Government justice agencies, especially the courts, are grappling with the dual challenge of reduced funding and increased demand.

The challenges and the opportunities have been crystallized for the Vermont Judiciary through a commission charged with addressing this realty:

 ”Notwithstanding the constitutional command for a unified judicial system, it is the plain fact that Vermonters can no longer afford the present system. This is not a question of politics, but one of fact. If the Legislature does not take action to reorganize and consolidate to a more efficient and less redundant system, the Judicial Branch cannot function in this economic climate. Backlogs already developing from half-day closures and furloughs will grow exponentially. It is no overstatement to say that the Judicial Branch is at a crucial juncture in its history.

As a state, we cannot make the choice to do nothing.”

Convened in May of 2008, the Vermont Commission on Judicial Operation, composed of members of the three branches of government and the citizens of Vermont, issued their final report to the legislature on November 6, 2009.

The full report is here http://tinyurl.com/yek8s58

The report makes bold recommendations about court restructuring, need for new policies and practices, and use of technology.  All to preserve access to justice while reducing cost.  To implement the recommendations will require cooperation across multiple state and local agencies to change existing practices, adoption of new technologies by litigants and the courts, and a lot of hard work by the courts to continue to adjudicate while restructuring.