Nation's Courts Taking Different Approaches to Addressing Fiscal Crisis
Posted by Eric Winkler on Wed, Aug 03, 2011 @ 01:34 PM
The Judicial Council Watcher yesterday issued a summary outlining how courts across the United States are dealing with the fiscal crisis. The article, which includes information from newspaper reports and the National Center for State Courts (NCSC), states courts in 44 states have experienced budget cuts.
Courts across the nation are making dramatic cuts. While California has been impacted, other states' courts have less flexibility in finding sources of funding, according to the report. This has led to courts instituting furloughs, reducing hours, freezing or reducing salaries, raising fines and fees, as well as implementing layoffs. A summary of the courts affected and the actions they've taken can be found in the table below. (If a state is not listed, that is because its courts are currently not in fiscal crisis.)
Note: The California Judicial Branch's fiscal crisis and the actions being taken by specific courts is being covered separately on this blog. The cuts being implemented in California were not included in the Judicial Council Watcher article.