Asking the Florida court system to cut its budget by 10 percent next year — on top of 6 percent cuts this year — would be asking the that branch of government to commit suicide, Supreme Court Chief Justice Fred Lewis told a key Senate committee last week.
“I don’t believe any of you wish to undermine an entire branch of government,” Lewis told the Senate Criminal and Civil Justice Appropriations Committee March 20. “I plead with you to work with us to find other ways to address this problem other than a 10 percent across-the-board cut.”
That 10 percent reduction, the chief justice said, “is placing an arrow through the heart of the branch. I can tell you the soul of the branch will remain strong and we will continue to strive to serve the people of Florida.
“But now with the 10 percent,” he continued, “if we come forward and say we can sustain the 10 percent, then we’re saying we’ll commit suicide.”
Lewis made his pitch, and then representatives from state attorneys, public defenders, guardians ad litem, the offices of capital collateral regional counsel, and other court and law enforcement related agencies told the committee how they would cope with a further 10 percent budget reduction for the 2008-09 fiscal year.
Chair Victor Crist, R-Tampa, said the panel had no choice within its budget allotment but to cut 10 percent across the board from the courts and the state agencies it oversees. But he noted the committee’s budget could be amended once it goes to the Senate floor and would likely be changed again during budget negotiations with the House.
Some committee members said they would try to take funds from other state programs to lessen the impact on the courts.
“Some things are more important than others. I think we should all keep in mind that on the floor we can find more sources of money,” said Sen. Alex Villalobos, R-Miami.
“There’s no way that I would be able to live with myself if I didn’t fight to preserve the judiciary at the level where it would be effective for the people of the state of Florida,” said Sen. Arthenia Joyner, D-Tampa. “I have no problems with raiding someone else’s budget to save a branch of government.”
Those appearing before the committee presented a bleak picture of the impact of the proposed cuts. Lewis told the committee in the first round of cuts last September, the courts lost more than $9 million. In the cuts approved March 12, another $17.2 million was sliced. Cutting 20 percent would cost the courts an additional $41.2 million, he said.
The cuts for the current year required a work-force reduction of more than 240 positions (met by not filling existing positions), Lewis said. The 10 percent cut would require laying off another 727 employees for a total loss of 967 positions in about a year, or 30 percent of the judicial system’s work force. He noted the court system added about 1,200 employees under Revision 7 when the state assumed many functions that had been funded by counties.
Lewis explained that 87 percent of the court budget is in salaries and, of that, 42 percent is for judges, who are constitutional officers and hence cannot be fired or have their salaries reduced. The cuts have to be concentrated on support staff, where the impact is, in effect, an 18 percent reduction, he said.
The impact on the courts would include delays for all types of cases, including high priority criminal and family proceedings that have statutory time limits, Lewis said. Court mediation programs, which have dramatically reduced the number of trials, will be ended, which “would result in delays and higher costs for citizens,” he added.
Children in foster care, landlords looking to evict tenants, and foreclosure actions would all be delayed, Lewis said. He added it’s even possible those charged with crimes might go free because the courts couldn’t meet speedy trial deadlines.
Lewis pledged to work with legislators to find additional revenues. “We must get through these troubled waters without sacrificing a branch of government,” he said.
Other court-related agencies projected similar woes, but Crist repeated his message that budgets will be tight.
To state attorneys, Crist said, “You guys are going to have to do a better job of who you choose to prosecute.
“With the public defenders, you need to do a better job with those you provide service and determine if they truly meet the indigent standards.”
Thirteenth Circuit State Attorney Mark Ober, president of the Florida Prosecuting Attorneys Association, said to meet the reductions of the current budget year, state attorneys have not filled 493 positions, both for prosecutors and support staff.
“We did that out of respect for this legislature and because we wanted to be part of the solution,” Ober said. “That was done even though we are struggling more than ever.”
But an additional 10 percent budget cut will mean laying off another 536 employees, he said. Combined with unfilled positions, that would be a 17 percent reduction for prosecutors.
“We would painfully and regretfully be compelled to terminate the employment of prosecutors, investigators, and staff. I am not telling you that for any shock value,” he said.
“To do this would compromise public safety in the state of Florida.”
Work loads for felony prosecutors would rise from 350 to 650 cases, he predicted, and lesser experienced prosecutors would have to take on more complex cases.
Jacksonville attorney Bill White, representing the Florida Public Defender Association, said public defenders may have trouble meeting all of their constitutional functions with another 10 percent budget reduction.
“When you’re looking at whether the lights are going to get turned out or the water turned off, well you can probably get some candles for light,” said White. “What we’re talking about is turning off the water taps with these 10 percent cuts.
“If you’re jamming the whole system up with more cases and fewer people to do the job, then the quality of what we present to the judges goes down.”
Public defenders may have to stop representing defendants in misdemeanor cases, although one option would be for the legislature to specify that no jail time would result from such a conviction, in which case public defenders would not be required, said White.
The committee hearing came only eight days after the legislature approved cuts for the 2007-08 fiscal year that diminished the budgets for the courts, public defenders, and state attorneys by millions of dollars.
— Courtesy of Florida Bar News