Continued: Fewer clerks, shorter hours: Budget cuts slow wheels of justice

Minnesota Chief Justice Eric Magnuson stared at the sign at the Wabasha County Court service desk in disbelief. He pounded on a nearby door in frustration and later told a court administrator he was so stunned by the sign that he wanted to photograph it.

"Closed Thursdays, 8 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.," the sign at the service desk read.

It's a sign of the times. With a $19 million budget shortfall projected for the current fiscal year, the state's courts are scrambling to trim costs -- cutting hours, staff and jobs as caseloads overflow, costs keep rising and the legal system tests the patience of all involved.

In the Wabasha courthouse, the service center counter has been closed Thursday mornings since March. Dakota County, part of the state's third-largest judicial district, is down three judges. In Anoka County, judges are working without court clerks for three-month shifts. Throughout the state, judges are cancelling vacations and working nights and weekends with no compensation.

Without an additional $40 million by the next biennium -- 2010 and 2011 -- more cuts and layoffs within the state judiciary system can be expected, Magnuson told the Star Tribune. In fact, on Thursday the Minnesota Judicial Council, the governing body of the judicial branch, voted to submit a request to Gov. Tim Pawlenty and the Legislature for an additional $54 million by the next biennium.

The judges' sacrifices -- working extra hours and adding responsibilities -- have further worn down a judiciary structure "already cut to the bone," the Supreme Court chief justice said.

"I've been telling legislators that it's the functional equivalent right now of running a big engine without oil in the crankcase," he said. "Things are going to break down."

Dakota County Judge David Knutson said the workload can be overwhelming. "In a courtroom, you're dealing with the worst situations that people deal with in their lives," said Knutson. "It's exhausting -- every single day, and every hour. You need to step back and get away. But now, there's no time.

"In Dakota County, we're down three judges and all the judges are working harder to absorb those three positions," he continued. He compared it to the frog thrown into a pot water over a low flame, that doesn't realize eventually it's boiling. "The temperature keeps going up and you don't notice the difference. You just keep struggling."

The strain on the judiciary branch can be felt on both sides of the bench. One hundred state judiciary positions have been eliminated and another 150 are staying unfilled -- nearly 9 percent of court staff positions, according to John Kostouros, director of the state's court information office. Per diems for jurors have been cut from $20 a day to $10. Cases throughout the state are being delayed.

State legislators are well aware of the sacrifices the courts are making, said Sen. Leo Foley, DFL-Coon Rapids. But Foley warned that with the state of the economy, the courts are "very unlikely to get more money the next go-round."

Traveling in northern Minnesota on Friday, Pawlenty acknowledged the courts' concerns. The requested $54 million will be considered, said Brian McClung, the governor's director of communications.

Minnesota is not the only state struggling with judiciary budget cuts. Florida has laid off nearly 10 percent of its court employees in the past month. And Maine's courts are so financially stressed that there had been talk -- since dismissed -- of suspending jury trials for a six-week window, said Greg Hurley, management analyst for the National Center for State Courts.

But that's of little solace to Anoka County Judge Sharon Hall, who recently spent a week's vacation organizing files, learning more about computer research and locating materials. These are tasks often assumed by law clerks, but Hall returned from vacation in August knowing that she would be without a law clerk for three months.

Hall, former president of the Minnesota Judges Association, had 25 cases scheduled to be heard the Monday she returned from vacation, her first day without a clerk.

"I hope none of these cases goes to trial," she said in exasperation.

She noted that she received her law degree in 1979, before personal computers became commonplace, and admitted she is not overly savvy when it comes to computer research.

"I've got to think there are more efficient ways to spend taxpayers' money," she said.

Investing in the court's future

The time that judges spend doing clerks' jobs also translates to lost opportunities for recent law-school graduates, said Hennepin County Judge Tanja Manrique. Many law clerks represent the best and the brightest of recently graduated law classes -- and they are being denied a chance to work with the mentors they might one day replace, she said.

"These are our future lawyers and judges," Manrique said. "We want to invest in them, not deny them opportunities."

The court system is driven by personnel, not programs, said Judge James Florey, one of 15 judges who work in the Sixth District that covers Lake, Cook and St. Louis counties in northeastern Minnesota. By eliminating court clerks, even if just for a few months at a time, judges are losing energetic law graduates who assist on cases and offer fresh takes when it comes to legal advice.

"So judges do more with less and that's when mistakes can be made. Those mistakes can have significant impacts on people's lives," said Florey, of Virginia, Minn.

The timing could not be worse, Magnuson said. The state has cut drug courts, the number of clerks and court service hours during hard economic times, when crimes are more likely to erupt.

"The judicial branch has worked really, really hard to find more ways to deliver a better quality of service in a more efficient way," Magnuson said. "There's only so much you can do. There's a limit to our ability to keep up with the caseload. And we've reached it.

"People's lives, liberty and happiness are on the line."

Paul Levy • 612-673-4419