Begging From the Bench

For the second straight year the chief justice of the United States has had to plead with Congress, hat in hand, for enough money to keep federal courthouses open all year. Once again Congress is playing a budget shell game at the expense of the nation’s judges and those with business before them.

For fiscal year 2000, Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist requested $4.1 billion, a $300-million increase over current spending, to maintain the present level of court services. But the Senate version of the judicial appropriations bill cut that request by a full $280 million, an amount that would surely cause delays in litigation and extensive reductions in staff, courthouse security and services for poor defendants. The House bill is a bit more generous, providing $100 million more than the Senate but still well below basic needs. And this despite a 35% increase in federal criminal caseloads over the last three years, due in no small measure to congressional zeal to federalize new crimes.

Partisan bickering has dramatically slowed Senate action on judicial nominees; nearly 70 judgeships, one of every 12 seats, remain vacant, and continuing staff cutbacks and attrition across the federal judiciary will only further compromise the independence and integrity of America’s third branch of government.

A House-Senate conference committee will attempt to reconcile differences between the two versions of the budget bill. Adequate funding and modest improvements should be the committee’s watchwords.