Federal Courts Need More Money, Judge Tells Congressional Subcommittee

Bankruptcy filings are already up, and with the increased focus on fraud because of the economic crisis, federal criminal cases may soon rise, too.

So the federal courts need more money, for this and other reasons, Judge Julia Smith Gibbons told a House Appropriations Subcommittee on Financial Services and General Government today.

“The economic situation we face is far-reaching and affects all aspects of the Judiciary’s work,” said Gibbons, who sits on the Cincinnati-based 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. “Courts provide a forum for individuals or companies who are forced to file bankruptcy proceedings, for those who have suffered losses and are seeking civil monetary remedies, and for those accused of crimes.”

Gibbons appeared with James Duff, director of the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts, to seek an 8.7 percent increase in the federal courts' budget for the 2010 fiscal year, to $7.03 billion, reports a U.S. Courts press release.

Costs such as salaries, benefits, rent and Criminal Justice Act representations account for much of the increase and cannot easily be changed, the press release says. One line item in the requested funding raise, though, may be of particular interest to a number of lawyers: There is an effort afoot to up the ante on the hourly rate paid to panel attorneys in non-capital cases from $114 to $142.