Justice hangs in the balance by state's reluctance to fund courts
By LUCY MORGAN
Published November 29, 2003
The rule of law in Florida is in jeopardy, says Florida Supreme Court Chief Justice Harry Lee Anstead.
It would be a terrible tragedy, Anstead says, if at the very time President Bush is advocating the rule of law to curb terrorism the concept is diminished in Florida, where the president's brother is governor.
Florida voters approved a constitutional amendment in 1998 that requires the state to pay the salaries, costs and expenses for running the court system. It was to begin in 2001 and be done by 2004. The state would have six years from the 1998 election to make it work.
You can guess what happened.
When state coffers were full, lawmakers spent the money elsewhere. Then 9/11 came and extra money disappeared.
Now Florida is going into a budget year that is supposed to be one of the worst ever, and judges are rightly worried about what will happen.
Senate President Jim King already has made it clear that the Legislature will "screw the counties."
So you can probably expect the counties to continue putting up a lot of money for courts, but some services could disappear.
Last year, lawmakers approved a bill outlining how the constitutional amendment will be implemented. They are supposed to decide on funding in the 2004 session.
Last week, Anstead told reporters he doesn't expect good news.
County governments thought they were off the hook and are reluctant to keep paying a tab that is supposed to be paid by the state.
So how does this affect you?
Anstead says your local courts are in serious jeopardy.
There are not enough judges to handle the caseloads.
Drug courts, mediators, night sessions of traffic courts that help people work by day and pay at night, mental health services and teen courts are at risk. More defendants will go to jail and the costs to taxpayers will be higher.
In Pinellas County last year, drug courts allowed 118 people to obtain residential or outpatient treatment and get their lives back on track. State officials say drug courts work for eight of every 10 defendants.
Jail costs at least $28,000 a year per inmate.
The money for the special masters who hear family law cases in some counties is also likely to disappear, increasing the workload on judges who are already overburdened in most areas.
Pilot programs that have helped foster children in some states will disappear along with the jobs of some people who work in the court system.
In Hillsborough County, Chief Circuit Judge Manuel Menendez Jr. predicts the six-month wait most people experience when a civil lawsuit is ready for trial may become six years of waiting.
Some criminal cases will have to be dismissed - not because no crime was committed but because no judge can hear the case in a timely fashion, which is likely to put more felons on Florida streets.
In some states where budget constraints have squeezed the courts, prosecuting minor crimes has stopped altogether.
Car thieves, prostitutes and shoplifters in Oregon are getting a free ride because of budget cuts, and courthouses are forced to close on Fridays.
Oregon no longer processes small claims, leaving people to resolve their own debt disputes. The courts no longer have the manpower to process the paperwork and judges don't have time to hear the complaints.
Anstead doesn't want to see Florida in a similar situation.
He's urging Floridians to contact their lawmakers and let them know that Florida needs to adequately provide for its court system.
Without the rule of law, the car thieves, shoplifters and scam artists win.
