January 30, 2009 1:45 PM CST by Mark A. Cohen Editor-in-Chief

Some warn our judicial system cannot sustain another major cut without starting to break down.

While a proposed 5 percent cut to the courts’ budget was not as bad as some thought it would be, that’s cold comfort to a judiciary presiding over a system that is already overburdened and cracking at the seams.

After years of cuts, the courts are already operating 9 percent short-staffed and undergoing a hiring freeze. Delays in case filing, hearings and dispositions are reportedly building throughout the state as staff and judges struggle to keep up with their caseloads.

Nonetheless, the courts had been advised that Gov. Tim Pawlenty was considering proposing as high as a 10 percent cut to their budget in the opening salvo of what promises to be a protracted debate about how to deal with the $5 billion budget deficit. When Pawlenty unveiled his recommendation of a 5 percent cut last week, there was little relief evident in the financially strapped judicial system.    

“We appreciate the difficult task that the Governor faces in allocating too few state resources. However, cuts at this level will mean significant reductions in service and even further delays in processing civil and criminal cases,” said Minnesota Supreme Court Chief Justice Eric Magnuson in a written statement issued shortly after Pawlenty released his budget plan.

The proposed cuts to the courts came as part of a broad package of more than $2 billion in deficit-dealing reductions. And the news could get worse. The governor’s proposal depends on the state being able to tap federal stimulus funds. If those funds do not become available, much deeper cuts will likely be put on the table.

The budget is now in the hands of the Legislature, where the courts hope to make the case that that the third branch of government cannot stand another pruning at this point.

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“We have said repeatedly that adequate funding of the justice system is not an option, but an obligation of state government,” Magnuson said in his statement. “We will continue our discussions with the Legislature and the Governor with the goal of protecting the rights and safety of all Minnesotans.”

Minnesota State Bar Association President Mike Ford said its difficult to convince lawmakers how critical the situation is becoming, particularly since the courts have been underfunded even in good times.

“It’s like infrastructure,” he explained. “It was difficult to get them to pay attention to bridges until the collapse of the I-35W bridge. When there’s the equivalent of the I-35W bridge falling down in the justice system, people will pay attention.”

Ford is, of course, hoping that educational and lobbying efforts will help avoid things reaching that point for the judicial system.  

Supporters of the judicial system maintain that as a core government function, the judiciary should be not be treated as an executive agency ripe for trimming, but as the co-equal branch of government it is supposed to be.

“The judicial branch ought to be held harmless from budget cuts,” said State Public Defender John Stuart. “This is about the survival of the court system.”

Stuart warned about the potential impact of the governor’s plan to slash another 5 percent from the public defense system, which has already lost the equivalent of 53 lawyers, or about 12 percent of its lawyer work force, last year.

“We could lose another 40 to 50 lawyers, and public defenders are already in very short supply in many courts,” he told Minnesota Lawyer.

Many proceedings have already been delayed as judges, prosecutors and parties ready to start a court proceeding are forced to wait for a public defender rushing from court to court, according to Stuart. More cuts would hit small courts particularly hard with fewer defenders available to cover them, he predicted.

Dakota County Attorney Jim Backstrom said the situation currently faced by the judicial system is one of the most dire he has seen in his career.

“We are already seeing delays in cases due to [past] cuts to the court system and to public defenders. It slows the entire process. Many courts have closed their service windows for parts of the day.”  

While a 5 percent proposed cut is better than a 10 percent one, “any cuts to the courts will be difficult and cause significant problems,” Backstrom told Minnesota Lawyer.

Legal Aid

Legal Aid funding also suffered a substantial blow in the governor’s budget proposal.

Under the plan, Legal Aid would lose $1 million in one-time funding, plus 5 percent of its base state funding, or about another $600,000.

Jeremy Lane, executive director of Mid-Minnesota Legal Services, said that the $1.6 million in lost funds is the equivalent of 25 full-time lawyers.

The cuts would mean that about 2,700 families who are now being served by Legal Aid would have to be turned away, according to Lane. Because housing is the largest area of demand for Legal Services, the reduction of those services will result in an increase in homelessness and an increase in costs for shelter housing, Lane predicted.

Proactive measures being taken

Aware that the courts’ budget would likely once again be targeted due to the state’s fiscal crisis, the legal community and other friends and supporters of the justice system began formulating a response well before the governor’s recently announced proposed cuts.

Last fall, the Coalition to Preserve Minnesota’s Justice System was formed at the invitation of Chief Justice Magnuson. The group includes justice system representatives (judges, court staff, prosecutors, public defenders, Legal Services providers and law enforcement) and supporters (League of Woman Voters, AFSCME, Teamsters, bar associations and WATCH).

The assembly of such a broad-based coalition of often competing interests for this single purpose demonstrates the seriousness of the situation.

Backstrom said that the coalition has been able to identify efficiencies where possible to aid in the budget situation, but nowhere near the level of the proposed cuts.

The MSBA has launched its own effort, called “1,000 supporters,” in which individuals pledged to help secure adequate funding for the justice system.”

Perhaps demonstrating the popularity of the cause in the legal community, the MSBA reports that more than 1,000 supporters have now signed up for the “1,000 supporters” effort. Despite having achieved its original goal, the group still welcomes more supporters to join. (Information is available on the group’s website, www.mnbar.org.)