Clerks v. Courts (or Really the State of Florida?)
For those of our members who don’t read the Daily Business Review, but who practice law in almost any specialty, you need to familiarize yourselves with House Bill 1121 and Senate Bill 2108 pending in the Florida Legislature. The question is: will this legislation make our Court System and Clerk more efficient with better use of our limited economic resources or is it a “wolf in sheep’s clothing” which, under the pretense of economy and helping to relieve the Court’s funding crisis, will provide an avenue for the State to funnel more local money into its coffers?
The Courts’ Position
1) This legislation is supported by the Chief Judges of all Circuits and by all Justices of the Florida Supreme Court. It is sponsored by two “political heavyweights” - former Senate President Pruitt and Representative Bogdanoff.
2) It is in keeping with Chief Justice Quince’s “Seven Principles for Stabilizing Court Funding” – namely principle 2: User fees should be dedicated to the Court System and not other areas of government, and principle 7: Court filing fees should go into Court trust funds.
3) Clerk’s budgets have grown 33% to $539 million in the last four years compared with 13% to $433 million for the Courts.
4) The clerk’s budgets are not approved by the legislature and need more oversight.
5) Some Clerk’s duties that are really “court-related” services, (some of which were previously handled by the Courts years ago) such as case maintenance, records management, the assignment, reopening and re-assignment of cases; processing jurors, collection and distribution of fines, fees, service charges and court costs should be shifted to the Courts to help streamline the process and save money.
The Clerk’s Position
1) The Courts’ numbers are not accurate. Clerk spending has increased by only 13.7% over the last four years. The figures quoted by the Court are for budgeted amounts, not actual spending.
2) There is oversight to Clerk’s budgets. Statutorily (F.S. 328.35-37). Clerk’s budgets are submitted to the Clerk of Court Operations Corp., a subsidiary of the State, which certifies them using the process approved by Florida’s Chief Financial Officer (currently Alex Sink) who then certifies the budgets to the heads of the Florida Legislature and Department of Revenue by 10/15 of each year.
3) The Clerks provide services to the judiciary, attorneys, other agencies and the public. The services must still be provided regardless of who is in control. There is no cost savings whether the services are provided through the auspices of a Court Administrator or the Clerks’ office.
4) The Clerk’s role as a Constitutional independent record keeper, elected by the public, is important in protecting the integrity of public records and public funds.
The Palm Beach County Bar Association can take no stand with respect to legislation due to its non-profit status. I think most of our members would agree with me, however, that this is important legislation that will impact our practices and we need to be as knowledgeable as possible about the consequences of these bills. In the 15th Circuit, we have great Judges and a great Clerk, so no matter what, we know they will work together to make the best of whatever situation prevails. The Courts have managed jurors and distributed revenues before with great precision. However, there is a lingering concern that State legislators, having already raided the tobacco trust fund to meet State budget shortfalls, would be tempted to do the same with Court trust funds. Now, this would be difficult to do with the Clerks since they are independently elected constitutional officers.
Ultimately, and maybe by the time this article goes to press, there will be compromise on these issues instead of adversity. After all, the public should expect nothing less than that our public servants - legislators, Judges and Clerks alike, will want to provide the best and most economically efficient judicial system possible – with access to all – not just those that can afford it. As someone once said: we don’t need cash register justice.
