Budget Cuts Likely Will Force Courthouse Closings
By CHRISTIAN NOLAN
Gov. M. Jodi Rell has vetoed one of the bills approved by legislators implementing the state budget, a move that will cut the Judicial Branch budget by $7.8 million over the next two years.
Chief Court Administrator Barbara Quinn responded with a strongly worded statement accusing the governor of cutting accounts that, in part, pay “for essential medical care and food for kids in our care.
She added that as a result of the cutbacks, the Judicial Branch will “close not fewer than three courthouses and significantly reduce the funding for legal services for the poor and services to victims of domestic violence.”
Quinn did not immediately identify what courthouses were slated for closure. But last week,
in a memo to state lawmakers, she said the Willimantic Juvenile Court could be closed and moved to a smaller, Judicial Branch-owned building in the city. GA court business in Bristol could move to the New Britain Judicial District Courthouse.
The leased Norwalk juvenile courthouse could close and be moved to the Norwalk GA court location. Norwalk GA court business could then move to the Stamford Judicial District courthouse, according to the memo.
Quinn also said the reduction in funding will also affect plans by Judicial Branch officials to move 16- and 17-year-olds from adult to juvenile courts.
“Even with these significant reductions and court closings, we will still have a budget shortfall at the end of the fiscal year that will need to be addressed by the Executive and Legislative branches,” Quinn said.
The veto was part of an extended game of cat and mouse between the Democratic majority in the legislature and Republican Rell.
When the legislature belatedly approved the state budget just before Labor Day, it appeared that the Judicial Branch would receive $5 million less over the next two fiscal years than in the past two years. The $5 million cut, officials said, could result in some courthouse law libraries closing and judges would take several furlough days.
But in a letter to legislative leaders last week, Robert Genaurio, Rell’s budget director, said the governor would not support an effort by the legislature to spare the Judicial Branch an additional $7.8 million from a line item for “other expenses.”
Still, when the House and Senate met Friday afternoon, they approved a handful of bills that implemented the state’s two-year, $37.6 billion budget. One bill included a provision that exempted the Judicial Branch from having to reduce its “other expenses” budget line.
The governor’s office had called for all state agencies to make cuts in that particular line item, and did not seem swayed by the Judicial Branch’s argument that it had a higher percentage of its overall funding in that line item than other state agencies.
On Monday, Rell’s office explained her veto. “She has a number of problems with the bill,” said Rell’s spokesman Rich Harris. “One of them being…you can’t tie the hands of the administration by exempting an entire branch of government from those reductions.”
State Rep. John C. Geragosian, co-chair of the General Assembly's Appropriations Committee, said Monday that a veto by Rell would be disrespectful of legislators’ intentions. “We thought we had given [the Judicial Branch] a good enough [financial] hit as it was and wanted to maintain the court system in a way that we need to," said Geragosian. “We gave them a hit of the equivalent of a courthouse," Geragosian said of the initial $5 million budget cut.
“There is a difference between the judicial department and other agencies. You can't cut it like some other agencies," said Geragosian. “People come to court every day. They need an adequate amount of staff to make sure the system works. If not, you’re going to push costs to other things." For example, Geragosian said by backing up court dockets, defendants sitting in jail longer awaiting trial will cost the state more money.
Geragosian said it did not appear that the legislature could muster a two-thirds majority to override a Rell veto.•
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