Courts brace as legislature considers cuts: prosecutors, PDs fear losing key employees.

Imagine waking up one day and all court-sponsored mediation programs had been eliminated; drug court case managers and civil traffic hearing officers are not at their posts; law libraries are closed or their hours greatly reduced; and fewer senior judges are available to hear cases.

That's the scenario Florida faces if the court system is forced to trim 10 percent from its budget to help the state make up for a $1 billion or so shortfall legislators plan to address during the special session set to begin September 18.

"A 10 percent cut of the judicial branch budget produces concerns for the ability of our citizens to access this court system and have disputes resolved in a timely manner," Chief Justice Fred Lewis wrote to the governor, House speaker, and Senate president. "Our operations simply would be significantly impaired to an unacceptable level."

Gov. Charlie Crist has asked all state agencies and branches to prepare for 10 percent cuts, with a minimum 4 percent reduction in spending likely.

"While we have complied with what they have asked us to do, we have tried to identify the types of reduction we believe we can take given the fiscal environment of the state--not what we want to do, but we certainly are willing to do--given the constraints that the state faces," State Courts Administrator Lisa Goodner said.

Significant budget reductions for state attorneys and public defenders also would cut deep, especially considering about 95 percent of those entities' budgets are allocated to salaries and benefits.

"We would then be forced to eliminate existing positions and vacant FTE positions we desperately need," said 13th Circuit State Attorney Mark Ober, president of the Florida Prosecuting Attorneys Association. "Shrinking the number of prosecutors in Florida, where caseload rates are already among the highest in the country, would prove contrary to the best interests of our state."

Goodner said Chief Justice Lewis plans to attend the House and Senate committee meetings being held in advance of the special session the last week in August (after this News went to press) to discuss the proposed reductions and their impact on the courts.

"He will be leading the charge in terms of what we feel we can reasonably do to help and be part of the overall sacrifice that needs to be made when you get into these bad revenue times, but at the same time help people to understand why reductions that go to the 10 percent level, given the constitutional functions the courts perform, would be very troubling and difficult for us to take," Goodner said.

In any event, Goodner said the courts are prepared to make a strong case to keep as much of its funding as possible.

In preparing for the special session, Goodner said the courts have limited any proposed reductions so that they do not include judges, judicial assistants, or law clerks.

"All the judges working on this feel strongly that in order for the courts to perform its most basic constitutional role of adjudicating cases, you have got to have those resources," Goodner said.

A 10 percent reduction at the trial court level would mean a cut of $38 million, said Goodner, adding that the trial courts tried to identify reductions that were more in the 4 percent range that they believe can be made without impacting the ability of the courts to adjudicate cases.

To get there, Goodner said, the trial courts have proposed some cost-shifting that would pass along some current expenditures now paid through the state budget to the clerks of the courts, such as the payment of per diems to jurors.

"That is a $4.5 million issue that is funded through our budget but is right now a pass-through to the clerks, and we have proposed that they can pick that up," Goodner said. "We also have asked the legislature to consider paying for some of the technology resources that the state does fund for the trial courts out of the $2 recording fee that is currently going to the clerks for their technology at the local level."

Other savings could be had by shifting some general revenue spending to trust funds. The trial courts also have offered up a significant reduction to their base operating budgets, such as eliminating money set aside for training and reducing the amount spent on supplies.

If, however, the trial courts must make-do with the full 10 percent cut, "it gets really tough," Goodner said. To find $38 million in reductions at the trial court level and still protect the basic adjudicatory functions, the trial courts would have to eliminate all court-sponsored mediation in the state.

"We have about $11 million and 130 positions that are providing court-sponsored mediation," said Goodner, adding that also would mean eliminating all drug court case management positions and civil traffic hearing officers.

The trial courts also have offered up 20 additional case management positions appropriated a year ago, but never filled, since the warning of a budget shortfall was sounded in July.

The Supreme Court, Goodner said, has proposed "a fairly substantial reduction" in its operating budget by paring back the court's law library and travel budgets. Some other savings may be realized through reduced utility bills due to recently completed renovations at the court. The Supreme Court also is prepared to cut three of the six new positions authorized by the legislature last year.

"They were funded six new security positions and one new maintenance position, and they have offered up two of the security positions and the maintenance position," Goodner said, adding none of those positions have yet been filled.

The district courts of appeal also have identified where they could make cuts in their operating budgets, mainly through reductions to their law libraries, not filling vacant positions, and reducing the money spent on bringing in senior judges to hear cases.

"Their budgets beyond that are almost entirely judges, judicial assistants, and law clerks," Goodner said.

Florida's public defenders and state attorneys also are struggling with the request to cut 10 percent from their respective budgets.

Eighth Circuit Public Defender Rick Parker, president of the Florida Public Defender Association, said since 94 percent of the PDs' budgets are in salaries, "we would have no choice but to implement leave without pay days or cut personnel" if their offices were to experience budget cuts. But that, Parker said, would inevitably cause docket backlogs, increase jail overcrowding, and delay justice, resulting in frustration for victims and defendants alike.

"We are historically under-funded and struggle every single day to meet our constitutional and professional responsibilities," Parker said. "Since we already operate with inadequate staff, trying to identify how you do it with fewer people is beyond my imagination."

Those thoughts are shared by State Attorney Ober, president of the FPAA, who noted even a small reduction in funding would translate into fewer prosecutors.

Parker asked the governor and legislative leaders to exempt the public defenders from any budget cuts, as they did during the last fiscal shortfall in 2000-2001. The state responded that while they understand the pressures that changes to the law and caseload volume place on the PDs, "it is anticipated that all branches and agencies of government will participate in deficit reduction efforts."

The PDs' proposal for temporary layoffs to meet the 10 percent budget reduction exercise also didn't go over well with state policymakers.

"What we've now heard ... is they aren't interested in temporary leave without pay," Parker said. "They want us to identify positions, and they want us to identify salary dollars."

Parker said the PDs will have difficulty absorbing even a 4 percent budget cut without significantly affecting services.

"You can delay road construction and you can delay a lot of things, but denying constitutional representation to criminally charged citizens isn't an option," Parker said.

Ober said years of work by prosecutors and law enforcement officers have resulted in a decrease in the state's crime rate for 15 years in a row and tough sentencing laws--such as the Anti-Murder Act, 10-20-Life, and the Jessica Lunsford Act--benefit the public by allowing prosecutors to keep dangerous criminals off the streets.

"However, we cannot rest on our laurels and assume crime is under control," Ober said. "We cannot afford to take a step backward and reduce the budget of our prosecutors, who are the last line of defense against crime in Florida's courtrooms."

Forced to make-do with a 10 percent budget reduction in his 13th Circuit office would mean a loss of 37 positions, Ober noted.

Ober met with Gov. Crist in late August to discuss what he called the "devastating impact on public safety" that would result from cutting the state attorneys' budgets. He said Crist acknowledged the dilemma budget cuts would have on the state's prosecutors and "is appreciative of what we do."

"I understand the dire situation we are in from an economic point of view, and I understand the difficult task the governor and the legislature have ahead of them in this September special session," Ober said. "When we prioritize the needs of this state, it goes without saying that the function of the 19,000 state prosecutors has to be at the top of the list."

Ober said the Florida Prosecuting Attorneys Association is ready to make its case to maintain its current level of funding and thinks Florida's state attorneys "have a marketable product." He also considers the governor as an ally in this battle.

"I don't think there is anyone out there that would tell you that what the state attorneys do--as we stand hand-in-hand with the law enforcement community in general--is not essential," Ober said. "The protection of the public is essential to the well-being of the entire state."

Ober also noted the continuing problem state attorneys in Florida have with turnover.

"Today, heavy caseloads and great pay disparity between the private law firms and our offices place us in an untenable employment position," he said.

"Naturally, this high rate of attrition produces great inefficiency in our workplace. I dare say that very few private sector businesses could survive this critical situation. To compound this problem with inadequate funding would be detrimental to the welfare of the public," Ober said.

Lawyers can assist the courts by educating the other branches of government to the importance of the various services the court provides, Goodner said.

"I think the Bar membership understands there are some core functions

in the court system that need to be protected in order to hear disputes and carry out the mission of the branch," Goodner said.

By Mark D. Killian

Managing Editor