By Bill Britt
Alabama Political Reporter
MONTGOMERY—Later today, Supreme Court Chief Justice Roy S. Moore will most likely reveal how the State’s Republican supermajority likes to talk about law and order, but they don’t want to fund the machinery that delivers it.
Court Chief Justice Moore will speak to the press to discuss the impact of funding constraints within the Unified Judicial System.
The Republican controlled legislature has failed to adequately fund the system for the last several years. The court system receives a little more than 1 percent of its funding from the State’s General Fund Budget (SGF), and Moore has repeatedly made it clear that the court system budget is underfunded by $20 to $30 million.
In 2012, the legislature cut funding to the courts by $17 million, causing the system to lose over 300 jobs.
Much of the so-called billion in saving touted by State politicians has been by attrition of State workers.
This has been acutely felt in the judiciary with, trial delays, court circuits cut the minimal staff, and slower access to judicial functions statewide.
Pleas from the Chief Justice have been ignored and services have been slashed across the State.
Justice Moore will certainly draw headlines when he makes known the extent of the damage to the system. The question remains: “will lawmakers listen?”
