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There is a rumor circulating in Philadelphia that the local state courts will be closed for one month this summer. This is just another indication that the current bad economy is having a substantial impact on our justice system.

States, counties and towns are facing severe economic pressure as budget shortfalls and budget slashing continue to increase. As a result, these cash-strapped local governments are taking some unusual steps in dealing with the greatest budgetary challenge seen in more than a generation. Some states and counties are imposing mandatory furloughs on courthouse employees. Many more have imposed a hiring freeze. Courthouse hours are being shortened, jury trials postponed indefinitely, court reporters (stenographers) eliminated and even courthouse security devices dismantled.

What makes this already bad situation worse is that the number of court cases tends to rise during an economic downturn. Crime generally increases, meaning more criminal cases, and civil suits climb as private litigants are more anxious to collect money due them.

So local judges and other justice-system personnel must address more cases with far fewer tools. And civil cases will be especially affected and delayed, because criminal cases receive first preference due to "speedy trial" requirements in state and federal constitutions.

What does this mean for our country? State courts are called upon every day to make decisions that go to the very fabric of our society. Divorce, child custody, mental-health treatment, probate of wills, juvenile crime and drug-addiction treatment are just some of the issues that state courts wrestle with every day, in addition to the usual panoply of civil cases and adult criminal cases.

Delays of these cases, as they move through the justice system, have real meaning for the individuals whose freedom, security and peace of mind are very much in play. As one stark example, Florida judges are currently overwhelmed by the landslide of home mortgage foreclosure proceedings and cannot move these log-jammed cases. Owners, lenders and other interested parties are left to their own devices because of the inability of the Florida courts to keep up. At the same time that mortgage foreclosure cases are on the rise, the Florida legislature is laying off a substantial number of court personnel.

The judiciary and the court system are meant to be independent, speedy and effective. They can not be if they are not properly funded. Financially crippling the courts may prompt a constitutional challenge to the ability of local legislatures to shut down a co-equal branch of government.

For business, justice delayed is justice denied. It is no secret that the longer a civil case drags on in court, the more expensive it will be--and with no guarantee of a more "just" result. Businesses need to be able to resolve their differences in a civil, fair and speedy way. If the courts cannot do it because of financial shortcomings, business litigants will increasingly turn to private arbitration or alternative dispute resolution.

PHILIP G. KIRCHER is co-chairman of the commercial litigation department at the law firm of Cozen O'Connor.

June 1, 2009

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