Koochiching’s court could be affected by budget cuts

District court staff located in the Koochiching County Courthouse are waiting for answers as to how they will be impacted by the funding shortage in Minnesota, while courts in other judicial districts around the state have already begun cutting business hours and services.
A $13 million funding shortage and a proposed $9 million budget cut in the court system could lead to delays in criminal and civil cases, the reduction of court staff and the closure of courts in several counties, according to a March 7 letter from Minnesota Supreme Court Justice Russell Anderson.
“We’re very, very, very concerned,” Koochiching County Court Administrator Carol Clauson said last week.
The court system is the third arm of the government and not a program that can be cut, Clauson said.
“We’re important as a check and balance,” Clauson said.
And the cuts are coming at a time when the need for court services in Minnesota is increasing.
“Unfortunately, it has been proven that during bad economic times the workload of the courts increases as domestic violence, child support, employment, foreclosure, debt collection and low level criminal cases rise. Minnesota is currently experiencing a need for greater court services — not less,” according to Russell’s letter.
The Minnesota Constitution calls for criminal and civil cases to be handled in a timely manner. But budget cuts would cause delays in the system and “justice delayed is justice denied,” Russell wrote.
Budget cuts could potentially cause some prisoners to be held in local jails longer, while others would remain at-large in the communities, jeopardizing public safety, Russell wrote.
Cuts in the Ninth Judicial District, which includes Koochiching County, could be drastic and affect the residents of the district, according to a March 24 letter from District Chief Judge Jon Maturi.
“If the governor’s proposed budget cuts are adopted and our (fiscal year 2009) budget is reduced, the Ninth District would be looking at taking some draconian steps, including massive layoffs,” Maturi wrote.
The Ninth Judicial District covers 30 percent of Minnesota and includes 17 counties.

Shift to the state
Counties funded the court system until much of the financial responsibility was shifted to the state in 2003 as a part of a tax reform package. Even though Koochiching County lost some revenue with the state take over, Minnesota counties viewed shift in funding as a good thing at the time, Koochiching County Board Chairman Wade Pavleck said.
But since the implementation of the state’s takeover, the county board has watched an “erosion in the state’s contribution,” Pavleck said. As the state’s monetary contributions to the court’s budget has decreased, the burden has fallen back to the county and taxpayers, which Pavleck said was “frustrating.” He said the court system should clearly be a state-funded program.
If the court continues to cut its budget, it will be reduced to providing just core services to the public, Pavleck said.
“Who’s going to step in and fill the need?” Pavleck asked.
The Koochiching County Board saw firsthand how the burden is being placed on the counties. A county court staff member needed to be paid last year, but couldn’t be because the state had run out of money for the courts. The staff member turned to the county for payment, which the county approved in a split decision. Pavleck, who voted against the motion, said the county paying the staff member would set precedent and open the door for the state not paying its court staff.
The county picking up the slack for the state funding is a “big issue here,” Pavleck said. The county is hoping local legislators will consider the problem and find a solution.
Clauson said she encourages anyone with concerns to contact local legislators or Gov. Tim Pawlenty.

Proposed cuts
One of the proposed cuts is to shut down courts without a sitting full-time judge, which would include Lake of the Woods County.
Koochiching County’s Judge Chad LeDuc currently travels to Baudette in Lake of the Woods County two times each month to hear cases. One staff member of Lake of the Woods court also helps Koochiching County court staff with overflow work, Clauson said.
If the Lake of the Woods court was to be shut down, the ramifications would be felt by Koochiching County as the filings in Lake of the Woods would need to be absorbed by another county, Clauson said.
The closing of Lake of the Woods court would be “devastating,” Clauson said.
Courts in northern Minnesota are understaffed compared to the more populated counties around the metro area, Clauson said. Koochiching County could also possibly have its staff reduced with the proposed cuts.
The Ninth District has already made organizational changes to make the system more efficient, including combining court administrator positions and creating multi-county work areas where staff move between counties, according to Maturi’s letter.
Clauson said she is also concerned about the distance between Lake of the Woods and Koochiching counties. Lake of the Woods residents, county attorney and prisoners would have to travel to International Falls for court services, Clauson said. It would also affect the selection of a jury pool, Clauson said.
The distance is concerning because people must have access to justice, she said. The Minnesota Constitution dictates that every county must have a court clerk.
She also wondered how it would affect the job status of court staff in Lake of the Woods.
Throughout Minnesota, the courts could see a reduction of 15 percent of court staff, or 222 positions, according to Russell’s letter.
If the Ninth Judicial District begins reducing staff because of the budget cut, the district could see several effects take place, according to Maturi’s letter. Among the impacts predicted:
• Office hours would be reduced, which would lead to limited time for residents to file papers, request information and have access to the courts.
• A reduction in staff would mean fewer staff doing more work, which could lead to errors with potential liability for the court.
• Agencies that rely on the courts for information would have long delays in receiving the information, which could affect time mandates.
• Files for offenders on informal probation where court administration monitors compliance would sit without review.
• Collections and civil cases would be given a lower priority.
A cut in staff would also cause the drug courts in Minnesota to be shut down, which would eliminate a service that saves money in housing prisoners and reduces recidivism, according to Russell’s letter.
It would also lead to a delay in entering criminal case information on court computers, which would mean information on criminal histories would not be updated, “resulting in dangerous persons being released,” Russell wrote.
Delays could also be seen in updating satisfied warrants, leading to the unlawful incarceration and loss of liberty to members of the public, according to Russell’s letter.

Implementation of cuts
The court system has already implemented several cuts in services to help manage the budget crisis.
Seven percent, or 207 positions, are to remain open and a voluntary separation program has been instituted, according to Russell’s letter.
Court offices are now closing a half-day per week in three judicial districts.
In the Fourth Judicial District, arbitration services have been terminated and funding for family court supervised visitation services has been eliminated.
The court system has also seen expenses for mandated services — interpreters, psychological services and jury costs — increase significantly with a decrease in funding, according to Russell.