National Courts Monitor

Kansas Court Reform Headed To Courts

Updated: February 25, 2015

The Kansas effort to decentralize court budgets has brought a lawsuit. Gov. Sam Brownback signed the new law last year despite strong opposition led by state Chief Justice Lawton Nuss. The new systemshifted control of district courts’ budgets from the Kansas Supreme Court to each district court’s chief judge. The state-vs.-local court funding argument is common across the nation.

The Wichita Eagles explains that “…Proponents said district court judges were better suited to make budgetary decisions for their courts, while critics said the bill weakened the state’s unified court system. The Supreme Court retained its power to set the funding amount for each district court. The lawsuit argues that the legislature violated separation of powers guaranteed in the state constitution.

State Courts’ Image On The Upswing

by NCM Staff

Posted: February 24, 2015

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A new poll shows that public perception of state courts is improving on all fronts, but people would really, really prefer to skip a trip to the courthouse and use the Internet when at all possible.

The National Center for State Courts (NCSC) commissioned the 2014 State of State Courts Poll, asking 1,000 registered voters last November to weigh in questions ranging from procedural fairness and customer service to judges’ work hours and salaries. Not surprisingly, the group notes that “… the GBA report concludes that public doubts about political influence and bias represent the greatest threat to public confidence in the courts.”

Judge Halts Obama’s Immigration Order

by NCM Staff

Updated: February 23, 2015

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When President Obama took executive action on immigration policy, one concern was that legal action would delay or even halt his plans. That’s come to pass, with a federal judge in Texas blocking the action to give a 26-state coalition more time to pursue its lawsuit against the measures. The White House says it will appeal, but such is the danger of congressional inaction – we head to the executive branch and, eventually, the courts.

In response to the judge’s order, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security said it would halt preparations for a program to protect parents of U.S. citizens or legal permanent residents until further notice. Read the Associated Press report here.

CM Publisher Has HuffPo Piece On GOP Civil Tort Priorities

by NCM Staff

Updated: March 19, 2015

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Courts Monitor Publisher Sara Warner has published a Huffington Post story with her take on recent developments involving the New York Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver. She notes that “… the new Republican-controlled congress rolled up its sleeves and rolled out its agenda over the last week, and along with immigration and budget issues it turns out “asbestos litigation reform” is an apparent priority. The powerful House Judiciary Committee held a formal hearing in Washington in what amounts to a national campaign targeted at bankruptcy transparency – but fueled largely by both a landmark federal case out of North Carolina and the ongoing New York scandal involving the arrest of state assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver.”

Dems Must Defend ‘Trust’ System, Even As Asbestos Trusts Deplete

One-Day Divorce Heralded As Court Innovation

by NCM Staff

Posted: February 5, 2015

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The Associated Press is profiling a California judge as an innovator for his one-day divorce process, a program inspired in some measure by $1 billion in courtl budget cuts during the recession. The AP notes that “… layoffs sapped employee morale, 52 courthouses closed across the state and the trying experience of going to court has become more tedious with longer lines, frustrating hearing delays and time-consuming waits on the phone.”

“Against that backdrop,” says the AP,”recent innovations seem like baby steps, but they have made it simpler to serve jury duty, pay traffic fines or get a restraining order in some counties. Lawyers in some courts can now schedule hearings online, file motions over the web and get judge’s orders electronically before they leave court.”

See a reminder that the California budget cuts are the new normal here.