What Maine residents need to know about the chronic underfunding of the Maine judicial system

As a lawyer, I have a client who is being told that it is likely that the wrongful death case involving his son who died in January 2005 will not be heard until 2009 at the earliest. I also represent a man in his late 70s who filed a lawsuit in 2005 to resolve the boundary lines to his property with an abutting paper company. Due to the lack of sufficient judicial resources, the case probably will not be resolved in his lifetime.

Inescapably, prompt justice costs money. The state’s current efforts to reduce an already skeletal budget threatens the ability of our court system to provide timely and effective judicial services.

Faced with a daunting budget deficit over the next two-year budget cycle, the Maine judicial branch has been asked to reduce its budget further by $2.1 million. This request follows efforts by the judiciary to constrain spending by $1.2 million in 2008 and $1.5 million in 2009 to pay for constitutionally required counsel (criminal defense and child protective cases).

The dramatic shortfall in state income and sales tax revenues is forcing some very difficult choices. Yes, other components of state government are also facing sharp cuts. The courts, though, are crucially different:

First, the services provided by the court system are created by the state and federal constitutions. A criminal defendant has the constitutional right to a speedy and public trial before a jury, and the right to counsel is one of the most fundamental procedural safeguards to assure a fair trial. In civil matters, the Maine Constitution guarantees parties to a dispute a “prompt” disposition “without delay.”

Second, the judicial branch, unlike many other governmental agencies, actually produces more revenue than it spends. Last year, the Maine judiciary took in gross revenues from fines and fees of more than $48 million, yet its expenses totaled only $45 million. On the civil side, Maine’s Medicaid program recovers millions of dollars from private parties when their personal injury cases are settled. This recovery will be delayed, or perhaps lost entirely, if civil cases are not being handled efficiently.

The Maine judicial branch is already one of the most under-funded judicial systems in the country. Maine spends $34 per capita for its system of justice, as compared with New Hampshire at $45 and Vermont at $48; Maine has the fewest courthouses per square mile in New England; the smallest account for constitutionally required attorneys; and the second lowest judicial pay in the nation.

Consider the potential consequences:

• Criminal cases may not be prosecuted, or prosecution may be delayed. If we, as a society, are serious about enforcing our criminal laws, there must be a judicial system that has the financial resources to handle the ever-increasing caseload. This includes providing adequate funds to provide modest compensation for constitutionally required counsel. When the state does not pay for these services in a timely manner, lawyers who handle court appointments must then finance their office expenses or close their doors.
  
  
• Protection-from-abuse and -harassment cases will not be heard. Protection depends on the availability of judges to issue and enforce protective orders, and on clerks to process the related paperwork that the police need to enforce the court orders.
  
  
• Divorces, post-divorce modifications and other essential family law issues will not get resolved in a timely manner.
  
  
• Already, we have delays of three years or more in getting a civil jury trial in many counties. People who have suffered serious personal injuries or who have suffered economic harm cannot get their day in court.
  
  
• Businesses that rely upon the courts to settle contract disputes or to collect debts may decide not to do business in Maine.

We have all heard the maxim “justice delayed is justice denied.” It is essential for the health and vitality of our society that the other two branches of government provide the necessary financial resources so that the judicial system, a co-equal branch of government, may assure the rule of law, and to provide equality and fairness to all.