The judicial branch today announced its list of proposed cuts to services to make the monetary savings required by the Governor57;s new budget proposal. As feared, lots of people are going to be laid off, courthouses will close and services will be drastically compromised. You can read the full list of cuts here [PDF] and here56;s a Capitol Watch post on the proposed cuts. I57;ve listed the most significant (to me) proposed changes below, but first, a quote from the Chief Justice57;s press release [PDF] today:

Our state Constitution in Article I, Section 10 states: “All courts shall be open, and every person, for an injury done to him in his person, property or reputation, shall have remedy by due course of law, and right and justice administered without sale, denial or delay.”

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With these cuts, however, I am not certain that we can adequately meet the requirements of Article I, Section 10. Access will be limited and we also anticipate that the resolution of civil, family, housing and small claims cases will be delayed. The end result is that our ability to administer justice as required by the Constitution may very well be compromised.

Now, onto those cuts. First, four criminal courts will either physically or functionally close:

In addition, juvenile court operations in several courts will also close/move: Danbury (moved to Waterbury/Stamford), Rockville (moved to Willimantic/Hartford) and Torrington (moved to Waterbury).

119 Temporary Assistant Clerks (affectionately called 60;tacks61;) will lose their jobs. I believe that57;s a large majority, if not, all of them. These are, most often, the clerks you see sitting in courtrooms, taking notes, marking exhibits and doing clerk-y things.

But there57;s more dire stuff: the only three operational drug courts in CT: New Haven, Bridgeport and Danielson will close. Drugs courts were introduced as a very useful and effective way to combat the high incidence of minor drug-related offenses. If you ask about its success, YMMV, but undoubtedly it was an attempt to recognize that drug offenders need help and treatment, not incarceration.

The cuts also mean that some important services like 60;Building Bridges61; which helps provide housing for homeless people who can no longer stay in shelters, is completely eliminated.

Finally, in more devastating news for the state57;s poor and needy, the amount the Judicial Branch provides to Legal Aid organizations in the State will be reduced by 33%: from $1.5 million to $1million. For those organizations who are constantly struggling to find funding, $500,000 is a lot of money and sadly this only ensures that their ability to provide needed services just got more challenging.

It57;s already pretty clear from this brief summary that it will be the poor, underprivileged and needy who will most feel the effects of these cuts and closings. But that57;s not the end of it. The public defender57;s office also has to reduce its budget by some $4.7 million dollars, which only means layoffs, increased caseloads and 51; unfortunately 51; an adverse impact on the ability to effectively represent 51; yet again 51; the underprivileged and poor among us. I have no actual details about the public defender cuts, nor would I be stupid enough to actually say anything about that even if I did, so instead I57;ll just point you to this piece in the New Britain Herald, which has some information.

Wherever you stand on the political spectrum, it57;s a sad day in CT for not only the thousands of employees who stand to lose their livelihoods and who knows what else as a consequence, but also those who rely on the State for the support that they are unable to provide themselves. One can only hope that there57;s a way to avoid all of this becoming reality.

 

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