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With a Little Help from Our Friends

Posted in Administration on Saturday February 20 2010 @ 3:29pm

Two seemingly unrelated links were sent to us by our friends this week.

The better half of Court-o-Rama's worse half alerted us to the fact that more potential jurors are claiming financial hardship. Over 24% were dismissed in L.A. last year due to that reason. California pays nothing the first day and a mere $15 thereafter.

And, there are more disgruntled jurors. See Weighed Down by Recession Woes, Jurors Are Becoming Disgruntled, Carol J. Williams, L.A. Times (February 15, 2010). Cheers and best o' luck to Gloria Gomez, jury czarina for the L.A. Superior Court.

Meanwhile, Jimmy Mac sent us this fabulous idea, adaptable to courts, court services, justice centers, etc., everywhere.

What's Right with Kansas

Posted in Administration on Sunday February 07 2010 @ 7:31pm

We're soooooo tired of hearing about furloughs and closings, so this happy news from Kansas was most welcome. A combination of federal stimulus money plus state legislative funding is keeping Kansas courts open.

See Furloughs Deferred; Quick Action Needed from Lawmakers, Governor, Bobbi Mlynar, Emporia Gazette (February 5, 2010), and cross your fingers that the money comes through. Closed courts don't do anyone much good.

State of the Commonwealth

Posted in Administration on Monday November 09 2009 @ 8:09pm

Justice is in jeopardy in Massachusetts.

Massachusetts Chief Justice Marshall is up in arms over state budget cuts. The cuts, she says, fall disproportionately on the courts.

Fifty million dollars lopped off the budget in a single year cannot occur without consequences. It's hard to show what might *not* happen due to lack of funding, but here are a few interesting figures:

2%: Percentage of the state budget accounting for the judiciary

$22 million: Amount by which the court's budget was cut a year ago

Fewer than 7000: Number of court employees in Massachusetts

670: Number of court employees cut since July of this year

6-8 weeks: Amount of additional time it takes to appear with a complaint of nonpayment of child support

Luckily, the commonwealth is lucky enough to have a chief who will stand up for its courts. Are other states (or commonwealths) so lucky? And is anyone paying attention?

See Chief Justice Warns Cuts Put Courts at Risk, Peter Schworm, Boston Globe (October 22, 2009). See also Charlie Rose's Chief Guest on this blog (July 20, 2008).

Does Size Matter?

Posted in Administration on Monday August 31 2009 @ 6:32pm

We often hear about judicial workload studies. Court staff are subjected to the same microscope. But what about the administrative offices of the courts (AOCs)?

Most are comically small and understaffed. Those bear little mention and deserve support from any corner. But at least one, California's, is being criticized as too large.

Just what does an AOC require in the way of staffing? Certainly a court administrator to head up the thing. That person could probably use an assistant or two. A PIO is nice -- you never know when something big is going to happen (say, a courthouse shooting or a small jurisdiction suddenly becoming venue for a notorious trial), and somebody has to be able to drop everything. Legal counsel, a finance/budget crew, IT, and HR round out the essentials. If possible, toss in a few analysts and stats people. The biggest programs (ADR, e.g.) need a director.

Does it matter how large the state is? Does it matter that the state consolidated its trial courts in the not-so-distant past? Does it matter that the state bar was once dismantled by a former governor, leaving the courts to pick up the pieces? And does it matter that the state is the Golden one?

California is famous for killing ideas with the We're too big excuse. They've taken it to a new high -- We're California. Read: whatever it is, it won't work here. Geography, population, and an overabundance of starlets work against intervention.

Ironically, a high level of innovation (which California courts often possess) can kill yet more innovation because We're already doing that. Hare, meet tortoise.

Because they're so big, so unique, so...California, the AOC often works on its own. For example, the need for interpreters was greater and more quickly recognized, causing the state to concoct its own testing scheme (much later, it joined the Consortium).

Being a lonely pioneer is a costly adventure. Hooking into national resources -- even if you're too big or too far ahead of the curve -- saves time and effort. These days, particularly in states where the governor is selling autographed memorabilia to raise money, maybe too big is just too much.

See Critics Target California's Courts Bureaucracy, Howard Mintz, Mercury News (August 30, 2009).

Outside Help: Creative Funding Sources

Posted in Administration on Tuesday July 07 2009 @ 5:33pm

We were all taught to follow the money but nobody gave us a map! Here are a few creative (and generous) ideas for funding projects:

In Little Rock, the Carroll County Courthouse received a grant from the Arkansas Historic Preservation Program: County Courthouses, ES Museum Recipients of $114,000 in Grants, Carroll County News (July 3, 2009).

Just in time for the 4th of July, the Newburyport Bar Association replaced tattered flags in local Massachusetts courthouses: Lawyers Buy New Flags for Local Courthouses, Kirsten Michener, Daily News (July 4, 2009).

If courthouse improvement sounds like a good Boy Scout project, it is. Troop 185 in Teton County bought materials and installed lighting around the courthouse flag: Boy Scouts Light up Flag, Teton Valley News (July 4, 2009).

When all else fails, draft volunteer judges: Easing Case Congestion with Volunteers, Third Branch (June 2009).

The First to Go

Posted in Administration on Monday June 29 2009 @ 7:43pm

Court reporters, long a cost drain on ever-technologically-advancing courts, will be the first casualties in the court budget battles. For a long time, court reporters have promoted their superior skills, believing they can do the job better than any machine.

But the time has come. Between bottomed-out budgets and better technology, court reporters are being cut.

If/when this does happen, please oh please don't just take their keys and tell them to run along home. Have a little class, unlike the way this story unfolded: Downsizing Cuts One Court Reporter at South Lee Courthouse, Cindy Lutz, Fort Madison Daily Democrat (June 29, 2009).

Hawkeye Budget Slides

Posted in Administration on Monday June 29 2009 @ 6:40pm

The cuts keep coming in Iowa.

Recall that several prospective cutbacks, including reducing the number of magistrates, furloughs, and other measures narrowly escaped the chopping block.

Now it's down to the wire, and not even the increased number of courthouse weddings will save the budget.

Fifteen positions will be cut; 50 current vacancies will not be filled. Court reporters make up the bulk of the casualties, with 13 losing their jobs.

See Iowa Courts Cut $5.4M from 2010 Budget, AP/Chicago Tribune (June 25, 2009).

Dropping the Percentage Axe in Sarasota

Posted in Administration on Wednesday June 17 2009 @ 4:21am

Two percent milk.

Fifty percent chance.

Less than one percent.

We hear about percentages every day (more often if we're in the fifth grade.) A five percent budget reduction sounds like nothing, doesn't it? But translated into real dollars, it's negative $335,057 for the Manatee County Circuit Court in Sarasota.

That means, too, laying off eleven full- and seven part-time employees. Multiply eighteen times two and you get a bare minimum of thirty-six people (the employee plus one immediate family member) directly affected.

Think of that next time you see a five percent decrease.

See Court Clerk to Cut 11 Full-Time Jobs, Herald Tribune (June 17, 2009).

Opposites Repel

Posted in Administration on Wednesday June 10 2009 @ 7:33pm

What's the opposite of night court?

Day jail.

That's what the Hunterdon, NJ, community will get if the local sheriff closes the justice center (which appears to include both the jail and court) at night. She claims budget cuts are forcing the measure.

The county -- guess what? -- disagrees!

Such justice v. county wars are playing out across the country. Overcrowding? Underspending? Either way, threats/promises (real or imagined) of releasing prisoners into the world, reducing security, etc. are made. That's a big stick, and one that should not be used unless the justice system really is in dire straits. Never cry wolf.

The county administrators (called Freeholders -- New Jersey is home to the vicinage and other quaintly-termed entities) say no way. The problem as they see it is poor scheduling, not lack of funds.

The backstory seems to be a dispute over salaries. The sheriff has advocated for raises for her people; the Freeholders think she needs fewer undersheriffs.

See Sheriff Trout: I'll Cut Night Hours at Justice Center, Warren Cooper, Hunterdon County Democrat (June 10, 2009).

See also the shocking Food Fight Breaks out at N. Hunterdon High School, Gene Robbins, Hunterdon County Democrat (June 10, 2009) -- if you dare!

The Latest

Posted in Administration on Saturday June 06 2009 @ 9:20am

Maricopa County has long been the central place for all things court administration. Innovations, studies, you name it, they've got it.

It's also the source for all things Sheriff Arpaio.

The most recent story does not concern limiting inmates' meals or making them wear pink underwear (both of which the sheriff has done), but rather a request for e-mails written by judges and court administrators in the Maricopa County Superior Court.

Internal court correspondence falls through the legal cracks. It's not public record when it doesn't pertain to individual cases, yet it doesn't quite fall under most sunshine rules relating to policy-making or administration. We think this is so due to the simple fact that many (most?) legislators don't realize that court administration exists.

Here, Arpaio wanted 16,000 e-mails from the court. The backstory is this: previously, citing budget concerns, the sheriff's office limited the number of inmates they would bring to hearings. A judge vowed to hold two deputies in contempt if they did not perform their duties. As a counter-measure, cat (or is he the mouse? It's hard to keep track) Arpaio limited the time defense counsel could visit clients in jail.

A three-judge panel rejected the request for e-mails as overbroad. Arpaio will appeal to the state's highest court. Stay tuned.

See Arpaio Loses Appeal on Request for Court E-mails, Michael Kiefer and Yvonne Wingett, Arizona Republic (June 6, 2009). See also You've Got Mail, and the Sheriff Wants to See It, court-o-rama (February 3, 2009).

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