Chief Justice Robin J. Davis' January

The West Virginia Lawyer

Supreme Court Chief Justice Robin J. Davis

March - April 2007

A report to the Legislature

The beginning of a new year brings the Legislature to the Capitol and gives the Chief Justice an opportunity to meet with members of the House and Senate Finance Committees. While many agencies ask the committees for money, the Court system is the only full branch of government to appear there. My appearance is an informational courtesy.

The Supreme Court takes our budgetary responsibility seriously and, appropriately, we spend our money judiciously. With 1,200 employees throughout the state, the judicial branch of government uses only about three percent of the general revenue money of West Virginia . It remains the third-lowest budget of any state court system, according to the Center for State Courts’ data released this year. Yet the West Virginia Supreme Court is the busiest court in the nation, again according to the National Center for State Courts. There were 2,983 petitions filed here in 2005. The next closest state was Nevada , where 1,896 petitions were filed.

Recently, it has become popular to talk about government doing more with less. West Virginia courts have been doing more with less for years. That’s also apparent in the National Center ’s review of the work of family courts and circuit judges. The center, using national standards, found that the state needs twelve additional circuit judges and 22 additional family court judges.

The Supreme Court, mindful of the separation of powers, did not ask the Legislature for more judges. That is purely a legislative decision. We simply made the National Center for State Courts’ research and study available to lawmakers. We wanted them to have a full understanding of the issues involved in providing an adequate number of judges to manage and resolve court business effectively and fairly.

Whatever realignment the Legislature enacts this year will not be a part of the budget for the 2007-2008 fiscal year; it will be a part of the budget for the following year.

The Court has set a 5.5 percent increase in the court system budget for Fiscal Year 2008.

Part of the increase will go toward the ongoing cost of the Unified Judicial Application computer system, which will bring extraordinary accountability and efficiency at every level of the court system. Work on the computer system is under way and on schedule. Three pilot projects in three magistrate clerks’ offices will go online this summer and all magistrate clerks’ offices will be brought online in a rollout beginning in September. All circuit clerks’ offices will be in the system by 2010.

Another $1.5 million of the budget increase is for the second part of a two-year pay raise plan the Legislature approved last year for magistrate clerks, deputy clerks and assistants.

Although the funds are not in next year’s budget, I also told the finance committees about a budget increase they should expect in the next few years as a result of changes the Legislature enacted last year to toughen penalties for sexual offenders. I applaud those changes, especially tougher sentences for those creeps who prey upon our children.

Those changes placed the responsibility of supervising certain offenders when they leave prison on the Court’s probation officers. The Court’s Director of Probation Services, Mike Lacy (one of the best people in our Court system, I might add), has determined a set of training procedures for some probation officers whose primary – and one day exclusive duty – will be to provide this difficult oversight. Mr. Lacy projects that supervising sex offenders will require the addition of about 30 probation officers and will cost an additional $2.7 million annually.

That cost is not in this year’s or next year’s budget because there will be no need for additional probation officers until sex offenders begin to be released from prison several years from now. And that will not be a one-year jump, but will grow over about a five-year period until it reaches the additional 30 officers. In the interest of the accountability I have been promoting, I thought the Legislature and the Bar should know the cost of the heightened set of penalties for sex offenders and safeguards for society.

Also in the interest of accountability, I used my opportunity to talk to legislators to brag a bit on the fine work of our circuit courts, family courts, magistrate courts, probation officers and support staff throughout the judicial system. Last year we put into place new rules to protect abused and neglected children and held a series of training conferences to educate all effected parties about those rules. That training was in addition to annual continuing education for Family Court judges, circuit judges and magistrates. We also secured federal grants that will enable us to work more effectively with the Department of Health and Human Resources to help that same group of children.

Work on those projects and the unified computer system will continue this year. As I told the finance committee members, the court system is committed to using all our financial and human resources efficiently. It’s an honor and a privilege to lead such a dedicated team again this year.

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