Legislature needs to make court funding a priority

One of the key roles of state government is to provide a working court system. The judiciary is a co-equal branch, along with the legislature and the executive, and is charged with deciding legal matters ranging from criminal cases (nearly 35,000 last year) to adoptions of children (about 1,900).

In all, Kansas courts took on nearly 400,000 new cases last year. Most of them are not headline-grabbers, but they are important to the people involved.

Lawyers have first-row views (often literally) of the courts, so we see that they matter to more than just the parties to a case. We need a fully functioning judicial branch to maintain the rule of law and protect the rights we all enjoy.

Unfortunately, pressures on the state budget have put increasing strain on Kansas courts. In 2010, the judiciary was closed statewide for four days due to lack of money.

Closing the courts is a drastic and serious matter. It means, for example, that restraining orders for domestic violence victims cannot be issued. The speedy trial rights of criminal defendants come into play, with the potential for criminal charges being dismissed if cases aren’t tried in time.

During a court furlough, judicial branch employees – such as probation officers, clerks, and court reporters – are not paid. (Judges are paid during furloughs because the Kansas Constitution prohibits reducing their salaries.)

The courts have avoided more shutdowns by tightening their belts. Judicial branch employees have borne the brunt of it – doing more work for effectively less pay. Last year, National Center for State Courts studied their compensation. The study was funded by a grant. The results confirm the problems that those who work with the courts see firsthand:

▪  Every job classification within the Kansas judicial branch pays below market – some as much as 22 percent.

▪  More than one quarter of the positions in the Kansas judicial branch have starting salaries below the federal poverty level for a family of four.

▪  Nearly a third of Kansas judicial branch employees have second jobs “to make ends meet.” About another 10 percent are looking for second jobs. (About 8 percent of Kansas workers generally hold two or more jobs.)

Judicial branch employees have only had one pay increase since 2008 – a 2 percent raise that was offset by their paying a larger share of their benefits. (Judges were not part of that pay raise. Kansas ranks 50th in district judge pay – out of 51, including Washington, D.C.)

The courts lose valuable employees who cannot afford to stay.

The Legislature has its plate full with the 2017 budget, but improving court funding would take relatively little money. The judicial branch accounts for less than 1percent of the state budget. Being such a small slice of the pie, judicial funding has not received much public attention.

It is time for the Legislature to make court funding a priority.

This story was originally published April 3, 2017 at 5:04 AM with the headline "Legislature needs to make court funding a priority."