Legislative Wrap-Up, 0517 ALBJ, 78 The Alabama Lawyer 202 (2017)

AuthorOthni J. Lathram, J.

LEGISLATIVE WRAP-UP

Vol. 78 No. 3 Pg. 202

Alabama Bar Lawyer

May, 2017

Othni J. Lathram, J.

Issues Facing Our Judiciary

Over the past few years, there has been an increasing focus on trying to address the issues that face our judiciary. As lawyers, we have a unique interest in helping to ensure that the judiciary runs as well as possible. The Alabama State Bar has done a very good job of educating both its membership and policy-makers of how the judicial branch operates and what its funding and structural needs are. That being said, the answers are not simple ones. As we all know, the condition of our budgets is such that significant increases in state funding are not likely. Similarly, we know that given how high, and varied, our court costs are that further increases in that area are not advisable. This means that we must look for more complex answers that focus on making better use of the resources we already have.

Judicial reallocation

One of the more complicated issues facing our judiciary has been an unequal allocation of resources. The distribution of judgeships has not kept pace with the changes in demographics and population distribution in our state. Given the practical problems with creating new judgeships the creation of a way to move judgeships gained appeal. While this issue has been studied and bills introduced for several years, in 2017, consensus on a specific approach was reached.

Act 2017-42, sponsored by Senators Arthur Orr and Cam Ward and carried in the house by Representatives Jim Hill and Chris England, creates the Judicial Resources Allocation Commission. The commission is comprised of the chief justice, the governor's legal advisor, the attorney general, three circuit judges, three district judges and three lawyers. The composition ensures that both urban and rural judges serve. The commission is charged with annually ranking the circuits and districts to determine the need to increase or decrease the number of judges and rank each court accordingly and reporting the same to the governor and legislature.

In the event that a vacancy occurs, the commission can cause that judgeship to be moved prior to the vacancy being filled. A vacancy is defined as an open position caused by death, retirement, resignation or removal from office. The commission also has the power to move a judgment if the incumbent judge will be unable to run for reelection due to...

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