Chief Justice Mark Recktenwald is calling for adequate funding for the state Judiciary, which has been hit by furloughs and budget cuts that he says have reduced, delayed and eliminated important judicial services.

Recktenwald’s message is part of a Judiciary report, "Justice in Jeopardy, the Impact of Budget Cuts and Furloughs on the Judiciary."

In the report released yesterday, the chief justice said Hawaii has been going through "difficult economic times" that have not spared the third branch of government.

"Adequate funding for the state court system is an investment in justice, and an investment in our democracy that should not be compromised even during tough economic times," said Recktenwald, who is in the first year of a 10-year term.

State general funding for the Judiciary has decreased from $150 million in fiscal year 2009 to $139 million in fiscal year 2010 and to $130.7 million for fiscal year 2011, according to the report. (The fiscal year ends June 30.)

The Judiciary’s 1,900 employees have been furloughed two days a month since November 2009. The furloughs are scheduled to continue through June.

According to the report:

» Circuit Court civil filings increased 19.6 percent from fiscal year 2008 to fiscal year 2010. Since the budget cuts and furloughs, the median age of the pending circuit civil cases increased by 41.8 percent.
» Foreclosure cases increased by 80 percent from fiscal year 2008 to fiscal year 2010, and the median age of foreclosure cases increased by 44 percent.
» Uncontested divorce cases have taken longer to process, from three to four weeks before budget cuts and furloughs to six to eight weeks.
» Traffic and drunken-driving trials used to take one to two months to be heard; they now take four to five months.
» Court services have been reduced with the Honolulu Traffic Violations Bureau now open one night a week and probably not open at night at all in the near future. In 2005 the bureau was open five nights a week.
» Rural courts in North Kohala, Hamakua and Kau on Hawaii island were shut down in October because of the lack of deputy sheriffs to provide security.
» Honolulu Circuit Court lost 24 Client Services Division probation positions last year because of budget cuts, including positions in the Sex Offender and Domestic Violence units.
» Judiciary contracts for services were cut by more than $2.8 million in fiscal year 2010. These contracts involve services for substance abuse, child sex abuse and mental health.

The report is available at www.courts.state.hi.us/justiceinjeopardy.html.