The Cba, Tabor, and the Judicial Funding Crisis

• Publication year: 2004
• Pages: 65

33 Colo.Law. 11 Colorado Lawyer 2004.

2004, August, Pg. 65. The CBA, TABOR, and the Judicial Funding Crisis

Vol. 33, No. 8, Pg. 11

The Colorado Lawyer
August 2004
Vol. 33, No. 8 [Page 65]

Features
CBA President's Message to Members
The CBA, TABOR, and the Judicial Funding Crisis
by Steve C. Briggs

Due to late-breaking new information, the article printed in the August 2004 issue of The Colorado Lawyer was updated for this online version. This online version should be treated as the final version of the article

Under our constitutional system, courts stand against any
winds that blow, as havens of refuge for those who might

Steve C. Briggs
otherwise suffer because they are helpless, weak,
outnumbered, or because they are nonconforming
victims of prejudice and public excitement

- Justice Hugo Black

More and more, it is our state courts in need of a refuge: a haven from legislative attacks and from relentlessly constricting budgets, which are squeezing the justice out of the administration of justice. This month's article focuses on our role in responding to the current financial crisis in the courts

The Judicial Funding Crisis

Our state judicial branch has for many years struggled with a budget that has not kept pace with the state's increasing population and caseload.1 In recent years, insufficient budget increases have given way to actual budget cuts, converting what was a chronic problem into a crisis.

In the past fiscal year alone, which ended on June 30, 2004, the Judicial General Fund appropriation was reduced by another $21 million. Cash funds generated through three legislative bills offset that amount by $10.3 million, leaving a total reduction of $10.7 million.2 Even with the offset, the overall decrease in the judicial budget of another $10.7 million meant that 290 positions in the judicial branch had to be eliminated. This represents a 14 percent reduction in non-judge staff, at a time when caseloads increased another 7 percent.3 As for the judges, after years of requests, in 2001 the legislature had finally authorized the addition of twenty-four new judges.4 However, because of budget cuts in the ensuing years, half of those openings still remain unfilled.

The impact has not just been on the judicial staff and judges. The horror stories from attorneys and clients increase daily, ranging from irritating clerical delays to inability to get emergency motions heard to avoid serious financial or even physical harm.5

The Source of the Crisis

Colorado, as other states, has suffered through an economic downturn for several years, but is now nicely recovering. Nevertheless, the judicial funding crisis continues to worsen. The real culprit is the interaction of several constitutional provisions enacted by citizen initiatives. None has wreaked more havoc than the spending limits contained in Article X, § 20, commonly known as "TABOR," the longest, most complex, provision ever visited upon our Colorado Constitution.6

Although TABOR contains many provisions that have no place in a state constitution, two spending limits hold the keys to the current crisis. The first limits spending increases based on growth in population and inflation. Experience has shown that needs for government services are related, not to...