Survey finds funding, staffing woes forcing federal courts to cut

Many federal courts across the nation have reduced the hours their offices are open to the public because of funding and staffing constraints, a recent survey conducted by the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts (AO) shows.

Clerks' offices in 30 percent (56 of 187) of federal district and bankruptcy courts reported cutting public hours over the last two years. Thirty-six of those courts said the reduced hours continue to occur. The current reductions total 597 hours per week nationwide, amounting to 31,000 fewer public hours annually.

The reported reduced hours fell into three general categories:

* Current regular hours;

* Periodic, unscheduled office closings made necessary due to staff shortages; and

* Other conditions that forced cuts in public hours.

The survey reported reduced public hours in several clerk's offices. Severely affected courts included the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida, where 55 fewer public hours per week were reported (includes the headquarters and branch offices); the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, where the district and the bankruptcy courts together reduced their hours by 80 hours per week; and the U.S. District Courts for Montana and for the Eastern District of North Carolina, where staff shortages forced unscheduled temporary office closings at least 10 times a year in each court. The results of the clerk's office survey is attached. The survey was undertaken in response to a request from a House subcommittee.

I know that providing high quality service to the public is taken very seriously by clerks' offices in every federal court, and that reducing public office hours is done only as a last resort, AO Director Leonidas Ralph Mecham said. This survey reflects the fact that some clerks' offices are severely understaffed.

The new fiscal year began Oct. 1. Congress has not yet passed a budget for the Judiciary, which means the courts will have to operate under a continuing resolution until final action is taken on a funding measure.

A long-term continuing resolution and across-the-board cuts are a real threat to court operations in the coming year. We hope final fiscal year 2006 funding will be sufficient to allow the courts to restore the office hours that were reduced so they can resume providing full service to the public, Mecham said.

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