Chief Justice Frank J. Williams

 

State of the Judiciary

Chief Justice Frank J. Williams presented an abridged State of the Judiciary address with a short PowerPoint presentation to the Senate on March 4, 2004 and the House of Representatives on March 9, 2004.  The following is the full text of his remarks.

The Judiciary remains consistent in the pursuit of its core goal – the administration of justice with uncompromising honor and unquestioned judicial independence.

We are strong, productive, and accessible.  And we are confident.  That is the state of the Judiciary.

But if anyone expects just a proud recitation of our accomplishments, I say let us leave that to history.  We are not finished yet.  So my message to you tonight is we are still at work.  We are still on the job.  We are on the long patrol.

We are armed with a freshly sharpened dynamic that demands efficiency, accountability, and innovation.  A dynamic that demands we:

Think smart,

Think creative, and

Think outside the box.

A dynamic that finds answers and asks questions.

§         Is it time to finally provide certified interpreters in our court system?

§         Is it time to expand our investment in courts that put kids back in school?

§         Is it time to enlist military demolition experts to save taxpayer’s money?

§         Is it time to treat the Judiciary as a third, independent branch of government?

I say to you the time is now.  We cannot afford to wait.

We owe nothing less to those Rhode Islanders whose lives are touched every day, directly or indirectly, by decisions made within our courthouse walls.

The Judiciary continues to cultivate a culture of efficient justice while disposing of hundreds of thousands of cases each year.  In 2003, we disposed of over 230,000 cases – a jump of 9% from the previous year.

§         80% of criminal felonies were disposed of within 180 days;

§         88%  of misdemeanors were disposed of within 60 days;

§         Civil cases were disposed of at a rate four times faster than a year ago;

§         Every single one of the 8,775 injured workers who came before our Workers’ Compensation Court saw a judge within 21 days.

But the mission of the Judiciary is not to indiscriminately churn out a high volume of cases; rather, it is to fairly adjudicate disputes that can change people’s lives.  The success of the Judiciary is a story told not only with numbers; rather, it is reflected in the eyes of those who come seeking justice.

There are three words in our Rhode Island Constitution that define the heart of our mission – right to justice.  The right to justice is not a matter of charity, or of favor, or of grace, or of discretion. 

A right to justice – for a child who now sleeps soundly under the protective blanket of a court order which has removed her from an abusive parent. 

A right to justice – for a single mother who warms her children by the kitchen stove because her landlord has neglected his duty to provide heat. 

A right to justice – for a young father, injured on the job, wondering if he will still have income and health care benefits for his family.

A right to justice – for all Rhode Islanders.

Let me pause here to thank the dedicated jurists and judicial staff who are committed to providing that right to justice.  Whatever criticisms and discontents there may be from time to time, the Rhode Island courts handle hundreds of thousands of cases every year - not by accident or magic, but rather with overwhelming skill and efficiency, a fact that I believe deserves public commendation. 

I encourage you to come see the work we do each and every day.  My door is always open.

I want to thank the Governor and General Assembly for their attention to filling judicial vacancies so we can move quickly to bring your courts up to full strength. 

We are moving to construct accessible, safe, and efficient court facilities for the citizens of this state.  This overhaul is not to be rushed, but those who come to our courthouses know it is long overdue.  Our bricks and mortar must reflect our commitment to justice.

In Kent County, crews are putting the finishing touches on the first phase of a new courthouse - a four deck parking garage.  Bids for the courthouse will be opened next week and we should start moving into the new facility by November 2005.  We will finally end our occupation of the retrofitted office building fraught with security and infrastructure problems.

We are exploring the option of having Navy Sea-bees take on the demolition of the old courthouse as a training mission.  That translates into tens of thousands of dollars in savings to the state.  That is our efficiency dynamic working for you.

The Garrahy Judicial Complex, designed to accommodate 1,500 court patrons each day, routinely services twice that number.  Courthouse users are subjected to long lines, parking congestion, and mounting frustration. 

I support construction of a Garrahy parking garage but that is not the entire solution.  We need $300,000 to move forward with a full service courthouse in northern Rhode Island.  Such a courthouse will not only alleviate the strain on Garrahy, but it will also provide more accessible justice to those living in Blackstone Valley.  That is our efficiency dynamic working for you.

The approval from you and the Governor last year for a new Traffic Tribunal marked a judicial milestone as we move to replace the non ADA-compliant, aging facility in Providence.  The design for the new courthouse in Cranston maximizes efficiency by incorporating room for routine court matters as well as video conferencing.  It is state of the art.  It is multi-purpose.  It is the efficiency dynamic - super sized.

In the Navy, they say the two biggest lies are told when an assessment team comes aboard ship and the team leader says, “We are here to help,” and the ship’s captain says “Welcome aboard.” 

The Judiciary is not proprietary in its search for efficiency.  We are working with the Department of Administration, the Sheriff’s Division, and the Department of Corrections in implementing the fiscal fitness initiative calling for increased video conferencing.  When implemented next month, this initiative will minimize crowding at courthouse cellblocks, cut unnecessary prisoner transportation, and alleviate security concerns.  It will also save money - something which must be a consideration for all of us as we seek to serve while remaining fiscally accountable.

As to fiscal accountability, the Judiciary has a proven track record.  I am proud to report for the second year in a row, the second year in a row, we have not requested a supplemental appropriation.

And we raise revenue.  Over the last three years, the Judiciary deposited in the state coffers - close to 70 million dollars.

Historically, we have limited our spending to only 1.3% of the state’s overall budget.  We live within our means. We know that each and every dollar we receive comes from taxpayers and must be managed with care.  As the constitutional keeper of the “purse strings,” you need to know how your decisions impact the courts.  You need to know how the courts impact the public and you need to know the impact of budget cuts on the citizens we both serve.

We recognize that we live in tough financial times and there will be pain for every branch of government.

With that in mind, the Judiciary has crafted a frugal budget request for fiscal year 2005 – seeking only to fund services at their current level.  Our priorities reflect our citizens’ needs.  Yet once again, we face a cut – three million dollars slashed from our budget.   

We in the Judiciary are not alarmists, nor are we prone to cynicism, but I must tell you that the Judiciary cannot sustain the deep and painful cuts made by the Executive Branch without severely impacting services. 

There is no money for court interpreters.  The Executive Branch cut the 425,000 dollars which would have paid for six certified court interpreters to begin in September.  Interpreters who will soon graduate from a new CCRI program; interpreters whose presence was mandated by you in 1999; interpreters who are desperately needed to serve the diverse, multilingual population of our state.  How will we answer those in our minority community when they ask why we have not honored this commitment?

A massive 600,000 dollar cut from Family Court jeopardizes programs that give a voice to the state’s smallest.  How will we answer them, when they ask why they must stand alone?

A 500,000 dollar cut from Judicial Technology would cripple the statewide criminal information system known as Justice Link.  Justice Link enables state and local police, the Department of Corrections, the Attorney General, and others to quickly share information and track criminals via the computer.

Although implemented and maintained by the Judiciary, 60% of those who use this valuable resource are from outside the courts.  How will we answer police officers who face needless delays in conducting routine background checks?

We are determined to remain accountable to the citizens of this state but the very definition of accountability means taking responsibility for prioritizing goals and objectives.  We are unable to do that under the current budgetary process.

This year, I again ask you to follow the lead of thirty-one other jurisdictions and pass legislation prohibiting the Executive Branch from cutting the Judiciary’s budget before passing it to the legislature for action.  

We are prepared to defend our spending proposals before this body- without amendments. 

The implications of the existing fiscal process go deeper than a yearly budget battle; it goes to the very structure of our democracy and its three branches of government.  The present process erodes judicial independence.

We must act to reassure a cynical public that separation of powers applies to all branches of government.  We must re-commit ourselves to all aspects of separation of powers.  The Judiciary must have its rightful place as an independent body.

Let us determine our fiscal priorities.  We will take the responsibility, we will make the cuts, and we will take the heat.

We have been creative in instituting innovative programs which cost little but reap much.

We are reaching out to our youth.  I find the words of Robert Kennedy powerful on this point:

"Each time a man stands up for an ideal, or acts to improve the lot of others, or strikes out against injustice, he sends forth a tiny ripple of hope.” 

Justice Rules, the education initiative we introduced into the school system last year has quickly gathered momentum.  If you will recall, Justice Rules exposes students to the positive side of the legal system, encourages them to consider careers in the Judiciary, and cultivates a curiosity for how this branch of government works. We are currently reaching 35,000 students with our curriculum and dozens of attorneys and judges are volunteering to work with classrooms and teachers as part of legal teaching teams.  Cost to taxpayers – zero. 

When kids go astray, the Judiciary has been there with its Truancy Courts to get them back into the classroom.  The Truancy Court reaches eight hundred students annually.  It is active in fifty-three schools across the state and serves twenty communities:  Bristol/Warren, Central Falls, Cranston, Coventry, Cumberland, Foster/Glocester, Johnston, Narragansett, Newport, North Providence, Pawtucket, Providence, South Kingstown, Smithfield, Warwick, West Warwick, Westerly, and Woonsocket.

Truancy Court has become an integral part of reclaiming our youth.  The success of the Court is unquestioned - 90% of students arraigned are back in school, back on track, and on their way to graduation. Yet we risk loosing these valuable courts because there is no funding to support them.

How will we answer the children, the teachers, the parents, when they ask why these courts have been pulled?

This past fall, the Judiciary hosted its first Citizens’ Summit in South Providence, complete with on-site, real time Spanish translation.  Representatives of the Workers’ Compensation Court joined Interim Chief Judge George Healy to hear citizens concerns, answer questions, and explain the legal and medical processes.  Cost to taxpayers – zero.

We have initiated the Appellate Mediation Program in our Supreme Court.  We hope that we will be able to resolve at least one half of the civil appeals through this program.  Alternative Dispute Resolution works - it achieves a lasting peace among parties, it saves time, and it saves money.  While litigation certainly retains a place in society, sometimes justice requires a diversion from the traditional adversarial proceedings.  Cost to taxpayers – zero.

We are working to make jury service less intimidating.  Not only are we paying for jurors parking and trying to raise their daily pay, but we are also using a grant from the Rhode Island Foundation to produce a video which will explain the process to jurors.  The film will also be shown to members of the public including schools, community organizations, and public television viewers.  Cost to taxpayers – zero.

Last year, at the Annual Meeting of the Rhode Island Bar Association, I issued a “Call to Arms” to the thousands of members of our legal community, challenging them to reenergize their commitment to equal justice.  Specifically, I asked lawyers to become actively involved in three areas in which our community is in dire need of their services:  indigent representation, access to justice, and education.

The need for indigent representation has risen twenty-five percent over the past five years.  Many of our attorneys have already been volunteering their services to meet the increasing need, but we need more.  I expect to announce at this year’s Annual Meeting that every large firm will show its commitment to solving this problem by requiring every member of the firm accept at least one pro bono case per year.

There is honor in the legal system, yet too often it is hidden behind a cloak of mystery, which intimidates the very citizens it seeks to serve.  Making justice more accessible has been my mantra since before I became Chief Justice.  In addition to serving our indigent population, there are other myriad ways in which our vast legal community can help realize this goal.

The ability to understand the legal proceedings is one of the elements essential to enhancing accessibility.  When foreign language speaking constituents beckon, the Judiciary needs to have the resources available to respond tot heir call for interpreters.  The Judiciary ahs already implemented software that allows our website to be translated into six different languages.  While this software has helped, the translations are literal and do not recognize idiom and dialect.  However, in my Call to Arms, I asked that any attorney fluent in a foreign language volunteer to review the text on our sites in order to make the translations as accurate as possible.

Since my “Call,” we have seen increased participation in our initiatives targeted at education, interpretation and representation.  I anticipate that the response will only continue to grow. 

What is next for the Judiciary?  I have established a Future of the Courts Committee and instructed it to plot a strategy for our courts, as we face the challenges ahead. 

Among the items the Committee is exploring:

Flexibility in court scheduling – can we accommodate citizens who have jobs and family obligations by structuring our court hours differently? Just think what it will mean to your constituents if they can pay fines and make court appearances and have their matters heard at a more convenient time?

We are also exploring the establishment of a statewide Domestic Violence Court and a system wide Drug Court.  Violence and drugs have far reaching tentacles that contribute to increased crime rates, rip families apart, and twist the lives of children, adults, employers, and employees.

Of course, I will share with you the Committee’s recommendations when I receive its final report this May.

Marian Wright Edelman, founder and president of the Children's Defense Fund, said that service is the rent we pay for the privilege of living.  I wholeheartedly share that belief. 

We have begun well.  But it is only a beginning.  We are not here to congratulate ourselves on what we have accomplished.  We are here to challenge ourselves to finish what remains to be done.  We cannot stop at the foothills when Everest beckons.

May God bless you and the great state of Rhode Island.