Hurley, analyst for the National Center for State Courts. “It’s going to be significant. … Worse than anybody here remembers.”

The report cited cuts in California, Florida, Minnesota, and New Hamphsire. “Outside Los Angeles’ main traffic courthouse, lines of people trying to pay or contest citations routinely stretch around the block,” the article said (see photo). “On a recent afternoon, more than 400 people were still in line when the courts closed for the evening.”

A March 17 Gavel Grab article noted that Virginia legislators voted to eliminate as many as 10 percent of that state’s judgeships because of budget shortfalls.

Full post as published by The Gavel on April 01, 2010 (boomark / email).