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Utah's Chief Justice says the state's justice system could grind to a halt if proposed budget cuts to the courts system go through.
The State of the Judiciary Address has almost become a formality on the first day of the session on Capitol Hill. This year, however, the chief justice told lawmakers all state court employees will be forced into a five-week furlough and will have their paychecks cut by 20 percent if the system's budget is cut by 7.5 percent.
"The only way we will be able to accomplish such a large reduction is to furlough every one of our thousand employees for twenty-six days before June 30, a total furlough of more than five full work weeks," explained Chief Justice Christine M. Durham, of the Utah Supreme Court.
Those five weeks off will mean employee paychecks will be cut by 20 percent, and their workload will just keep piling up while they are away. "We are already receiving complaints from lawyers and members of the public about delays in processing cases; and frankly, I sympathize with them. Delays in the resolution of legal disputes have profound human and economic costs," Durham said.
The state court system says it needs three additional judges and 40 court staffers just to keep up with demand. However, positions have already been eliminated and many more could be cut in 2010.
"We are experiencing an increase of 18 percent of our filings. And so, there is more work than there has ever been, and we'll have fewer employees to address that work," said State Court Administrator Daniel Becker.
Criminal cases and child welfare cases will take priority; civil cases are expected to pile up. Courthouses could also be closed an additional day a week.
"It's a constitutional responsibility that we have of carrying out these duties and providing these services to the public. We're very concerned that cuts of this nature could jeopardize our ability to deliver the kinds of services we believe the public is entitled to," Becker said.
While employees of the state courts will see a pay cut, Utah's judges will not. Their salaries are set by state law. Thus, they will not face a furlough regardless of the budget crisis.
E-mail: spenrod@ksl.com
