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Below is
the complete text of the “State of the Judiciary”
address delivered Monday by N.C. Supreme Court Chief Lake
(below left) to a joint session of the state House and Senate:
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"For many years now, our entire
third branch of government . . . has been required to operate with less than
3 percent of all funds
available to the State of North Carolina. With that level of funding, we
have not been able to meet adequately our constitutional responsibilities and
expand our services as demanded by our growing population."
--
Chief Justice I. Beverly Lake Jr.,
in his address to the General Assembly |
Budget
cuts 'will deeply and severely impact
our ability to serve the people of North Carolina
'
Lieutenant
Governor Perdue, Speaker Black, President Pro Tempore Basnight,
Senators and Representatives of the 2001 General Assembly,
distinguished guests, and ladies and gentlemen: Thank you for
tonight's invitation to share with you the progress and
overall status of North Carolina's Third Branch of Government,
our Judicial Branch.
It is indeed an honor for me to be given the privilege of
entering this chamber to address a joint session of this
General Assembly. If I may, I would like to begin on a point
of personal privilege. Twenty-four years ago, I was given
another honor which I will always cherish. The people of Wake,
Harnett and Lee Counties made me a member of this General
Assembly. Because of my years here, I know firsthand how hard
you work, the burdens of constituent service and what an
overall joy it is to represent and serve as you do all the
people of North Carolina. While here, I served with many great
North Carolinians, and six are still serving and are, I
believe, here with us tonight: Senator Plyler, Senator Soles,
Representative Brubaker, Representative Easterling,
Representative Holmes, and Representative Nye. I want to pay a
special tribute tonight to these six members who have rendered
such long and laudable service to our State. Thank you so
much.
One of the primary goals which we have worked toward over the
past several years, under the good leadership of our last two
Chief Justices, has been the enhancement of the partnership
which we share, wherein you make our laws and we apply
them----consistent with your intent, our Constitution and the
Common Law. In working toward this real partnership goal, it
is critical that we continue to improve the sense of
partnership between the Legislative and Judicial Branches. To
this end, it is essential that we in the Judicial Branch be
forthright and accurate in anticipating our needs and in
communicating them to you. This I am committed to do.
It is, I believe, reflective of this commitment that, in
filling the very critical position of Director of our
Administrative Office of the Courts, I chose Judge Robert
Hobgood, a former member of this General Assembly. He has
worked with you through the years and is, as you know, a man
in whom we all can have complete confidence and who will
greatly enhance our partnership.
Now, with that preliminary, I am pleased to report to you
tonight that the state of the judiciary is generally good and
justice in North Carolina has improved, thanks in large part
to the recent actions of this body in moving our courts
further into the technological age. This is the message
reflected in our year 2000 Annual Report, which outlines a
number of accomplishments and some of our concerns for the
future. A copy of this report is hopefully with each one of
you tonight.
As you well know, it is simply a fact of life that today we
live or die by the computer. From the county magistrate's
office to the Supreme Court, new technology saves valuable
time, a great deal of money, and lives. Our law enforcement
officers are back out on our streets more quickly, and our
citizens don't have as long to wait for critical services at
our 100 offices of clerk of court. The clerk's office of the
Supreme Court is the first in the country to offer e-filing.
Since its inception a year and a half ago, 88 briefs have been
filed electronically resulting in substantial cost savings. We
thank you for understanding our most critical court needs in
the area of technology.
In terms of case management and backlog, our courts are doing
reasonably well in light of the continued, substantial
increase in cases and petitions filed at all levels each day.
I am pleased to report that at the end of the year 2000, the
Supreme Court was current and today is able to set cases for
oral argument without delay. Our Court of Appeals judges
continue to work exceptionally hard, and they produce an
incredible number of well-written opinions. Last year, 1592
appeals were filed with that court, and notwithstanding the
election, the court disposed of 98% of them by written
opinion. The Court of Appeals judges welcome the three new
judgeships which you created last year. Our 105 Superior Court
Judges across the state disposed of 285,408 cases last year,
approximately 96% of the number filed (296,380), and our 235
District Court Judges, incredibly, disposed of nearly 2.5
million cases, or 98% of the total cases filed (2,530,221).
As you can see from these numbers, our trial judges, these 340
public servants, who like you are elected by our people, are
doing a tremendous amount of work, and they are doing it
exceptionally well. However, they are no longer able to keep
pace with the incoming surge of people seeking help from our
courts. In this regard, I would like to recall the words of
former Chief Justice Burley Mitchell in his 1999 address to
you, and I quote: "Our trial courts are struggling but
holding their own. They will not be able to do so much longer
without help."
These words were prophetic, as was the report of the
internationally respected Gartner Group, which warned of
severe, pending problems due to lack of technology in our
courthouses across the state. Your initial funding has already
been used to begin a number of urgently needed and
cost-effective programs. I emphasize "to begin"
because without additional or at least continuation funding,
these programs will falter and fail, thus wasting the
investment made to date.
These programs include: Courtflow and Casewise computer
systems enabling much more efficient management of cases; an
Automated Judgment Abstracting System; and a Set-Off Debt
Collection Program, which last year collected more than 2
million dollars for future indigent defendant representation
by tracking the tax returns of former defendants still owing
the state money.
This is good news and a good beginning, but let me again
recall the words of former Chief Justice Mitchell in his
message to you two years ago. He stated: "Many elements
of the existing equipment, software and communication vehicles
are so old and outdated that we cannot begin to meet the needs
of the various users across the state." We need funding
to purchase updated replacement technology, to maintain the
new programs in which our partnership has invested, and to
provide the training resources which we must have throughout
the state.
We are now, by evolution, committed to the course of
technology. If you will pardon the analogy, we have launched
our boat on a rapid river, which we must now travel. There is
no turning back, and if we do not stay the course, we will
founder. If we do that, it will cost the taxpayers of North
Carolina many millions of dollars to relaunch and get back to
where we are now and millions more to recover lost ground.
Now, I fully understand the magnitude of our budget crisis,
and we are doing our part to help. I implemented a hiring
slowdown on March 1, which is now a freeze. Additionally, we
have taken steps to meet the request by the Office of State
Budget to reduce our next year's budget by more than 3.6
million dollars. However, I would be remiss if I did not
advise you that this restriction on our budget----this
cut----will deeply and severely impact our ability to serve
the people of North Carolina.
There are several items I must bring to your attention that
are very pertinent as you consider the budget. Last year, we
had more than forty positions with start dates other than July
1, and the continuation budget funding for these positions is
for only part of a year. Thus, we are scrambling to find funds
to pay these positions for a full year. For example, the three
new Court of Appeals positions were budgeted on the
continuation budget for only six months. We have new and
essential courtroom space under construction that must receive
basic equipment, such as telephone systems. Further, we were
provided nonrecurring funds last year for items that are in
fact recurring expenses, such as rent for the Business Court
in Greensboro. This is a normal operating expense, necessary
to sustain the work of the Business Court, which you
authorized last session and which is making our overall court
system much more efficient. We are in critical need of funding
in these areas----just to remain open.
Before this General Assembly convened, we had our State
Judicial Council approve an expansion budget, which was
carefully prioritized in accordance with absolute need. The
highest category, setting forth our critical needs, calls for
$2,498,000 for fifteen new positions and basic support
equipment. The next highest category calls for $16,074,974 for
220 positions and basic support equipment. These are real,
priority needs of the Judicial Branch.
Speaking of priority needs, let me cite to one example where
we have been much less than cost efficient. It is not an
infrequent occurrence for a Superior Court Judge to open court
on a Monday morning for the call of the calendar and the trial
of an important case. The attorneys are in place, the
litigants are there, the witnesses are there, the clerk of
court is there, and the courtroom is filled to overflowing
with prospective jurors from throughout the county. The case
is ready to proceed----with one notable exception. There is no
court reporter. The entire process disintegrates, not just for
that important case, but usually for the entire session of
court.
The damage from this kind of breakdown is measured not just in
the cost of wasted time and resources, but also in the
enormous amount of bad will and hostility generated and
directed toward our court system by all those citizens who
have been made to suffer the wasteful loss of valuable time
out of their lives. The cost of a court reporter is minimal
compared to this. Also, the lack of sufficient court reporter
time is probably the single factor most responsible for
extreme delay in appellate review of cases. I urge you to give
us at least four additional court reporters as a priority
matter.
Now, I would like to get away from the numbers and try to put
a human face on our judicial system. Thanks to you, we now
have in place, and operating well, a number of new programs
designed to help individuals, families, and most important,
our children. Most of these programs might be described
broadly under the term "therapeutic justice." This
simply means that litigants and those close to them normally
spend more time receiving counseling and related services and
less time in the courtroom. These innovations include such
programs as drug treatment courts, family courts, sentencing
services, custody mediation, arbitration, foreign language
services and our Guardian Ad Litem Program.
In just a few years, we have achieved some very positive
results through our Drug Treatment Courts. As you know, the
majority of criminal cases arising in our trial courts have a
direct connection with substance abuse. Since its inception,
this court program has been giving many substance abusers the
incentive to kick their destructive and often fatal habits.
The Drug Treatment Courts require much more time and energy on
the part of our judges and other court personnel than do
ordinary courts. They are by all standards "labor
intensive."
The Family Courts are also very labor intensive, but in my
opinion, they are well worth the extra investment. We began
with three and now have eight Family Courts in operation.
These kinder, family-friendly and more efficient courts are
helping families resolve their conflicts through mediation and
treatment programs, often without ever having to see a judge.
This saves valuable court time and makes room for other cases.
When these cases do come to court, since one judge hears the
family's multiple issues, he or she has a much better grasp of
the family's history and can make a much more appropriate
resolution. Judge Paul McCoy reports that the program in
Halifax County has been well received, with litigants much
better satisfied with the outcome of their cases.
With Sentencing Services, our judges are getting the
information they need to impose appropriate sentences that
make the best use of available resources, again thanks to
legislation this Assembly passed last year.
Our Custody Mediation Program is seeing significant success.
When divorcing parents are in conflict, which is almost always
the case, it is, of course, the children of the marriage who
suffer the most. The State's Custody Mediation Program
provides the opportunity for parents to turn difficult
situations into problem-solving opportunities. Last year, more
than 2,000 couples ended their disputes and worked out
parenting agreements through custody mediation offices. Judge
Clarence Horton, Chairman of the Custody Mediation Advisory
Committee, reports that "divorced and separating parents
across North Carolina have embraced the opportunity to resolve
their own parenting issues through this program."
Likewise, we are seeing marked success in the area of
arbitration. At least 70% of the people who go through
arbitration find a quick resolution and are satisfied by the
outcome of their case. About three fourths of the counties
have an arbitration program, and we would like to see it
expanded statewide.
Thanks to grants from the State Bar's IOLTA program, the
Reynolds Foundation and the Governor's Crime Commission, our
new Foreign Languages Service Project is off to a strong
start, with our training programs producing an increasing
number of certified court interpreters. Last year, this
General Assembly authorized funds for interpreters for civil
domestic violence cases, and in all types of cases, these
interpreters are proving to be critical to the needs of our
exploding Hispanic population. The time has come to make the
Foreign Languages Services Project a permanent part of our
court administration.
Last year, you established a new, independent commission to
develop guidelines and oversee the Indigent Defense Program.
This kind of accountability was needed for many years. The
Commission is charged with overseeing the 60 million dollar
indigent defense budget and developing control regulations.
The right to an attorney, especially for the poor and less
fortunate, is a fundamental part of our judicial heritage. The
goal of the Office of Indigent Defense Services is twofold: to
improve the quality of services for indigent defendants and to
control the cost of these services. I urge your continued
support of this important program.
One of the finest examples of your proactive, people-oriented
court system is seen in our Guardian Ad Litem Program. This
program makes a tremendous difference in the lives of
literally thousands of our children each year. During the last
fiscal year, this program provided essential representation to
15,364 children through more than 3,500 volunteers and 99
attorneys.
These many services, which are provided by thousands of
dedicated people each and every day, including Saturdays and
Sundays, are making a real difference in the quality of life
for all of the people of North Carolina. These services
address the fundamental, personal problems so important to the
daily lives of our people, and they are the responsibility of
our judicial system, over and above our core constitutional
mandate to give just and speedy resolution to all cases for
trial in our courts.
I want to emphasize one important factor in connection with
the overall work of our courts and especially these
service-oriented programs. Your judicial system, with almost
three million cases filed each year, deals with and affects,
on a daily basis, the lives of thousands of our most precious
assets----our children. Our future, through the lives of these
children, is directly impacted through our juvenile and
domestic courts and the other programs I have mentioned. In
this regard, I want to stress to you that each and every one
of these children is just as important to North Carolina as
any of our children in our public schools or in Smart Start,
and I submit to you that they are much more at risk. We must
not let them down by failing to fund their future.
For many years now, our entire third branch of government, our
Judicial Branch, has been required to operate with less than
3% of all funds available to the State of North Carolina. With
that level of funding, we have not been able to meet
adequately our constitutional responsibilities and expand our
services as demanded by our growing population. Now, we find
that with the current budget crisis, which we fully
understand, we are being asked to curtail all critically
needed expansion and even cut substantially into our
continuation budget. We recognize that we are being asked to
do this while other programs in other areas are recommended
for further substantial expansion. In this regard, I submit to
you that there are at least three institutional areas within
our government which should be close to sacrosanct, even in
times of severe crisis. Our public schools should remain open
and effective for all; our health-care facilities should
remain open and available to all; and our halls of justice
should be open, effective and accessible to all.
In closing, let me mention one additional substantial concern.
As the Futures Commission of the Courts reported to us several
years ago, and as we see even more clearly today, there is a
growing lack of confidence and trust in our legal system,
including our courts. Many in our society today have little or
no confidence in the integrity of our legal system. In my
opinion, this stems more from a lack of understanding and a
lack of knowledge than from personal experience. In any event,
this is having a direct, negative impact on our ability as a
society to continue to live together under the rule of law. If
our laws and our courts are not respected because they are
perceived to be discriminatory or dishonest, then we are
moving inexorably toward a level of disorder and societal
breakdown that law enforcement and our courts cannot address.
In order to halt and reverse this sharp trend, we need to
begin to better educate our people, particularly our young
people, about the uniqueness and incredible value of the legal
system which we enjoy and which has made this country the
greatest nation in the history of mankind.
In my humble opinion, the State of North Carolina should teach
substantially more history and civics in our public schools,
not less. Our young people simply cannot appreciate the value
of that of which they have no knowledge. I believe that
"The Greatest Generation," about which Tom Brokaw so
eloquently wrote, was that greatest generation, in our time of
greatest need, because they were taught, and thus knew, our
history, our governmental institutions and our traditional
values. Without such knowledge, our next generation will not
come through as that one did.
I have discussed this concern with my friend Mike Ward, our
Superintendent of Public Instruction, and I believe he shares
this view. I told him that I was willing to commit our
Judicial Branch in a concerted effort to assist our schools,
in ways that will cost no money, in teaching our young people
to know and respect our system and our laws, the people that
make them and the people that apply them. To this end, I ask
for your help so that in working together we can remain One
Nation Under God With Liberty and Justice For All.
Thank you again for this opportunity to speak to you. I wish
for each of you the very best of legislative sessions and a
very good evening.
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