The state’s top administrative judge is calling proposed cuts to the judicial branch “unprecedented and catastrophic” in a memo he sent to the governor and legislative leaders. He hinted a constitutional challenge may arise because of it.
Chief Court Administrator Patrick L. Carroll III made that statement in response to the governor’s third midterm budget adjustment proposal that would cut an additional $57 million from his department’s budget.
Carroll said it represents a 14.8 percent reduction in the judicial department’s personnel budget, even though its overall share of the state budget is 3 percent. He said no fewer than an additional 600 layoffs will be needed to achieve the projected reduction out of a workforce of 3,700.
The judge said cutting his department will affect the executive branch’s initiatives to save money in the Department of Corrections. He said the governor’s “Second Chance” proposals would not be possible because the governor is cutting the staff that would run the programs.
Carroll said the memo came from him and not Supreme Court Chief Justice Chase Rogers because the proposed cuts may initiate a constitutional challenge that would need to be resolved by Rogers and his fellow justices. “This proposal goes far beyond anything we had contemplated,” Carroll said.
