We must protect investments in the judiciary.

• Author: Young, Gwynne A.
• Position: Florida Bar - President's page

Proper perspective is in order. Imagine a pie chart of the state of Florida's $69,896,485,549 budget. You practically need to squint and use a magnifying glass to see the judicial branch's tiny sliver--0.6 percent--yes, just six-tenths of one percent.

Yet, the mission of the judiciary is huge. It is a vital, third co-equal branch of government that must administer justice in civil and criminal courts fairly, effectively, and efficiently, at the trial and appellate levels.

That's why The Florida Bar continues to make adequate court funding its top priority.

This year's State Court System's $474 million budget request for FY 2013-14 is only about $30 million more than last year's approved budget.

How does the court system want to spend that additional $30 million?

Rather than requesting substantial new resources, the emphasis is to "invest in the investment" the legislature has already made in the judicial branch.

This is the year to protect investments statewide at the trial and appellate levels--whether they are brick-and-mortar court buildings or flesh-and-blood employees.

Court employees have not had a raise since 2006, despite having to do more with less after 235 positions were eliminated. What's new this year is asking for a 3.5 percent competitive salary adjustment for all employees of the state courts system so that the judiciary can attract, hire, and retain highly qualified and competent employees.

"We have been asking our people to do more and more with less and less. And we are at the critical stage where if we don't invest in our personnel resources, we are going to continue to lose them. And that will have an adverse impact on the ability of the trial courts to keep cases moving to serve the people," said 20th Circuit Judge Margaret Steinbeck, chair of the Trial Court Budget Commission.

She is quick to say she doesn't want to sound ungrateful, and was relieved the legislature did not cut the courts' budget last year. There's no question the court stabilization funding plan hammered out a year ago--to make sure the court budget is no longer dependent on volatile court filing fees--is working.

While the plan is working, it's not enough to protect the courts' investments in its people. Court personnel have been expected to do more with less without a raise year after year after year after year after year after year. Yes, six long years and counting.

"We are losing some of our best and brightest to other government agencies," Judge...