Half a billion dollar budget is not enough, say Massachusetts judges
|
April 13, 2012
Massachusetts: The Massachusetts court system is struggling to deal with a budget that some court officials say is not enough.[1] Robert Mulligan, the chief justice for administration and management, says the Massachusetts court system is in the midst of "a real crisis" stemming from several years of hiring freezes imposed to keep costs under control. Since July 2007, the number of people working in the state's trial courts has dropped 17.5%. At an event hosted Thursday by the Boston Bar Association, various judicial officials discussed how to respond in the face of continued budget woes. Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court Justice Margot Botsford and Massachusetts Appeals Court Chief Justice Phillip Rapoza attended the event.[2]
On Wednesday, the state's Ways and Means Committee approved a $554.6 million budget, up from $553 million last year, for the state court system. Botsford said, "we are all very disappointed with the number." Botsford was seeking at least $585 million. Democratic representative Patrick Curran said, "there's always limited resources but unlimited requests."[1]
Footnotes
| |||||
