Vt. court cuts could limit public access
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By DANIEL BARLOW Vermont Press Bureau - Published: January 6, 2009
MONTPELIER — The Vermont chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union warned lawmakers this month that any further budgets cuts to the state's judicial system "will result in the public effectively losing access to the courts."
In a memo to Chief Justice Paul Reiber and top lawmakers, the Montpelier organization states that if Vermont's court system is cut any further it opens the possibility that a person's constitutional rights will be violated.
"We fear that any reduction in court functioning beyond the status quo will place Vermonters' right to a speedy criminal trial in serious jeopardy and will threaten the constitutional guarantee of civil justice by imposing unreasonable delays upon litigants," states the letter, which was sent out on Jan. 2.
Vermont's court system has so far survived the state's budget crisis relatively unscathed. Originally set for a $2.4 million reduction in its $32 million annual budget, the courts instead were ordered to cut nearly a quarter of a million dollars, along with closing some courthouses for a half-day each week.
But there are more than $40 million in new cuts that lawmakers are expected to grapple with when the new legislative session begins Wednesday — and the chance that Judiciary survives another wave without more cuts is unlikely.
Allen Gilbert, the executive director of the ACLU in Vermont, said that further cuts to the state's court system could slow the speed of cases to a crawl, opening up a possibility of lawsuits on constitutional grounds.
With the Vermont Supreme Court throwing out the conviction of a man charged with assault earlier this year because his right to a speedy trial was allegedly violated, it should be clear that the state is close to a dangerous situation, Gilbert added.
That case — which centers on Michael Brillon and his sentencing of 12 to 20 years in prison in 2004 — is now headed to the U.S. Supreme Court.
"If there is evidence this is happening, we'll consider the case," Gilbert said.
Sen. Richard Sears, D-Bennington, the chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, said any further cuts would likely affect the services at local courthouses, causing the backlog of cases awaiting trial or resolution to grow.
Vermont's dilemma, he said, is that without new revenue or dipping into the state's so-called rainy day fund, more cuts would be the only way to balance the state's budget, which needs to be trimmed by millions of more dollars to be balanced.
"We can't just cut our way out of this," Sears said.
Vermonters use the court system more per capita than neighboring New England states, according to research conducted by the ACLU.
In 2006, there were 32,905 new cases filed per 100,000 residents in Vermont, according to the organization. For comparison, Massachusetts had 21,759 filed that year per 100,000 residents; Maine had 20,000; New Hampshire 19,563; Connecticut 17,842 and Rhode Island had 10,912.
And when it came to personal problems, Vermonters have also turned to the courts for resolution. That same year, there were 3,357 new domestic-related court cases filed per 100,000 residents, compared with the national average of 1,594 per 100,000 residents.
Meanwhile, Vermont's courts receive less funding compared to these other states. According to the ACLU, Vermont allocates less than 1 percent of its annual budget for the courts, compared with 2.7 percent for Connecticut; 2.6 percent for Massachusetts; 2.3 percent for Rhode Island; 1.5 percent for Maine; 1.5 percent for New York and 1.3 percent for New Hampshire.
That breaks down to about $151 in funding in Vermont for each new court case, compared with $1,014 in Rhode Island and $249 for New Hampshire.
Sen. Susan Bartlett, D-Lamoille, the chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, said Judiciary officials will return in this new session with a plan for further cuts after receiving a pass in this round.
Money could be saved in the Judiciary system by consolidating courts and relying more heavily on video conferencing for hearings and meetings instead of transporting offenders to a courthouse for a hearing, she said.
"They are probably going to take some hits," she said.
A call to Reiber, the chief justice of the Vermont Supreme Court, was not returned Monday.
Contact Daniel Barlow at Daniel.Barlow@timesargus.com.