Full court press: Supreme Court Chief Justice Mark Martin wants lawmakers to boost the half-billion dollars that the state spends on courts, hoping to modernize an outdated system in the next decade.

• Author: Duckwall, Jane
• Position: The Future of North Carolina: LAW

Anyone frustrated by a pending court case in North Carolina has a friend these days in Supreme Court Chief Justice Mark Martin, who told state lawmakers last year that "a stable and predictable legal system is a key driver of economic development in a globally competitive marketplace." It was the first time since 2003 that a chief justice had been invited to give a State of the Judiciary address to the General Assembly. One reason for the gap, perhaps, is that speeches focusing on the shoestring budgets of the state courts aren't easy listening. Martin pointed out that North Carolina is one of the lowest-ranking states for per-capita spending on the judicial branch.

North Carolina now budgets about $485 million annually for its courts. After cutting funding over the last decade, state lawmakers responded to Martin's complaints about a lack of resources last year by boosting the system's budget by 4.5%, or about $20 million. The system is understaffed by 536 positions, or almost 10% of its total payroll, Martin told lawmakers. North Carolina's courts eliminated about 500 positions between 2009-14, while its technology cannot adequately support the existing 6,000 judicial-branch employees and 2 million cases resolved each year.

Having underfunded courts has real-world implications. The median time to resolve a child-support case was 448 days in 2014, about triple the time it took six years earlier, according to UNC Chapel Hill law professor Barbara Fedders. "A child whose nonprimary custodian is refusing to pay adequate child support now likely has to wait up to a year for the case to be resolved, which can mean the child must go without adequate food, clothes and other necessities," she says. Underfunding "is particularly unfair because courts actually generate revenue for the state." In 2013-14, the courts sent about $740 million to the state and citizens after collecting court costs and fees. That was 60% more than the state spent to maintain courts and provide constitutionally required services.

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In Wake County, assistant district attorneys take turns tending the front desk and answering the phone because they don't have the administrative staff to cover it, says District Attorney Lorrin Freeman. Their time would be better spent meeting with victims and preparing cases, she says. In Mecklenburg County, the courts operate at a 17% staffing shortage, Clerk of Court Elisa Chinn-Gary says. Starting pay is about $28,223...