Adequate, Stable, Equitable & Responsible Trial Crt Funding

Project summary 2003-IJ-CX-1026 The purpose of this project is to futher develope the body of knowledge about the funding of trial courts, and its impact on programmatic and fiscal performance. A case study approach will be utilized. Three States will be selected to represent a spectrum of experience regarding state funding; one where trial courts have been primarily state funded for some time, one that recently shifted to greater state funding, and one where trial courts are currently locally funded. The research includes analyzing laws, policies, and reports about trial court funding and site visits to the selected courts to conduct field interview and focus group meeting to gather information about practices and experiences. Interviews will include legislative, executive and judicial branch representative at the state and local levels. A two part monograph will be developed; one part will present the case studies and the second will be a synthesis of their experiences together with finding of prior studies of trial court finding covering essential elements of an effective trial courts funding structure. The project will lead to a better understanding of how to fund trial courts in a manner that results in a strong, viable and effective judiciary.