Court System at Critical Juncture
If our society breaks down, this is where it will begin
How To Contact Your Legislator

Court System at Critical Juncture

This is a critical juncture for funding our court system. The legislature has begun the process for making final decisions on the FY 06 budget, including decisions about funding the court system. Bar leaders are doing all they can to encourage legislative leaders to fully fund the judicial branch, BUT WE NEED THE HELP OF LOCAL LAWYERS. Many legislators have indicated that they have not heard from lawyer constituents about any problem with court funding and therefore, many individual legislators are not motivated to help the courts. Your voice is so important and can make a difference.

Legislative leaders are looking to enhance revenues as a way of funding the courts. Specifically, they are contemplating raising court costs for simple misdemeanors from $17 to $30 dollars as a way to raise more money for court operations. This proposal would raise approximately $8 million, and the Court supports this proposal provided legislative leaders live up to the commitment to increase the judicial branch appropriation by a similar amount.

Please contact your local legislators this weekend, or contact them Monday to urge them to fully fund the judicial branch. Specifically, the courts need a supplemental $7.6 million for operations plus adequate salary adjustment funds for FY 06. THIS WILL ENSURE THAT COURT OFFICES STAY OPEN, JUDGES CAN TRAVEL TO EVERY COUNTY MORE OFTEN, SERVICES ARE RESTORED, AND THE COURTS CAN KEEP UP WITH DEMAND.

Below is an excellent letter written by Attorney Dwight James, Chair of the Independence of Judiciary. His letter helps explain why The Iowa State Bar Association is firmly in favor of full and adequate court funding.

We urge county bar presidents, members of the Board of Governors and all other practicing attorneys to immediately:

(1) Call or email your own State senator and State Representative and urge them to visit with legislative leaders and appropriations chairs in the House and Senate to support increased funding for the courts and
(2) to support increased funding for the courts when the bill is debated and voted upon.

Please provide a copy of all correspondences to the isba at isba@iowabar.org.

View a list of the members of the Justice Appropriations committees.

If our society breaks down, this is where it will begin

If our society breaks down, this is where it will begin
By DWIGHT JAMES

February 4, 2005
"Our liberties we prize, our rights we will maintain." These words were adopted as our motto in 1846 when Iowa entered the Union. The times suggest that we have taken our focus off that prize.

Budget constraints imposed by the Legislature mean many judicial vacancies cannot be filled. Clerk of court offices have to be closed without public access eight days a year. Judicial travel has been cut back, increasing the cost to litigants who must travel to the courthouses in counties of judges' residences. Judicial dispute resolution is increasingly delayed.
When the courts do not function properly, wrongdoers can do almost whatever they wish without accountability. Access to justice is one of the more important constitutional underpinnings of a free society. Independence of the judiciary is a cornerstone of freedom. A judiciary without adequate budgetary support provides limited access to justice.

Edmund Burke said, "The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing." In Iowa, the judicial branch of government is in crisis, and no one seems to be doing anything about it.
Our society is governed by the rule of law. The judicial branch is co-equal to the other two branches of government and is the least funded. In fact, it requires the smallest portion of the state budget to fully fund our system of justice.

The current level of funding for state courts has left us with inadequately designed courtrooms. Counties fund courthouses, and many counties have no resources to provide more, or see no compelling need to update. Many courtrooms are no more advanced than they were in the late 1800s.
Criminal cases abound, and the state and county governments do not adequately fund the prosecutorial system. This leads to the inability of the courts and the prosecutors to process these cases as they should. This leads to dismissals and shortcuts that have resulted in criticisms of prosecutions and the courts. Where resources are inadequate, cases are dropped or processed too quickly, resulting in compromising constitutional protections.

When the system begins to break down and cannot adjudicate important disputes in a dignified, contemplative, timely and orderly manner, society loses faith in its judiciary.
Civil cases cannot be timely processed because of the crush of criminal and family court cases. Domestic-abuse cases that require priority handling add to the burden on the courts. The Legislature adds laws requiring judicial attention and fails to increase funding to process the load.

When court personnel are furloughed, citizens with emergencies cannot access the courts. Victims of domestic abuse cannot seek help on those days. Prisoners are not arraigned due to closing of the courts. Judges, who are expected to preside in an aura of dignity, are acting as their own court attendants, calling witnesses in the halls of the courthouse.
No society can survive without a strong, independent judiciary. It is the power of this strong, adequately funded judiciary that protects citizens from governmental and corporate tyranny. The strength of this branch is not in its duty to follow the will of the people, but to assure an orderly society through an impartial and timely imposition of the rule of law.

Iowans deserve a world-class judicial system. If our society breaks down, this is where it will begin. We have seen the signs, and we cannot afford to wait.
The argument for not financing the courts seems to be that all government is bad. Taxing to support government is wrong. People should be free to spend their money as they see fit. Everyone else has to make do, so the courts will have to get by on less as well.

The judiciary cannot sufficiently operate on the funds being allocated to it, and Iowans are beginning to pay a heavy price.

DWIGHT JAMES has practiced law in Des Moines for many years and serves as chair of the Independence of the Judiciary Committee of the Iowa State Bar Association.

How To Contact Your Legislator

Today it is very easy to communicate with your local representatives and senators. You can do it by mail, phone, e-mail or meeting with them back in your home district. Here's how to reach state lawmakers during the legislative session:

SENATORS: Call (515) 281-3371 to reach the Iowa Senate switchboard.

REPRESENTATIVES: Call (515) 281-3221 to reach the Iowa House switchboard.

E-MAIL: A list of legislators and their e-mail addresses, as well as home contact information, is on the Web at www.legis.state.ia.us. Legislators read their e-mail. This is a great way to communicate with them.

MAIL: Send mail to members of the Legislature at the State Capitol, Des Moines, IA 50319.

WEB ACCESS: See calendars of legislative meetings, track legislation, find your lawmaker, and even listen to live debate on the General Assembly's Web site at: www.legis.state.ia.us.